Photo credit: Citynews Montreal
Tenants and community groups in Montreal’s Parc-Extension borough gathered for a vigil Tuesday evening to honour and remember the life of Manjeet Singh, a 42-year-old unhoused migrant, who died earlier this year, after he was evicted from his home.
“He was an asylum seeker. He was alone here. His family is still back in India. He has a wife there, parents, siblings, and he has two minor children, a boy and a girl,” said Sohnia Karamad Ali, a community organizer with Comité d’Action de Parc-Extension, as she remembered what Singh meant to others and how many will miss him.
“After his funeral, we all decided together since his family is not here. So, on behalf of them, we decided we will organize a vigil so that this tragic death should not go unnoticed,” added Karamad Ali.
The vigil was organized in front of the Acces Montreal Office just ahead of the Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension borough council meeting, where organizers said they hoped borough and city officials were listening to their calls asking for more support and the addition of concrete measures for migrant tenants.
According to those who knew him, Singh was found unresponsive in the street, dying in hospital shortly after, on January 16, and they say Singh’s case is far from an isolated one.
“There were recently three deaths in Park Extension, and the reality here in Park is not that unique. We know that this housing crisis is established. It’s a real fact across Canada, across Quebec, even in the region, not just in Montreal,” said Karamad Ali.
Amy Darwish, a coordinator with Comitee d’action de Parc-Extension said, “Many migrant tenants in Park X are facing increasingly tenuous situations; the rents have really spiralled out of control in recent years. More and more people, even if they manage to find a place, end up losing it because of evictions.”
And now with Canada’s new immigration and asylum measures from Bill C-12, which was passed into law late last month, organizers are saying these new eligibility requirements could cause many migrant tenants to find themselves undocumented and in increasingly precarious situations.
“It’s going to be devastating for many tenants. We’re expecting that more tenants will find themselves, you know, becoming undocumented, people won’t be able to renew their work permits, people won’t be able to access welfare income support, people won’t be able to find work,” said Darwish.
Source: City News
