CIMM - Asylum seekers working on the front lines - Nov 25, 2020

Key messages

In recognition of their exceptional contribution to Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, we announced a special measure, on August 14, 2020, that will provide a pathway to permanent residence for refugee claimants across the country working in the healthcare sector. For its part, Quebec will select applicants intending to reside in the province.
Individuals must meet specific criteria to qualify, including having provided direct patient care in a designated occupation, such as orderlies, nurses’ aides, nurses, assistant orderlies and certain home support workers, over a specified time period. They must also pass medical, security and criminality screening.
We expect the application process for this initiative will open in the coming weeks.

We are working closely with our provincial and territorial counterparts, in particular, Quebec, to finalize the details of this special measure. For this reason, we cannot be more specific as to when the program will be launched.

We wish to move forward quickly with this program in order to offer a path to permanent residence for those who have dedicated themselves to defeating COVID-19 and, if Quebec wishes to review the criteria going forward, it can count on our full collaboration.

Media reports and stakeholder interventions have drawn attention to a number of pending and failed asylum claimants working in Canada’s health care sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Quebec.
It has been suggested that their contribution to Canada during the pandemic merits exceptional measures to “regularize” their status in Canada.
On May 25, 2020, Quebec Premier Legault, announced that he would consider allowing, on a case-by-case basis, asylum claimants working in Quebec’s long term care centres to regularize their status.
Recently, Premier Legault has further signaled a desire to consider broadening the types of occupations to other essential workers that could be eligible for this program.

To qualify, pending and failed asylum claimants must meet the following criteria:
- have claimed asylum before March 13, 2020;
- were issued a work permit after they made a claim for asylum;
- have worked in the healthcare sector, in specified health institutions (for example, hospitals, long term care homes, home care through an organization or agency, assisted living facilities);
- have worked in a designated occupation for no less than 120 hours between March 13, 2020 and August 14, 2020. The designated occupations that are included in this special measure are orderlies, nurses, nurses’ aides and patient service associates, assistant orderlies and certain home support workers.
- demonstrate six months of work experience in the designated occupation and health care sector by August 31, 2021;
- have a Certificat de sélection du Québec if wishing to reside in Quebec; and
- meet existing admissibility requirements, including those related to criminality, security and health.
Those who have been found ineligible to have their asylum claim assessed by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada would be excluded from this initiative. This includes those captured by the measures announced in Budget 2019 that bars access to the Immigration and Refugee Board for those who applied for asylum in another country with which Canada has an information-sharing agreement. In addition, those who have withdrawn or abandoned their claims would be excluded.

As with all Humanitarian & Compassionate programs, and in line with the Government’s commitment to family reunification, in Canada family members of the principal applicant would be included on the application and granted permanent residency, if the principal application is approved.
Although overseas dependants will not be granted permanent residence through this initiative, family members overseas may be sponsored as members of the Family Class once the applicant has been granted permanent residence.
Family is defined according to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations 1(3), as:
1. the spouse or common-law partner of the person;
2. a dependent child of the person or of the person’s spouse or common-law partner; and
3. a dependent child of a dependent child referred to in paragraph (b).

The Canada Border Services Agency ensures appropriate security screenings are in place.
Eligible applicants with a pending claim could have their claim or appeal put on hold at the Immigration and Refugee Board until a decision on their permanent residence application is rendered.
The Department is working closely with the Canada Border Services Agency to minimize the risk that applicants will be removed while their application is being considered.

Immigration to Quebec is a shared jurisdiction with the provincial government; this relationship is governed by the Canada-Quebec Accord, which grants Quebec specific selection authorities for the bulk of immigrants destined to the province.
The Government of Canada will work closely with the Quebec government to administer this special measure, with Quebec selecting those intending to reside in Quebec.

The number of individuals working in Quebec’s health sector is unknown; however some media reports indicate that approximately 800 to 2,000 asylum seekers have been working in healthcare support services in that province since 2017-2018.
It is believed that many of these individuals may be Haitian nationals who entered Canada irregularly, between ports of entry (i.e. Roxham Road), and have been working legally while awaiting a decision on their asylum claim.
As of June 30, 2020, the Immigration and Refugee Board had the following pending claims:^{Footnote 1}
- Refugee Protection Division pending claims (new system claims): 90,529
- Refugee Appeal Division pending appeals: 8,472
- The number of asylum claimants with valid work permits in Canada as of November 9, 2020, is 115,080.^{Footnote 2}
- Of this total, 56,151 permits were issued to persons who claimed asylum in Quebec.^{Footnote 3}
As these are open work permits (i.e. claimants can work for any employer across the country), the Department is unable to reliably confirm how many claimants are working in any specific sector, including health.

2021-03-24