(Montreal) A funeral will be held Sunday afternoon for Fritznel Richard, a Haitian whose body was found earlier this month near the US border.
The Sûreté du Québec believes that the 44-year-old man probably died of hypothermia while trying to enter the United States.
Frantz André, spokesman for the Non-Status Action Committee, said Mr Richard was trying to find his wife and 19-month-old son. Another 11-year-old son is still in Haiti.
Mr. Richard’s body was found in a wooded area in St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, near Roxham Road, a popular crossing point for asylum seekers coming to Canada.
Mr André said Mr Richard originally entered the country via Roxham Road, but difficulties obtaining a work permit and a high cost of living led him to join the growing number of asylum seekers returning to the United States.
Of the 39,540 asylum seekers intercepted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police along the border in 2022, 39,171 were in Quebec.