Haitians to Ottawa: 'Make a place for my children'

Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Citizenship and Immigration office in Montreal on Monday, calling on the federal government to give Haitians more time to apply for permanent resident status.

Haitians have until June 1 to get their papers in order — or risk being deported from Canada.

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Because of political instability and then the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, deportations to the country have been suspended for a decade.

Ottawa announced its decision to lift the moratorium last December, saying the political situation and living conditions in Haiti had improved.

Many at the demonstration were Haitian-Canadians who have lived here for more than a generation. Others in the crowd have no status in Canada and arrived after the devastating earthquake.

Johny St. Paul, who has had a previous application rejected, said he had spoken out against the Haitian government and doesn't want to go back. 

"I was always receiving anonymous calls at night; there were some guys that were searching for me," St. Paul said at the protest. 

"My life was threatened, you know, so I feared for my life."

Another protester wondered what would happen to his three children, who were all born in Canada, if he were to be deported.

Serge Bouchereau, head of the Non-Status Action Committee, a Montreal-based activist group, said the government doesn't understand that Haiti remains dangerous.

He said some 3,000 Haitians living in Canada could face deportation if nothing is done. 

Bouchereau wants the federal government to revisit "Operation Mon Pays," a program that granted many Haitians citizenship in the late '60s.

​Federal Immigration Minister Chris Alexander wasn't available for comment on Monday, but his office pointed to a response offered in the House of Commons when pressed on the issue earlier this month. 

Alexander said it should come as no surprise the temporary measures are coming to an end, explaining that he has visited Haitian community centres in Toronto and Montreal three times since the change was announced.

He also pointed out the Quebec government could find its own ways to help many Haitians become permanent residents.