Simon Croz: Still Waiting for Resolution with Immigration Canada

The setbacks of adopted Pistolois Simon Croz with Immigration Canada have still not been resolved. He is impatiently awaiting a new work permit, nine months after having been stripped of the right to work as general director of the Paralœil organization.

The one who was the subject of political and citizen mobilization, notably with the #UnitedforSimon campaign, learned last October that the expulsion measure against him was suspended. But he is still waiting for news from the Ministry to have the right to work again.

While his partner is expecting a child in June, Simon Croz would like to see an end to the daily anxiety with which his family deals. He says he is impatient to work and contribute to society, especially since he has exhausted all of the savings that allowed him to survive until today, after months of tightening his belt. The coffers are empty, says the original Frenchman.

We need a little serenity, to project ourselves into the future, whether from a professional point of view, from a financial point of view, but we are still fighting, we are still in this administrative imbroglio.

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Many citizens of Bas-Saint-Laurent mobilized to support the Pistolois, particularly as part of the #UnitedforSimon campaign. Around a hundred people were also present during the launch. (Archive photo)

Photo : Radio-Canada / Patrick Bergeron

He is therefore still waiting for the regularization of his status, which he lost in May 2023. He explains that his file, last summer, was supposedly processed urgently as he was threatened with expulsion from the country. But when the expulsion order fell, officials from the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada (IRCC) reportedly put his file back in the standard processing category. To make an image, they put it back under the bottom of the pile, believes Simon Croz.

Since January 14, his work permit application has been officially late, he explains. He then contacted the federal deputy Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, who was able to put pressure on his file to obtain urgent treatment again, maintains the Pistolois.

The forty-year-old man says he contacts the officials every two weeks, and assures that his file is complete, and that all they have to do is check his criminal record, according to the latest information he has been able to obtain.

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Simon Croz arrived in Quebec in 2016 to follow training in Rivière-du-Loup. He has lived in Trois-Pistoles since 2021. (Archive photo)

Photo: Radio-Canada / François Gagnon

The fact remains that he has no idea how long he will still have to wait, and his experience with the federal administration shows him that delays can still drag on, for no apparent reason.

There are probably three boxes to check, or maybe an hour of work to complete on my file to send it to me, so I would like the IRCC administration to show a little humanity in my situation , he pleads.

It’s not even a question of speeding things up. It’s that they do their job, and that they send me my work permit.

When you already live in Canada, you have a family, a house, a job, and all that is taken away from you, because of an administrative process, regardless of the failure there was at one point , whether it’s an error on my part or an error on the part of the administration, a delay or anything, it’s not normal that we find ourselves unemployed for nine months, when we were already in place, that we were active and that we had contributed in a positive and active way to society for seven years. That’s not normal, he insists.

Simon Croz indicates that a job awaits him, and that only these administrative delays are currently preventing him from working.

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Simon Croz welcomes the responsiveness of Bloc MP Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, but he deplores that elected officials, especially in opposition, ultimately have few levers to speed up the files processed by civil servants. (Archive photo)

Photo : Radio-Canada

He hopes, in parallel with his steps to obtain a work permit, to have his permanent residence by September 2025.

The Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has not yet responded to our interview request.

2024-02-06 12:20:26
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