Saint-Laurent Welcomes Québec's Support for Organizations Dedicated to Newcomers While Reminding that Great Needs Still Exist

Saint-Laurent Welcomes Québec’s Support for Organizations Dedicated to Newcomers While Reminding that Great Needs Still Exist

Saint-Laurent, February 15, 2023 – Saint-Laurent Council is pleased with the provincial government’s announcement, on February 6, of $3.5 million in emergency assistance for community organizations dedicated to helping asylum seekers, but stresses that their needs are far from met. In view of the significant challenges they face, Council is calling for additional support for member organizations of the Comité des organismes sociaux de Saint-Laurent (COSSL) impacted by the issue to enable them to better deal with the additional pressure on the already overburdened community support network.

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“Eighty percent of Saint-Laurent’s population is made up of first- or second-generation immigrants. This is why the harmonious integration of asylum seekers is of particular importance to our Administration. Our organizations—which already do a tremendous amount of work and implement remarkable initiatives to support populations at risk—need additional support to help them overcome this crisis. Saint-Laurent’s Administration therefore hopes that the various levels of government as well as the philanthropic organizations in Greater Montréal and Québec as a whole will understand the seriousness of the situation and become more involved in supporting the Saint-Laurent community in this crisis.”

Alan DeSousa, Mayor of Saint-Laurent

Some telling figures
The organizations note that a growing number of interventions in the field are related to requests for support from asylum seekers:

– The asylum-seeking clientele of the Cari St-Laurent, which offers services to immigrants, has increased by 40%.

– 90% of the clientele of the Centre de pédiatrie sociale de Saint-Laurent / Au cœur de l’enfance, which supports vulnerable families, now consists of asylum seekers.

– 50% of the clientele of the Centre l’Unité, which works with various cultural and social communities, is from a family seeking asylum.

A network that is mobilized, but lacking in resources
Faced with the pressure felt by community resources, COSSL created the Saint-Laurent Asylum Seekers Committee, composed of representatives from CARI St-Laurent, the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, the Centre de services scolaires Marguerite-Bourgeoys, the Housing Committee, the Centre l’Unité, the Centre de pédiatrie sociale de Saint-Laurent / Au cœur de l’enfance, the SPVM’s neighbourhood police station no. 7 and the borough of Saint-Laurent. These key stakeholders note that men and women seeking asylum are a vulnerable population whose presence is greater than ever in food banks, shelters for the homeless and hotels providing temporary accommodations on the territory and near the Montréal airport.

It should be noted that this new call follows an initial intervention by Saint-Laurent Council during its February 7 meeting. Council then made a statement stressing the urgency of acting and supporting the COSSL in its representations to governments and the philanthropic community.

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