By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
A Cowansville woman who was facing deportation to Nigeria earlier this month has been granted a last-minute reprieve, according to a community organization that had been assisting her with her case.
Philomena Williams arrived in Canada in 2018 via the now-closed irregular border crossing at Roxham Road and applied for asylum, arguing that her religious beliefs put her safety at risk in her home country. According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, under most circumstances, foreign nationals in Canada can apply for refugee status if they have “a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, political opinion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group” or “would be subjected personally to a danger of torture, a risk to their life, or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if they were returned to their home country.” The Roxham Road crossing has been barricaded since March 2021, but at the time, many of the several thousand people who crossed the U.S.-Canada border via that route were allowed to apply for asylum.
Applying for asylum is a complex process involving several rounds of hearings where asylum seekers must prove that their safety is in danger if they return to their home countries. Canada ultimately accepts about 68 per cent of asylum applications, including 64 per cent from Nigeria. In Williams’ case, her appeals fell on deaf ears – “her [initial] application, her appeal and even her pre-removal risk assessment [a last-ditch application for a stay of deportation aimed at preventing deportation to an unsafe environment] were refused” – according to Micaela Robitaille, a support worker at the Centre Femmes des Cantons who helped Williams with her case. Robitaille argued that Williams was “afraid because, in addition to the critical political, economic and social situation in Nigeria, she is part of a religious minority that is persecuted in this country. It was the death of her daughter, murdered because of her religious affiliation, which pushed her to try to find refuge in Canada in 2018.” During her five years in Cowansville, Williams got a job and put down roots in the community and at the Centre Femmes des Cantons.
The women’s centre held a vigil earlier this month and made a last-minute appeal to elected officials, including Brome-Missisquoi MNA Pascale Saint-Onge, Shefford MNA Andréanne Larouche and Immigration Minister Marc Miller, to ask that Miller use his discretionary power to suspend the deportation. Cowansville mayor Sylvie Beauregard also wrote a public letter of support. Miller ultimately took action, giving Williams a one-year reprieve to apply for permanent residence based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
“Everything happened at the last minute – I think she got a phone call [from the minister’s office] at about 8 p.m. on the day before she was supposed to leave for the airport,” Robitaille said. “The support [from the community] allowed the right people to realize how well integrated and appreciated she was. The day she was supposed to leave, instead of taking the plane, she came here, and there was so much joy, so much relief.”
The BCN tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with Williams via the Centre des Femmes. Robitaille said she is “working and moving on with her life,” and beginning the long process of applying for permanent residence. “She’s very touched by all the support,” Robitaille said.
Robitaille said the last few weeks have shown a lot about the power of community mobilization. “A lot of the time, people sign petitions and mobilize and go to protests and think it won’t change anything, but this time it did,” she said. “It’s a great story that ends well.”