Thirteen slashes and seven operations later, Lisa Mahmoud, survivor of the Halloween murderer’s attack in Old Quebec, would like to be able to turn the page and devote herself fully to her dream of operating her own hair salon in the capital. But this French native, who is barely recovering from the traumas she experienced in 2020, did not think she would have to embark on another obstacle course: that of obtaining her permanent residence in Quebec.
“Already, I had to manage all my physical and mental rehabilitation, and now I realize that I have been fighting with immigration for five years. I never really had any help,” said the young woman in an interview with THE Duty. “It’s a big obstacle course. I still don’t know exactly what my future will be in a few months. »
On the evening of October 31, 2020, Lisa Mahmoud was returning home with her friend via Petit Champlain. In this festive Halloween atmosphere, a man dressed as a samurai suddenly attacked several passers-by with a Japanese sword. Aged 26, Carl Girouard will be accused, and ultimately found guilty in May 2022, of two first-degree murders and attempted first-degree murder of five other people who survived their injuries, including Lisa Mahmoud. “This event stopped me in my tracks. It stopped my whole life at that moment. My life from A to Z,” confides the hairdresser, now 28 years old.
The young woman, who did not at all expect this brutal attack, had even smiled at the murderer, seeing him thus disguised. The cries of her companion and her winter coat may have saved her from the worst, she confided to the media shortly after the tragedy. “It was very, very difficult,” she said.
“I chose to live here”
After emergency hospitalization, the young Frenchwoman returned to her country to experience this ordeal with her family and begin her rehabilitation. “I have had seven operations in three years. I had big problems with my arms, my hand and my shoulder,” she says.
Despite everything, Lisa Mahmoud has never questioned her future plans in Quebec. And less than a year later, she was already back. “I chose to live here. It’s a province that I have in my heart. I always felt good, like at home. »
The young woman from Nîmes, in the south of France, continues to believe that Quebec is a “safe” place where life is “good”. And gives a lesson in resilience. “I’m always telling myself that my life is beautiful, despite everything. I try to put things into perspective, not to feel sorry for myself. There are still two people who died,” she emphasizes.
Long delays to immigrate
Lisa Mahmoud draws the courage to continue by hanging on to her hair salon, which she ended up opening far from Old Quebec. But the young woman, who will soon be 6e work permit, is worried about the instability caused by his precarious immigration status. “I have been in Quebec for five years and I am unfortunately still stuck with work permits,” she laments. “It’s complicated to embark on a business when you are not 100% sure of your immigration journey. I am taking risks and I fear that I may have to close my salon if my situation is not regularized. »
Having ruled out the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ) for various reasons, the only “reasonable” option available to her was to be sponsored by her spouse. However, Lisa Mahmoud finds the current wait of at least two years to obtain permanent residence in the family reunification category unbearable. “I feel frustrated. I’ve been here for five years, contributing to the Quebec economy, and I’m still going to have to wait all that time? “, she says. “There are qualified workers who arrived after me and who already have their residence! »
After several bottles thrown into the sea at the Ministry of Immigration, with her MP and on social networks, Lisa Mahmoud received an outstretched hand from the MP for Québec solidaire, Guillaume Cliche-Rivard. “When we see people like Lisa, who have an exceptional contribution, all the efforts she makes for her rehabilitation, to work here, she is established outside of Montreal, she is French-speaking, young […]we do not understand why we do not take the crisis seriously, that we do not find solutions to keep [des gens comme elle] “, he stressed.
Miller sued
In July 2023, a year ago, the backlog for family reunification in Quebec stood at 36,800 people, according to the Quebec Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI). The processing time by the federal government, which was then 24 months, is today 28 months to sponsor a spouse already on Quebec territory, and 34 months if this spouse is abroad. And that’s without counting the delays in obtaining the Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ).
After a formal notice which remained a dead letter, a mandamus suit against the federal Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, was initiated on Monday. Helped by the Quebec Association of Immigration Lawyers (AQAADI), eight couples decided to force the minister to process family reunification requests from Quebec within the same time limits as elsewhere in Canada, or to reduce the 34 month wait to 10 months, as is the case in Ontario, for example.
It is in this spirit that Lisa Mahmoud, who is however not linked to these proceedings, wanted to “raise her voice” to denounce this inequity. “It’s a bit sad and aberrant that the procedures are simpler and quicker in other provinces,” she said, while concluding on a note of hope. “I think at the end of the tunnel there is a little light. I just hope it arrives quickly for everyone. »