Responsible and engaged city

Based on its values of openness, justice, fairness and universal brotherhood, with this declaration, Montréal joins the international movement of cities that have declared themselves sanctuary cities, namely in the United States and Canada. This decision is also part of the Montréal Declaration Against Racial Discrimination (in French) (1989), the  Montréal Declaration for Cultural Diversity and Inclusiveness  (in French) (2004), the Montréal Charter of Rights and Responsibilities (2005) and the Montréal Declaration on Living Together  (2015). An extract of the Declaration text is available at the following link.

The Newcomer's integration Office (BINAM) has been assigned to analyze the management of the process, to determine who should access the services, according to their level of risk,  and document the pathways of asylum seekers.

In December 2018, the City of Montreal launched its first action plan for newcomer’s integration, Montréal, ville inclusive 2018-2021 (in French only). This plan is the result of a process carried out in collaboration with government, institutional and community partners as a follow-up of the Declaration.

The actions proposed in the chapter “Responsible and engaged city” aim to respond to the needs of Montrealers without legal status (or in precarious non-citizenship status), in order to support and facilitate access to services, as well as protecting against abuses, injustice or crime.

In June 2019, the City of Montréal launched its Politique d'accès aux services municipaux sans peur (Policy of Acces to Municipal Services Without Fear). Based on the principle of inclusion, this policy is an step towards within the implementation of the axis "Responsible and engaged city".