Bureau de la communauté haïtienne de Montréal

Defending Rights

In November 1972, Paul Déjean, Karl Lévêque and Joseph Augustin founded the Bureau de la communauté chrétienne des Haïtiens de Montréal (BCCHM). Originally, the BCCHM and Maison d'Haïti, also created in 1972, were the main organizations dedicated to welcoming immigrants of Haitian origin to Montreal. In addition to helping new immigrant communities, the BCCHM is also dedicated to defending their rights, with a legacy of political demands and social struggles shaping the social and cultural landscape of the city and province.

At the turn of the 1970s, Haitian immigration to Quebec increased considerably. In November 1972, following a reform of Canada's immigration law, approximately 1,500 people of Haitian origin, the majority of them based in Montreal, were refused asylum and threatened with deportation. (See Canadian Refugee Policy.) Less than ten days after the reform was announced, the BCCHM was founded in response to the urgent need to act in the face of this crisis affecting the Haitian community. In his 1978 book Les Haïtiens au Québec, Paul Déjean denounced the treatment of the Haitian community by Canadian immigration authorities.

With the help of other community and political organizations, the BCCHM helped form the Anti-Deportation Committee, also known as Operation 1500, in September 1974. Thanks to their efforts and community pressure, the majority of individuals threatened with deportation were allowed to remain in the country. The BCCHM celebrated several victories, notably in 1978 with the Cullen-Couture agreement between the provincial and federal governments, which resolved the situation of non-status migrants. Later, in 1980, the Quebec government granted a general amnesty to non-status immigrants of Haitian origin living on its territory.

In the 1970s, the BCCHM came to the defense of Haitian drivers facing racism and discrimination in the taxi industry. The organization intervened with employers at fault, denounced the situation in the media and took recourse to the Quebec Human Rights Commission. In March 1985, with the support of the BCCHM and others, a supervisory committee to combat racism in the taxi industry was set up through the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce..

In the early 1980s, the ravages of AIDS began to be felt, and the Haitian population was particularly hard hit. In Quebec, recent Haitian emigrants were falsely accused of carrying the virus, and the Canadian Red Cross strongly advised them against donating blood. Along with other organizations, the BCCHM formed a committee to denounce these defamatory remarks and discriminatory practices, which had the effect of stigmatizing the entire Haitian community. (See also Prejudice and Discrimination in Canada.)

Driving Social Change

In 1972, BCCHM set up a Francization service. (See French Language in Canada.) The following year, the program became the Centre N A Rive ("We'll get there" in Creole) literacy and social integration center.

In the 1970s, the lack of early childhood services was felt among Haitian families. In 1975, the BCCHM was called in to alleviate the problem. The Ami-Soleil daycare center, now the CPE Ami-Soleil, was inaugurated in 1977 in premises beside those of the BCCHM. These efforts contributed to the emergence of the Centres de la petite enfance (CPE) in Quebec.

In 1980, the BCCHM participated in the creation of a French-language community radio station in the east end of Montreal, which later became CIBL-FM. BCCHM co-founders Paul Déjean and Karl Lévêque both hosted programs there.

Present and Future

In 2020, the BCHM launched the Option Protection (OP) program in collaboration with the Direction de la protection de la jeunesse (DPJ). The goal of this initiative was to reduce the over-representation of children from black communities in the DPJ by working with families through cultural mediation.

In 2022, the BCHM celebrated its 50th anniversary. To mark the celebrations, the organization unveiled the "Village du BCHM : LAKOU PATAJ" project. We plan to acquire the building where the organization is located. The premises will also be enlarged and refurbished to better serve the population. The plans include apartments for children under the care of the DPJ. The modernization project was inspired by Haitian architecture and the lakou concept, which groups several houses around a central courtyard and common space.

Awards and distinctions

On March 28, 1985, the Ministère des Communautés culturelles et de l'Immigration du Québec awarded the Prix des Communautés culturelles to Paul Déjean for his remarkable achievements with the Haitian community, notably through the BCCHM.