The children of asylum seekers will finally have access to CPE and subsidized daycare. The Court of Appeal has just dismissed the government of Quebec, which challenged a first judgment of the Superior Court published in May 2022. Made public today, the new decision concludes that excluding asylum seekers from daycares “constitutes discrimination based on sex”.
The Consultation Table of Organizations Serving Refugees and Immigrants (TCRI) says it is relieved by this decision, which will immediately restore access to daycare for the children of asylum seekers. “Wow. We are very happy,” said Stephan Reichhold, director of TCRI.
For him, this decision will have a “very positive” effect on the job market, particularly for women. “It will fundamentally change the lives of thousands of asylum seekers, especially those of women who were forced to stay at home with young children,” he added. And fewer people will resort to social assistance since they will be able to return to the job market, he argues. “So it pays off for the government too. Everyone wins from this. »
This decision puts an end to a saga which lasted almost five years. It all started in 2018, following a reinterpretation of section 3 of the Regulation on the reduced contribution of the Educational Childcare Act. Until then, access to daycare at $8.50 per day was granted to any person holding a “work permit and [qui] stays in Quebec mainly to work there. Suddenly, the Liberal government of the day decided that asylum seekers were not here “primarily” to work and excluded them from the definition.
This decision notably generated absurd situations. For example, a couple was able to send their first child to subsidized daycare, but not their second, even though he was born in Canada, as reported The duty.
The Daycare Access Committee took the case to court and, in May 2022, the Superior Court of Quebec ruled in favor of the asylum seekers, recognizing that the Quebec government did not have the powers to reinterpret an article of the regulation on the reduced contribution to childcare services. A few weeks later, the Coalition Avenir Québec government appealed the decision.
A door closed to disputes
Lawyer Sibel Ataogul, who defended this case pro bono with her team on behalf of Congolese Bijou Cibuabua Kanyinda, says she is very happy with this decision. “We did it because for us, humanly, it made no sense. They were excluded, but they were the people who needed it the most. »
The decision of the Court of Appeal differs completely from that taken by the trial judge. On the other hand, it agrees with the government on its regulatory powers, but concludes that its interpretation is discriminatory, which the Superior Court did not do. “It appears from the evidence that Mme Kanyinda has met her burden, at the first stage, of demonstrating adverse effect on the ground of sex,” the decision reads. The exclusion “contributes to a disproportionate impact on the group of women seeking asylum,” the judgment concludes.
The Commission on Human Rights and Youth Rights, which intervened in support of the applicant, said it was satisfied with the positive outcome for asylum seekers, in particular women, who were greatly affected by this regulation “which perpetuated and accentuated the disadvantages they suffer in the labor market.
Possibility of Supreme Court?
According to Me Ataogul, the Court of Appeal also closes the door to any legislative modification allowing asylum seekers to be excluded from daycare centers. “It opens the door to the government [pour légiférer], but puts a dome on the house. » It is, however, not impossible that the case could go to the Supreme Court.
Maryse Poisson, who has been campaigning since the beginning within the Daycare Access Committee, invites the CAQ government not to go in this direction and to honor its “promise to integrate people well”. “It would be legal harassment,” she said.
Quebec Solidaire MP Guillaume Cliche-Rivard deplores that the government has appealed the case. “Today, the government suffers yet another defeat in court. Let us hope that they will finally accept the conclusions of the judgment and give these women access to the services to which they are entitled,” he argued.
The Minister of Families, Suzanne Roy, has not yet commented on her intentions, indicating that she would “take the time to analyze” the decision.
With Marie-Michèle Sioui