It was one minute to midnight for the members of the Adegboye family, but she will finally be able to stay in Quebec. Three days before his expulsion, scheduled for April 5, the federal Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, decided to grant a temporary residence permit to this couple of Nigerian origins, who both work in the sector health, and their three children, two of whom were born in Quebec.
“I am happy, overwhelmed, excited,” cried Deborah Adegboye when contacted by The duty. ” We won ! This is a last minute hope. We so appreciate what Canada has done. » She says she is “relieved” and “touched” by all the support shown for her cause.
M’s lawyerme Adegboye, Me Vakkas Bilsin, confirmed to Duty by email on Tuesday that the Immigration Department had granted the family a temporary residence permit for six months. Until then, she can only wait, hoping that her application for permanent residence on humanitarian grounds will be accepted. The family has a “strong” case, according to the immigration law specialist.
Arriving in the country in 2017 as asylum seekers with only one child (two have been born in Canada since), Deborah Adegboye and her husband worked as “essential workers” during the pandemic, before becoming beneficiary attendants. For two years, the couple has worked with severely disabled clients at home.
For meme Adegboye and his three children, who speak French – the two youngest have never set foot in their parents’ country of origin – their life is nowhere else. And even less so in Nigeria, where her husband is threatened because of his Christian religious beliefs.
Last Friday, around fifty elected officials and members of civil society demonstrated in support of the family in front of Minister Miller’s Montreal offices. Among them, the member for Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, the supportive Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, who reacted on Tuesday on the social network speaking of a “victory for the whole family of Deborah Adegboye […] and for its patients in Quebec.” “This follows our mobilization,” he stressed.
Same story with the MP for Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie and deputy leader of the New Democratic Party, Alexandre Boulerice, who said he was “relieved” by these latest developments. “We are happy to keep her with us,” wrote the MP onthanking Mr. Cliche-Rivard’s team, which was very involved in the matter.
Having supported the family during their efforts, Maryse Poisson, from Collectif Bienvenue, was delighted with the turn of events. “We are so happy. “It’s a great recognition that this family should have obtained their status and that their case had been poorly evaluated,” she declared. She specifies that the removal is suspended to give the authorities time to properly assess the request for permanent residence on humanitarian grounds filed by the family.
Mme Adegboye says he is hopeful of obtaining permanent residency. “We’re going to get it. From now on, everything will be fine. »