Members of Edmonton's Haitian community are calling on the federal government to relax immigration laws so they can help family members, devastated by the earthquake in Haiti, come to Canada.
With the help of translators local Haitians spoke directly to three Edmonton MPs. Since many local Haitians don't have Canadian citizenship, they are asking the federal government to give them permanent residence status so they can sponsor relatives who've lost everything in the Haiti earthquake.
"It would be a great thing if the government could issue them permanent residence, so they'll be able to sponsor their family members in need," said Amson Saintime, the president of the Haitian Association of Edmonton.
MPs say they are happy to take the message to Ottawa, but also say they can't make any promises.
"There's some things I'm going to be taking to Ottawa, but clearly as I said in the meeting I cannot make promises, but I can repeat what I'm understanding and take it to Ottawa," said Peter Goldring the MP for Edmonton East.
