A “guardian angel” threatened with expulsion

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Mamadou Konaté is a “guardian angel”. He worked as a housekeeper in a CHSLD. He has been on the front line from the start of the health crisis. Because he has no status in Canada, he is now threatened with deportation.

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Unfortunately, Mamadou is just one example among many others of frontline workers living in insecurity due to their lack of status. His application for permanent residence for humanitarian reasons having been refused, he can only wait for a review or hope for regularization.

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This situation was denounced by the organizers of the emergency vigil organized on Wednesday, September 23 in front of the Passport Canada premises, on René-Lévesque Boulevard. Since Mamadou Konaté was placed at the Immigration Prevention Center (CPI) in Laval, a hearing was held the same day to decide on his release.

Relatives and citizens who were moved by the story of Mamadou organized this vigil to demand his exit from the center. However, he was not released. “He did not show up once in February 2019, and so they deemed him unreliable,” said his lawyer, Stewart Istvanffy. One of the people [at the hearing] pretended that she didn't know him well enough.”

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Solidarity with the undocumented

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“Status for all. Nobody is illegal! and “Solidarity with undocumented immigrants” chanted activists and sympathizers during the vigil. The participants not only defended Mamadou, but also denounced the situation of foreign workers who worked in essential sectors during the health crisis. So far, these guardian angels have only received thanks. And among them, many have no legal status in the country, such as Mamadou, who is a refugee.

He had a closed work visa linked to the CHSLD that employed him; he was therefore a temporary worker. “He worked all the way, until he was detained. He told me that he wanted to go back to work tomorrow, if he could,” said Me Istvanffy at a press conference on September 25.

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To respond to this issue and to the demands of civil society, on August 13, the governments of Quebec and Canada signed an agreement providing for the creation of a program for the regularization of persons without status who have worked in the health sector. But this open door to permanent residence will not be accessible to all so-called essential foreign workers during COVID-19.

The criteria set out will only allow less than a thousand people to get their papers. To be eligible, you must be an asylum seeker and have worked a certain number of hours directly with the sick. Maintenance workers, such as Mamadou, and security agents are therefore not entitled to take advantage of the health guardian angels regularization program, which is currently only intended, for the time being, let's repeat, for health personnel.

We wrote to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to find out more about the possibility of expanding the criteria. Béatrice Fénelon, the ministry's spokesperson, reminded us of the terms of the measure, which is a “one-off initiative [which] has very specific criteria that recognize the service of workers in the health care sector, where there is an urgent need for help and where they put their own lives at risk to take care of others.”

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The story of Mamadou Konaté

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Mamadou Konate arrived in Quebec in 2016. He wanted to live, study and work far from war, he who had been taken prisoner during one of the armed conflicts that have torn his country, Côte d'Ivoire, apart since 2002. Here, he learned French and became involved with community organizations. He worked in a recycling center, in the forests of Nord-du-Québec and, more recently, in a CHSLD. It was on this occasion that he worked as a housekeeper in contaminated premises, on the front line alongside the sick. He also contracted COVID-19 in April and was forced to fend for himself, for lack of support from the government. Once recovered, he went back to work.

“Friends told me that Mamadou was having difficulties, so I helped him during his quarantine. That's how I met him. He put his life in danger for people like me, and now the government wants to deport him,” Mathieu was outraged during the emergency vigil. His loved ones mobilized to support him in his trials, especially on Wednesday, September 23, the day of the revision hearing where a decision was to be made on his release from the ICC. They are calling for the release of Mamadou, the cancellation of the deportation notice and the review of the permanent residence decision.

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Recognized as a refugee by the United Nations and the Red Cross, Mamadou had requested permanent residence for humanitarian reasons, including a complete file of letters of support and evidence confirming his difficult past. But his request was rejected. “We are still waiting for the reasons, but we suspect that he was declared inadmissible because he was a member of a group that wanted to overthrow a government by force [that of Côte d'Ivoire, editor's note].

I don't agree with that kind of charge. If you refuse residency to someone who wanted to overthrow a repressive government, that means you're supporting the worst governments in the world. Our law is broken,” says Stewart Istvanffy.

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On September 19, after receiving his deportation notice, he volunteered with his lawyer to the ICC to have his deportation suspended and to request a review of his residence application. That's how he found himself in the center.

