Canada grants permanent residency to asylum seekers who fought COVID-19

Association Tent Stand for Dignity to call for more professions to be added to the residency program JPF

Marvyn Kabre arrived in Canada in August 2018 from her native Ivory Coast. A few months later, he began working in a nursing home located in Montreal. Kabre, 40, is one of the so-called “guardian angels”: Canadian asylum seekers who have fought on the front lines against COVID-19. “I am an assistant to the patient on the night shift. We have worked very hard, risking our lives, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, "he says. Marco Mendicino, federal minister of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship, announced on Friday the launch of a special program to grant them permanent residency for their work.

"The current circumstances require exceptional measures to recognize their service during the pandemic," said Mendicino. The minister cited the different requirements they must meet. The program is only aimed at those who worked at least 120 hours between March 13 and August 14 as nurses, nursing assistants or assistants in health centers (clinics, hospitals, residences with personal assistance service or in home care) . In addition, they must have submitted their refugee claim before March 13 and subsequently obtained a work permit. They will also have to prove that they have at least six months of experience before August 31, 2021.

“We have waited for the news for a long time. It is a great relief. It will allow us to continue training in the healthcare environment, ”says Kabre. About 1,000 people will be able to obtain permanent residence through this program; most of them live in the province of Quebec. In early June, Radio-Canada aired a first draft of this initiative, but the federal government and the Québec authorities were still negotiating the final requirements at the time. Although Ottawa handles refugee applications, the Québec government has powers for the selection of its economic immigrants. Hence the need to reach a joint agreement.

Following Mendicino's announcement, Québec Prime Minister François Legault stated: “I am very happy to see that the Government of Québec and the Federal Government are going to work together to thank these refugee claimants who took risks working in the health system during the pandemic ”. It should be noted that the draft broadcast by Radio-Canada contemplated more professions than those that appear in the official program.

Maureen Silcoff, president of the Canadian Refugee Lawyers Association, stressed that the program is aligned with the country's humanitarian tradition. "These workers have kept us safe when even they themselves did not know if they could stay in Canada," he said in a statement. Although the announcement of the program has been enthusiastically received by different sectors, others regret that it has ignored a significant number of refugee claimants who have fulfilled other essential tasks during the pandemic. Amnesty International Canada mentioned on its Twitter account that it is "half good news", for the decision not to include these other people.

Wilmer Cayo runs Standing for Dignity, an association that works on behalf of minorities in vulnerable situations. “The people who will have access to the program have played a very big role during the pandemic. However, the healthcare system is an ecosystem. Patients must eat and work in the kitchens is important. They cannot live in an unsanitary environment, so the job of cleaning staff counts for a lot. You also have to think about the security officers. All of them were ignored, ”he points out in front of the building that houses the office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Montreal (Trudeau is also an MP for the Papineau constituency). The association that Cayo runs has set up a tent here to exert pressure on this matter.

“The work of refugee seekers has not only taken place in health. They have fulfilled responsibilities in other essential services. Let's think, for example, of crops and supermarkets ”, adds Cayo. According to data from Standing for Dignity, there are more than 3,000 people in this situation. “Many are Haitians, but there are also Colombians, Senegalese, Algerians, among others. The vast majority are racialized people, who already face difficult conditions, "he adds. Marvyn Kabre, the immigrant from Ivory Coast who works as a patient care assistant in a nursing home, comments for his part: “I am very grateful to the government authorities for this program. We have acted wholeheartedly despite the risks. We perform tasks that many here do not want to do. And not only in health ”.

Information about the coronavirus

- Here you can follow the last hour on the evolution of the pandemic

- This is how the coronavirus curve evolves in Spain and in each autonomy

- Search engine: The new normal by municipalities

- Questions and answers about the coronavirus

- Guide to action against the disease