Friday the Canadian Department of Immigration who suspended temporarily on November 19, the deportations to Haiti because of the socio-political turmoil in this country, announced through its Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the resumption of deportations of Haitians to their country of origin.

Are concerned all Haitians who were refused their asylum application after arriving in 2017 illegally crossing the border by Roxham Road in Quebec.

Following this announcement, Federal Deputy Gabriel Ste-Marie (Joliette, Bloc Québécois) asked the Liberal government to commit to suspending deportations to Haiti as long as there is no security situation in Haiti. Haiti, a proposal ignored by the Government of Ottawa.

Stéphane Handfield, an immigration lawyer who does not dispute the decision of the Ministry of Immigration, stresses that these deportations must be done in a secure context ensuring that people's lives are not threatened, which does not is not currently the case in Haiti.

If he does not understand why Ottawa has reversed his decision this week, he recalls that Ralph Goodale, the Minister of Public Safety to which the CBSA reports, had expressed this year his intention to expel 10,000 asylum seekers who had been refused by Canada.

Recall that in September 2018 the number of rejected asylum applications amounted to 32,173, all nationalities combined, but mostly of Haitian origin.

S/ HaitiLibre