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“If they weren't there, we wouldn't eat”

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Among the foreign workers who proved essential during the health crisis, we should mention temporary workers. “They do jobs that we would not do, such as in agriculture. If they weren't there, we wouldn't eat. I have already worked in the agricultural sector with temporary foreign workers and I was really in the minority. Nine tenths of the employees there are foreigners, Latin Americans. I had a hard time following them, honestly. They are used to working 16 hours a day, and I had difficulty making my 8 hours,” said Mathieu.

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“Mamadou is a good friend of mine. We met through friends, and we had business projects together. More generally, I don't agree with what the government is doing. False promises were made to workers like Mamadou. He has been waiting for a status for four years. I am extremely disappointed, because we also know that her work is essential.

Like him, many workers had high hopes as a result of these promises of regularization,” Arielle said with outrage during the vigil for Mamadou Konate. For her, her detention is absurd when one considers her professional career or her residence file. She would like him to at least be released from the center of Laval to be able to protect himself from the second wave of COVID-19 that is coming to Quebec.

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Health conditions

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The health conditions at the CPI indeed raise concerns for its safety. Abdul, also an undocumented migrant, was placed in the center of Laval earlier during the health crisis. “The government was talking about social distance measures, but we did not see them being applied at the center. Along with other inmates, we started a hunger strike to demand respectful detention arrangements. We have suffered a lot. But after 10 days, I and almost all the others were released under conditions. Today, I am still on parole,” he said during the vigil.

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Abdul is originally from Senegal and his asylum request was refused earlier this year. He was summoned to receive an eviction notice. Lost and without a lawyer, he decided not to go and ended up being arrested and taken to the ICC. “I am here for Mamadou, but also because it could be me in a while. I am waiting for my request to be reviewed,” he continued. Abdul, also an undocumented migrant, was placed in the center of Laval earlier during the health crisis.

Photo: Marine Caleb

During the hearing where a decision was to be made on the release of Mamadou Konaté, no mention of COVID-19 could be made. “It was a crazy hearing, you could not say anything about the pandemic”, recalled his lawyer, Me Stewart Istvanffy. However, he says that Mamadou has been in quarantine since arriving at the center and that his conditions of detention are currently adequate. With the recommendation of Béatrice Fénelon from IRCC, we wrote to the Canada Border Services Agency, responsible for the Laval center, to find out what health measures are applied there, but we received no response.

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“The rest of things depends largely on politics,” said Me Istvanffy on September 24, as Québec Solidaire seized the file and presented it to the Quebec Minister of Immigration, Nadine Girault. The next day, MPs Andrés Fontecilla and Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois organized a press conference in front of the Guy-Favreau Complex and the Passport Canada offices with Me Istvanffy. They called for the responsibility and humanity of the government. “Quebec needs him. A guardian angel is being treated like a criminal, and that is unacceptable.

Instead of deporting him, he should be thanked by giving him permanent status. The Quebec government must get involved to resolve this serious injustice,” denounced Andrés Fontecilla, deputy for Laurier-Dorion. As for Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, deputy for Gouin, he called for the intervention of the Minister of Immigration “as early as the next few hours to stop this insane deportation”. “Quebec must give a CSQ [Certificat de Sélection du Québec] to Mr. Konaté”, he then hammered out.

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To go further:

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A crowdfunding campaign was organized to support Mamadou Konaté. The funds collected will be used to pay a possible release bond, lawyer fees, but also those of deportation. Some citizens donated up to $100 or even $1000 for Mamadou. Nearly $8,000, out of the $10,000 targeted, has already been collected. The criteria for admission to the regularization program:

• Have applied for asylum before 13 March 2020
• Obtaining a work permit after applying for asylum
• Have worked in the health sector
• Have accumulated at least 120 hours of work from 13 March 2020 to 14 August 2020
• Have worked in a position whose duties involve the administration of direct patient care (beneficiary attendant, nurse, nurse assistant, patient care service associate, assistant to beneficiary attendants, home support worker)
• Have six months of experience in one of the eligible occupations This experience can be acquired until August 31, 2021.
• Hold a Quebec Selection Certificate if the intention is to reside in Quebec.
• Meet crime, safety, and health requirements

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→ For more information, go to the Special Program for Asylum Seekers in Times of COVID-19 page, on the Immigration-Québec website, at Immigration-Québec.gouv.qc.ca.

‍Justice Pro Bono offers legal services to individuals who do not have the resources to access them. THEQuebec Association of Immigration Lawyers (AQAADI), brings together immigration law practitioners in Quebec