About

Developed by the CERDACentre d’expertise sur le bien-être et l’état de santé physique des réfugiés et des demandeurs d’asile , Carnets de route is an innovative and ambitious project. It is the first tool that provides simple and reliable content, contains all the essential information needed for refugees and refugee claimants to settle, and is directly aimed at them and the people helping them through the process of settling in Québec. 

The complete bibliography of sources cited in Carnets de route can be found at https://carnetsderoute.info/bibliography/

COORDINATION, RESEARCH and WRITING

Carnets de route project team at the CERDACentre d’expertise sur le bien-être et l’état de santé physique des réfugiés et des demandeurs d’asile :

• Emmanuelle Bolduc, Project Manager 
• Pénélope Langlais-Oligny, Research and Knowledge Mobilization Advisor 
• Déborah Grausem, Research and Knowledge Mobilization Advisor 
• Mélanie M. Gagnon, Director – Knowledge Transfer 

LINGUISTIC REVISION IN FRENCH: Si Poirier

ENGLISH TRANSLATION: Julia Jones and Amy Butcher

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Julie Brière

WEB DESIGN: Atypic and Collectif Web

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for personal, non-commercial use, provided the source is cited. Please cite this document as follows:

Bolduc, E., Langlais-Oligny P., Grausem, D. and Gagnon, M.M. (2024). Carnets de route. Centre d’expertise sur le bien-être et l’état de santé physique des réfugiés et des demandeurs d’asile. CIUSSSCentre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal. https://carnetsderoute.info/

We would like to thank the members of the advisory committees who helped with the different stages of this project (in alphabetical order):

ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF REFUGEES AND REFUGEE CLAIMANTS

Ana B., M. C., Akim Kisose, Mariam Manai, Viviane Nakoyame Tekougo and B.C. Sagna.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF PROFESSIONALS AND RESEARCHERS

Naïma Bentayeb (SHERPA University Institute), Janet Cleveland (SHERPA University Institute), Audrey Dugas (Montréal refugee health team); Javi Fuentes Bernal (Université de Montréal), Carol-Anne Guay (Centre multiethnique de Québec), Maryam Kabalan (Centre social d’aide aux immigrants), Jubilee Larraguibel (Maison de la famille des Maskoutains), Edward Ou Jin Lee (Université de Montréal); Gabrielle Lefrançois (PRAIDAProgramme régional d’accueil et d’intégration des demandeurs d’asile (English: Regional Program for the Settlement and Integration of Refugee Claimants) ), Julien Munganga (Accueil et Intégration Bas-Saint-Laurent), Amélie Pathammavong (Montréal refugee health team), Andy Pelletier-Laliberté (Québec refugee health team), Maryse Poisson (Welcome Collective), Pauline Ronsmans (Service d’aide aux Néo-Canadiens) and Paula Torres Caceres (Centre multiethnique de Québec).

We would like to sincerely thank the following individuals for their advice and revisions: Alexis Jobin-Théberge, Partnership Advisor at the PRAIDAProgramme régional d’accueil et d’intégration des demandeurs d’asile (English: Regional Program for the Settlement and Integration of Refugee Claimants) ; Janet Cleveland, Researcher, Rights and Health of Refugee Claimants, Refugees and Migrants Without Legal Status, SHERPA University Institute; the team of lawyers at the Clinique pour la justice migrante; Paula Torres-Caceres, Project Manager at the Centre multiethnique de Québec; Sylvain Thibault, Immigration Project Manager at CRÉDIL; Maryse Poisson, Director of Social Initiatives, and Mariangel Betancourt-Diaz, Community Counsellor at Welcome Collective; and Isabelle Haché from the Barreau de Montréal. The Clinique pour la justice migrante contributed to the project with financial support from the Chambre des notaires du Québec.

We would like to thank the staff from the following ministries who revised the content of certain sections at various stages: the MIFIMinistère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (du Québec) , MSSSMinistère de la Santé et des Services sociaux , RAMQRégie de l’assurance maladie du Québec , MEQMinistère de l’Éducation du Québec , MESMinistère de l’Enseignement supérieur , MFAMinistère de la Famille and MESSMinistère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale .

