Less than 2 hours 30 minutes before his dismissal from the country, the Tunisian Firas Bouzgarrou has learned that he will be able to stay in Canada. The duty has learned that the new Minister of Immigration, Sean Fraser, has granted him a temporary residence permit for a few months, while he can continue his efforts to obtain his permanent residence.
“It’s a deliverance,” said Mr. Bouzgarrou, from the airport. “It’s a lot of stress, you have no idea. I haven’t slept for two weeks, ”he added, his voice choked with emotion.
This father who has lived in Quebec for more than three years and who considers himself perfectly integrated had made the headlines of several media in recent weeks because he challenged his expulsion. Last Wednesday, he even benefited from the support of the 125 deputies of the National Assembly, who unanimously adopted a motion presented by Québec solidaire asking for the cancellation of his dismissal and the granting of his permanent residence.
“All of Quebec has mobilized,” said his lawyer, Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, referring to a petition of 1,700 names and all the support his client received from those around him. He also welcomes “this gesture of positive compassion at the start of his mandate” by the Canadian Minister of Immigration appointed last Tuesday. “We won a round. But it’s a big round, ”he admits.
Firas Bouzgarrou, who works 80 hours a week in three different jobs, the main one at CAD railways in Lachine, is an “exemplary” immigrant, according to Me Cliche-Rivard. “We reject him, but he ticks all the boxes [de l’immigrant] which we need in our society today, when we are talking about a labor shortage and the decline of the French language, ”he declared to the To have to who had met him with his client ten days ago.
After obtaining his permanent residence in 2013, Mr. Bouzgarrou had lost it because he had not been able to stay in the country for the minimum required by law of 730 days (2 years) over the period of five years following the issuance of the status. . Rather, he returned to Tunisia to stay with his daughter who had just been born with serious health problems and then extend her stay to support his wife who had to mourn the sudden death of her father.
After having challenged – in vain – this decision in the federal court, Mr. Bouzgarrou filed an application for permanent residence on humanitarian grounds, where it is for him to prove that he is well integrated and that he deserves to stay. . But the response, received about a month ago, was negative.
A bittersweet victory
Me Cliche-Rivard is delighted with the support his client received, in particular through a unanimous motion from the National Assembly and the constant monitoring of deputies such as Alexandre Boulerice, from the New Democratic Party, Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, from the Bloc Québécois and André Fontecilla, from Québec solidaire “without whom it would not have been possible. “. But victory is bittersweet nonetheless. “If it took all that to get there, it’s because we have a big problem. It is time for a frank and open discussion on removals from Canada and what is expected of immigrants. “
Me Cliche-Rivard knows that he still has work ahead of him to regularize the status of his client, but there is no lack of ideas. A reconsideration of the negative decision and a brand new request for residency on humanitarian grounds have already been filed. He would also like the support of the Government of Quebec, which has the power to grant Firas Bouzgarrou a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ), an avenue to which the Immigration Cabinet has said it is open.
Very moved, Firas Bouzgarrou remembers this adventure full of emotions that you should never give up. “Until the last second, I didn’t give up hope,” he says. He now hopes to be able to bring in his wife and 7-year-old daughter, whom he has not seen for more than three years. “It’s a lot of sacrifice. But we start to dream again. “