Future Canadians turned back at the border

This couple of engineers obtained confirmation of their permanent residence in December. With this document, they had to go to border officers at a Canadian airport to validate their entry and start their new life in Canada.

Jad and her husband – who did not want to divulge their last name so that their testimony would not interfere with their case – planned to go then to Toronto, where they were waiting for accommodation to carry out their quarantine.

But at Montreal airport, after a direct flight between Casablanca and the metropolis with Royal Air Maroc, nothing goes as planned.

Ex-student at UQAM, Jad sees her passport and confirmation of permanent residence confiscated. We were told that we should not come to Canada, she explains. We were taken our papers, we were told to quarantine ourselves pending a final decision. But we were told that we didn’t have much chance of being accepted.

The couple then took a taxi and booked a studio in downtown Montreal, awaiting their meeting in front of border officials, scheduled for February 8. With the important risk of being forced to return to Morocco.

This nightmare, Basma is also going through it.

This 29-year-old Moroccan also arrived from Casablanca at the end of January, with her husband. While she wanted to go to Moncton, after passing through Montreal, she experienced a similar scenario in front of Canadian border officers.

We were shocked by what happened. We are now in uncertainty.

We had everything prepared. We did a PCR test, we gave a quarantine plan, we booked an apartment [au Nouveau-Brunswick] and now we’re stuck in Montreal, regrets the young woman.

Exemptions for people living in the United States

What are the reasons why these potential future Canadian citizens, whose application has already been approved, cannot enter Canada?

Despite the pandemic and border restrictions, a permanent resident can come to the country. However, these people are not yet officially permanent residents. Their file must actually be approved at the airport by an immigration officer. An administrative formality, normally.

However, there are exemptions. A future permanent resident can, for example, arrive in Canada if his file was validated before March 18, 2020. This rule was issued by the federal government last spring and has not been reviewed.

A future permanent resident who has been sponsored by an immediate family member or who lives in the United States is also exempt from these travel restrictions.

It was not clear, not precise. If we really want to block our entry, why were we let go? Why were we issued a visa? asks Jad.

The airline confirmed to us that we could come, we got our visa. We did not expect that. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have come. We are in nothingness.

We quit our job, we sold our goods. We no longer have a life in Morocco, adds Basma, who has, for her part, rented new accommodation in Montreal, pending the decision of immigration officials.

A situation ridicule, according to experts

This situation is judged aberrant, ridicule and absurd by immigration lawyers, who have learned of similar cases over the past few days.

Currently, foreign students and temporary foreign workers, along with their spouses, have the right to come to Canada.

For me it doesn’t make sense, argues Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, president of the Quebec Association of Immigration Lawyers.

These are people who come to settle in Canada, they will not be leaving in two weeks, he mentions.

This situation must be corrected quickly, emphasizes his colleague Stéphane Handfield.

It is a bit absurd to refuse permanent residents, especially when we bring in foreign students and workers.

It causes serious damage, he explains. People have liquidated everything in their country, they have nothing left if they have to return. This is worrying.

A essential travel, believes the Bloc Québécois

This position is shared by the Bloc Québécois, which is asking the Trudeau government to review its position.

These people pose no risk. They are not going to travel, to make constant round trips. They come here in order to settle permanently, assures MP Christine Normandin, immigration spokesperson.

In his eyes, it is a humanitarian issue and a essential travel.

These are people who gave it all behind them because they knew they were coming. We have left them in limbo, when they could contribute to the workforce that we need in certain trades.