We would also like to thank Si Poirier, Javi Fuentes Bernal and Mariam Manai for their suggestions about inclusivity in French.

We would like to highlight the important contribution of Caroline Clavel, Salima Massoui and Edwige Lafortune, who developed the first phase of the Carnets de route project at the CERDACentre d’expertise sur le bien-être et l’état de santé physique des réfugiés et des demandeurs d’asile . They came up with the idea for the project and collected an enormous wealth of data, which has greatly enriched the final product.

Special thanks to our colleague Balia Fainstein for her diligent editing in the second phase of the project and to Si Poirier for their invaluable support with data entry.

Finally, we would like to thank the MSSSMinistère de la Santé et des Services sociaux and the MIFIMinistère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (du Québec) for their collaboration and financial support in carrying out this project. 

To be accessible and inclusive, Carnets de route has been translated from the French using inclusive language. Examples of this approach include using plural forms instead of referring to people with specific genders.

The singular “they” is also used to avoid referring to any specific gender and is used as a gender-neutral term. We recognize that many other personal gender pronouns exist in English. For accessibility and ease of reading, we have kept this usage to they/them. We also recognize that the term “pregnant women” does not represent the reality of all pregnant people. For example, a trans man or a non-binary person with a uterus can be pregnant. For accessibility and ease of reading, we have therefore used the term “pregnant people.”

This inclusive approach aims to represent all people who may use the tool, including people who identify as women, trans or gender non-conforming. Note, however, that our content may refer to “women” and “men” for ease of reading. We recognize that this usage may not represent everyone’s realities. 

We have used the acronym 2SLGBTQIATwo-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual and additional sexual orientations and gender identities + (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual and additional sexual orientations and gender identities) to represent the wide range of ways in which people self-identify. Although the specific English term “sexual orientation and gender identity or expression” refers to these aspects, we have used the term “sexual identity” for ease of reading. We recognize that these specific terms may not represent everyone’s realities. 

We made these choices in 2023 and recognize that the language is constantly evolving. 

By including information specifically about 2SLGBTQIATwo-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual and additional sexual orientations and gender identities + people and by using inclusive language in Carnets de route, we wish to recognize the experiences of people claiming refugee protection due to persecution based on their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

(Collective for Gender+, 2022; Conseil canadien pour les réfugiés, 2013; First Nations Health Authority, s. d.; Gouvernement du Canada, 2022; Indigenous Directions, s. d.; Native Governance Center, 2019; Native Land Digital, 2024; RIQEDI, 2021)

Before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, the territory we now call Canada was entirely occupied by Indigenous peoples, i.e., the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Québec is therefore on unceded Indigenous territory where different Indigenous peoples have lived side by side. Eleven different Indigenous nations live in what is now known as Québec and are named in the legend of the map above. Today, a diverse Indigenous population coexists with other peoples in Québec, including refugees and refugee claimants. Some arrived long ago, while others have come more recently. 

In addition to depriving them of their traditional territories, colonization has had and continues to have devastating effects on Indigenous peoples. Many laws and systems have deprived them of their cultures and fundamental rights. For example, between 1831 and 1996, 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools. While the residential school system no longer exists, its burdensome legacy and the historical oppression of Indigenous territories, cultures and peoples remain. These people continue to experience injustice in Québec society, such as discrimination.  

Indigenous peoples are now working hard to recover and maintain their languages, cultures, skills, spiritual beliefs and ways of life. They are also working with government bodies and Québec society to gain recognition of their autonomy and to resolve their constitutional and territorial claims regarding access to education, health, employment, housing and other basic resources.

The CERDACentre d’expertise sur le bien-être et l’état de santé physique des réfugiés et des demandeurs d’asile team recognizes that Indigenous peoples were the first people to inhabit the territory of so-called Canada. We want to be part of the collective journey toward truth, healing and reconciliation.

Indigenous peoples and refugees and refugee claimants show a similar resilience through their different yet sometimes similar struggles. For example, some refugees and refugee claimants are themselves Indigenous and may be fleeing their countries of origin due to the impacts of colonization. The presence of Indigenous peoples enriches us all and greatly contributes to the well-being of refugees and refugee claimants. Our hope is that a transformative connection can be forged between Indigenous people and refugees and refugee claimants.