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Montreal’s YMCA is refugees’ first Canadian family

Quebec’s unique resettlement program for asylum seekers feeling pressure with increase of migrants crossing from U.S.

5 min read
gabriel-mujimbere2

Gabriel Mujimbere arrived in Canada in late 2015 as a refugee from Burundi and benefited from services at the YMCA's program for refugees and asylum seekers.


MONTREAL—They arrive with bulging suitcases, carrying infants in car seats, often with little more than a backpack and a shaky grasp of the language and the land. They are fleeing war, despots and persecution in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere for a better life in Canada.

It is a classic refugee tale with a Trumpian twist that has asylum seekers fleeing the land of liberty in fear of deportation, or using easy-to-obtain American tourist visas only to reach the northern beacon across the border.

ymca

In the YMCA in downtown Montreal, the Quebec government runs a refugee resettlement program that has been praised for the services it offers asylum seekers.

Allan Woods

Allan Woods is a Paris-based staff reporter for the Star. He covers global and national affairs. Follow him on Twitter: @WoodsAllan.

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