Heartfelt support for refugees

More than a month has passed since the start of the war in Ukraine, which has claimed thousands of lives and made millions of refugees. These are mainly women, children, the elderly and other vulnerable members of the community.

My heart goes out to the Ukrainian people, and I wish to highlight their courage and strength in the face of these horrors.

I also wish to express my solidarity with the 40,000 Montrealers from Ukraine, a community that is wounded, but strong and mobilized more than ever.

This humanitarian crisis will have an impact on our local communities. As part of our daily work, our entire team is attentive to the needs of the agencies we support. Fourteen of them are mainly involved in welcoming and integrating newcomers. They have the necessary expertise to welcome refugees who will arrive in the Greater Montreal area, regardless of their origin or their situation:

Accueil aux immigrants de l’est de l’île de Montréal
Accueil liaison pour arrivants (ALPA)
Multi-Ethnic association for the integration of persons with disabilities
CARI St-Laurent
Carrefour d’aide aux nouveaux arrivants (CANA)
Carrefour de Ressources en Interculturel (CRIC)
Centre d’appui aux immigrants de Bordeaux-Cartierville (CACI)
Carrefour le Moutier
Centre social d’aide aux immigrants (C.S.A.I.)
Hirondelle, Welcoming and integration services for immigrants
Maison d’Haïti
PROMIS (Promotion, Intégration, Société nouvelle)
Service d’aide et de liaison pour immigrants – La Maisonnée
Service d’interprète d’aide et de référence aux immigrants (SIARI)

The agencies evaluate the needs in the field and monitor the situation daily to see what help they can provide. In collaboration with them, we remain on the lookout and together we will be ready to intervene when the time comes. During my next tour of agencies, I have planned to visit some of these agencies, and I will be able to see the excellent work they do to support our community. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of other agencies in our network that indirectly support refugees and newcomers.