For a few days he has been trying to obtain services in French in order to be able to carry out a medical examination required by the Federal Immigration Service. Vain. Nobody speaks French, he sighs.
Francis arrived in Canada via Roxham Road on February 11 with his wife and child. Three days later they were transferred to Ontario. Francis is also a fictional name. In order not to damage his asylum application, we have agreed not to reveal his identity.
We stayed at the hotel [à Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle] and I was asked where I wanted to go. I replied that we wanted to stay in Montreal because we speak French. But I was sent to Ontario, he says.
With record traffic on Roxham Road and stretched resources in Quebec, the federal government has reserved nearly 2,400 Ontario rooms at a dozen hotels in Windsor, Cornwall, Ottawa and Niagara Falls.
Francis and his family have settled in this town on the edge of the American border. And they are not alone. By mid-February, almost 3,000 asylum seekers had been transferred there.
The city of Niagara Falls is now welcoming several thousand asylum seekers from Roxham Road.
Photo: Radio Canada
No French speaking doctor
Immediately upon arrival, in accordance with federal recommendations, he contacted an Immigration Canada-accredited center to complete the medical evaluation required for his asylum application.
But at the end of the phone call, when confirming the appointment, the employee of this center warns him: you cannot talk to the doctor. The latter only speaks English, this person claims to have recorded in French during the phone conversation that was broadcast to CBC/Radio-Canada.
“It’s not possible to talk to the doctor if you don’t speak English. »
– A quote from a staff member at a medical center affiliated with Immigration Canada
The doctor speaks English, he doesn’t speak French, Spanish or Creole […] You need a person [avec vous]she continues and invites Francis to look for a possible translator among the other asylum seekers in the hotel.
It is not recommended to come without this third person, she adds apologetically.
However, at the hotel, Francis claims he did not find any resources.
I don’t speak English, only Creole and French. I don’t have any friends here, there are only migrants who sometimes speak Spanish, English or other languages but don’t know French to translate. And the people here are not obliged to help me, he emphasizes.
His wife is pregnant and fears being abandoned without French-speaking medical help. It must be understood by the doctors, he claims.
Other asylum seekers who do not speak English would be in a similar situation at this Niagara Falls hotel, Francis said.
Thousands of people arrive at Roxham Road every month. (file photo)
Photo: Radio Canada / Romain Schué
Francophones discriminated against
The Francophone director of the Hamilton/Niagara Community Health Center (CSCHN), Bonaventure Otshudi, is outraged.
“Service in French is a right for everyone in Canada. »
— A quote from Bonaventure Otshudi, director of the CSCHN
His organization intervenes in many hotels in Ontario at the request of Immigration Canada to help these asylum seekers in French. However, he argues that not all accommodations benefit from such services.
We have asked to intervene everywhere. We need to find a way to at least have interpreters in these hotels, he believes. According to him, there are dozens of Francophones, particularly from Africa and Haiti, who were brought to Niagara Falls without their consent.
This is truly unacceptable, Judge Frantz André, coordinator of the Montreal Action Committee on Indigenous People.
The latter was contacted by families from several countries, from Turkey to Haiti, to try to get help with the administrative procedures, although they had left for Ontario.
“Who is being discriminated against again and who is experiencing enormous hardship? These are the people who want to live in French. »
— A quote from Frantz André, coordinator of the Action Committee on Persons without Status
Montreal is overwhelmed, it is true, and the federal government has responded quickly by sending these people to available housing. But if we are talking about protecting the French language in Quebec, why not regulate at the border? Why send francophones ready to integrate quickly in Quebec elsewhere? It has become a political issue and the humanitarian has been evacuated, complains Frantz André.
The center in question did not respond to inquiries and calls from CBC/Radio-Canada.
Designated doctors
Immigration Canada, for its part, claims that “this customer was not given good information.”
” [Immigration Canada] is committed to offering services to applicants in Canada in the official language of their choice: English or French,” said Remi Lariviere, spokesman for the department.
“More than 150 designated doctors” speak French across the country “to facilitate access for applicants,” says Immigration Canada, which says it sent out a reminder on the matter.
” [Immigration Canada] recently contacted its DMP network to remind them that applicants should not be turned away if they cannot communicate in the same language. »
– A quote from Remi Lariviere, Spokesperson for Immigration Canada
“Applicants can, if necessary, bring someone with them to their immigration medical examination to provide translation services, be it a professional interpreter, a parent or an accompanying person,” emphasizes the Federal Ministry.
François Legault met with the United States Ambassador to Canada, David L. Cohen, in Quebec on February 14.
Photo: Twitter / @USAmbCanada
Different priorities between Canada and the United States
Roxham Road has been breaking all traffic records for more than a year. In 2022, nearly 40,000 people chose this route to seek asylum in Canada. A new milestone was reached in January with almost 4900 passages in a single month.
Recently, the Legault government has multiplied initiatives to call for a massive transfer of these asylum seekers to other provinces. “Regardless of the profile” (New window) of these migrants, they should all be diverted outside of Quebec, wrote François Legault to Justin Trudeau, for example.
The closure of Roxham Road is what we all want, the Prime Minister of Canada replied in a tone that contrasted with his earlier comments, which tended to be praising Canada’s tradition of hospitality.
In addition, Justin Trudeau expressed optimism during the negotiations with the USA that the rules at the border would be reviewed. He acknowledged that these discussions had been going on for years, noting the progress made on the subject.
However, US Ambassador to Canada David Cohen declined to confirm such advances in an interview with CBC. Reviewing the Safe Third Countries Agreement is not a priority for Washington, he said.