CSAI: 75 Years of Supporting Refugees and Immigrants Towards Full Citizenship
This chapter explores the history of the Centre Social d’Aide aux Immigrants (CSAI) from the 1970s to the 2000s. If you haven’t yet, check out Chapter 1, which covers CSAI’s founding in 1947 and its early efforts through the 1960s to support refugees and immigrants.
A Growing Team for a Changing World
From the 1970s to 2000s, global conflicts and Canada’s growing openness to asylum seekers brought diverse waves of immigration to Quebec. CSAI’s team expanded to include staff who spoke the languages and understood the cultures of new arrivals. Initially, most immigrants were refugees, but by the 1970s, many were also voluntary immigrants.
Key Immigration Waves
1970: 287 Tibetans arrived, fleeing Chinese persecution.
1972: 5,600 Ugandan Indians escaped Idi Amin’s regime, with 500 settling in Montreal.
1974: 7,000 Chileans fled after a coup, many finding refuge in Montreal with CSAI’s help.
1975: Southeast Asian boat people began arriving, with 60,000 Vietnamese accepted by 1980.
1980: CSAI supported Haitians escaping Duvalier’s dictatorship, helping 15,000 gain residency.
Other groups supported by CSAI during this period included immigrants from Lebanon, Poland, Portugal, El Salvador, Sri Lanka, and more.
Adapting Services to Evolving Needs
Under the leadership of Sister Thérèse Benguerel and later Sister Monique Proulx, CSAI provided 24/7 support. Their services ranged from welcoming refugee families at airports to helping newcomers settle, access public services, and learn French. By 1987, CSAI had expanded its services to address complex challenges like vocational guidance, family issues, and legal status.
Recognitions and Milestones:
In 1984, CSAI was awarded the 1st Prix des Communautés Culturelles for its dedication to refugee rights and integration. By 1995, two-thirds of CSAI’s staff were immigrants themselves, offering services in 16 languages.
Advocacy and Community Leadership:
CSAI has always gone beyond individual support, advocating for systemic change. The organization played a key role in establishing several immigrant support groups, such as:
1972: Bureau de la communauté chétienne haïtienne de Montréal (BCCHM).
1979: Service d’Interprète d’Aide et de Référence aux Immigrants (SIARI).
1986: Centre d’Accueil et de Référence Sociale et Économique pour Immigrants (CARI).
CSAI also helped form the Association pour la Défense des Droits des Personnel Domestique (ADDPD) in 1975, which later became Association des Aides Familiales du Québec (AAFQ), advocating for domestic workers’ rights and contributing to international labor standards.
Collaborative Efforts for Refugee Rights:
In 1979, CSAI joined the Table de concertation des organismes de Montréal au service des réfugiés (TCMR), which evolved into the Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes (TCRI). This coalition played a pivotal role in ensuring that refugees had access to essential services, influencing government policies to better support immigrants.
CSAI’s journey from the 1970s to 2000s reflects its unwavering dedication to adapting services, supporting integration, and advocating for the rights of immigrants and refugees. Stay connected to learn more about CSAI’s continued efforts to build a more inclusive society.
Lorette Langlais was the last sister to lead the CSAI. She held this responsibility from 1992 to 2005.
Work cited
FINES, Daniel, Le Centre social d’aide aux immigrants, Québec Monde, Gouv. du Québec, Ministère de l’immigration, No 36, février 1979
LANGLAIS, Lorette, Le Centre social d’aide aux immigrants, Impressions, Cégep du Vieux Montréal, décembre 1995, No 22.
Le Centre social d’aide aux immigrants, 35 ans d’immigration au Québec, Univers, No 4, 1982
Le Centre social d’aide aux immigrants, Bulletin réfugiés d’Indochine, vol. 1 No 4, août 1979
VAN DUN, Frans, Le Centre social d’aide aux immigrants (413-417), Tout quitter pour la liberté. Cinq parcours d’immigrants.
Sylvie Guyon, Stephan Reichhold, Rivka Augenfeld. De la table de concertation des organismes de Montréal au service des réfugiés (TCRM) à la table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes (TCRI), 35 ans de lutte pour le droit de toutes et de tous à une citoyenneté pleine et entière. Accessible sur le site Internet de la TCRI.
CSAI, Une décennie d’intervention de logement auprès des immigrants : 1973-1983. 55 pages.
