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Refugee project

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  • Slide: 1
  • I really hope people will want to be friends with me and accept me for who I am...
  • Slide: 2
  • At lunch, Etienne and Marie invited Baptiste to sit them.
  • OMG Baptiste, you HAVE to sit with us! We'll show you around the school!
  • Awesome! I can share some of my snacks with you!
  • I would love some snacks! Baptiste, where did you move from?
  • Slide: 3
  • Such a simple question from Marie stumped Baptiste. His family faced many challenges to arrive to Canada back in 2017. How should he explain to his new friends how he moved to Canada?
  • Perhaps I should share to my new friends how I got here in Canada. I hope they will accept me for who I am...
  • Slide: 4
  • Baptiste is in grade 9 and this is his first day of school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He recently moved from another part of Quebec and he is anxious about making friends.
  • Diego decides to tell his friends about his journey to Canada.
  • Well... I originally was born in Haiti, but when I was just a baby, my family and I moved to the US. But recently in 2017, we came to Canada through Roxham Road. We've been moving around in Quebec before settling here in Montreal.
  • What's Roxham Road?
  • Slide: 5
  • Roxham Road is an small road that straddles across the Canada-US border, 50 km south of Montreal. This road was known to be an unofficial border for many asylum seekers crossing the US border into Canada.
  • Slide: 6
  • Wow Baptiste, I've been living in Montreal my whole life and I've never heard of Roxham Road. Thank you for telling me about this. It must've been so difficult for your family to arrive here.
  • Yes... It was quite tough. My family had to cross the border in the winter, and I think my dad got frostbites from the journey!
  • Baptiste, why do people need to cross the border at Roxham Road? Why can't they cross at official borders like at an airport or train station?
  • Slide: 7
  • Many people cross at unofficial borders between Canada and the US because of the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA). The STCA is a treaty signed in 2002 which states that people from third countries seeking refugee protection must make a claim in the first country they arrive in, either between Canada or the US. The STCA aims to better manage the flow of refugee claimants between both countries along the shared border.
  • However, there are a few exceptions to the STCA including:- claimants who have family members in Canada- unaccompanied minors- claimants who hold valid Canadian visas or travel documents- public interest exceptions
  • Slide: 8
  • Up until 2023, Roxham Road was a key irregular border crossing for many asylum seekers. In fact, in 2022 alone, around 39 000 asylum seekers that entered Canada through unofficial crossings was through Roxham Road.
  • The reason why asylum seekers use Roxham Road to cross into Canada is because of a “loophole” that existed in the STCA. The STCA applied to asylum seekers only at official ports of entry, but did not apply to asylum seekers entering Canada through unofficial border crossings.This is how my family came to Canada!
  • Slide: 9
  • Etienne and Marie were both so intrigued by Baptiste's story. Their parents have never told them about Roxham Road and the school did not teach them about this.
  • Was there a time when many asylum seekers used Roxham Road to come to Canada?
  • Yes, there was an uptick of asylum seekers starting in 2017 from the US into Canada. This was the result of harsh refugee policies from Executive Order 13769 under the Trump Administration. By August 2017, there was almost 400 asylum seekers passing through Roxham Road each day!
  • Slide: 10
  • You know... now that you've mentioned it, I think I've heard my dad mention about this before... He said that it was a political issue too advanced for me to understand.
  • I'm going to be honest, I don't know too much about politics either. But from what I know, there was a lot of pressure on Prime Minister Trudeau by the opposition in Quebec to have a more restrictive border policy. The opposition even suggested to just build a fence at Roxham Road!
  • Slide: 11
  • A fence! That is so silly, asylum seekers will just find another crossing to come to Canada that might than more dangerous than Roxham Road!
  • In March 2023, the US and Canada decided to renegotiate the STCA to close the loophole. The New STCA now applies to the 8900km shared border in all access points. Ever since then, the number of asylum seekers passing through Roxham decreased dramatically, and the processing facility was demolished in September 2023.
  • Slide: 12
  • Wow, thank you Baptiste for educating us on Roxham Road.
  • We are so inspired by you and your family's journey
  • I'm so happy to share my experience, and for you know that there are so many others in my same position!
  • The trio became best friends after this day!
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