08/15 Letter to Minister Diab on behalf of Jonas
Subject: Urgent intervention in the case of Mr Jonas Kiese Umba and his family
To: IRCC.Minister-Ministre.IRCC@cic.gc.ca, Ziad.Aboultaif@parl.gc.ca, Sima.Acan@parl.gc.ca, Scott.Aitchison@parl.gc.ca, Fares.AlSoud@parl.gc.ca, Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca, Shafqat.Ali@parl.gc.ca, Dean.Allison@parl.gc.ca, Rebecca.Alty@parl.gc.ca, Anita.Anand@parl.gc.ca, Gary.Anandasangaree@parl.gc.ca, Scott.Anderson@parl.gc.ca, Carol.Anstey@parl.gc.ca, Mel.Arnold@parl.gc.ca, Chak.Au@parl.gc.ca, Tatiana.Auguste@parl.gc.ca, Roman.Baber@parl.gc.ca, Burton.Bailey@parl.gc.ca, Parm.Bains@parl.gc.ca, Yvan.Baker@parl.gc.ca, Tony.Baldinelli@parl.gc.ca, Karim.Bardeesy@parl.gc.ca, John.Barlow@parl.gc.ca, Michael.Barrett@parl.gc.ca, Xavier.Barsalou-Duval@parl.gc.ca, Jaime.Battiste@parl.gc.ca, Mario.Beaulieu@parl.gc.ca, Terry.Beech@parl.gc.ca, Buckley.Belanger@parl.gc.ca, Jim.Belanger@parl.gc.ca, Rachel.Bendayan@parl.gc.ca, Luc.Berthold@parl.gc.ca, David.Bexte@parl.gc.ca, James.Bezan@parl.gc.ca, Chris.Bittle@parl.gc.ca, Bill.Blair@parl.gc.ca, Yves-Francois.Blanchet@parl.gc.ca, Maxime.Blanchette-Joncas@parl.gc.ca, Kelly.Block@parl.gc.ca, Kody.Blois@parl.gc.ca, Patrick.Bonin@parl.gc.ca, Steven.Bonk@parl.gc.ca, Kathy.Borrelli@parl.gc.ca, Alexandre.Boulerice@parl.gc.ca, Richard.Bragdon@parl.gc.ca, John.Brassard@parl.gc.ca, Elisabeth.Briere@parl.gc.ca, Larry.Brock@parl.gc.ca, Alexis.Brunelle-Duceppe@parl.gc.ca, Blaine.Calkins@parl.gc.ca, Frank.Caputo@parl.gc.ca, Mark.Carney@parl.gc.ca, Ben.Carr@parl.gc.ca, Sean.Casey@parl.gc.ca, Bardish.Chagger@parl.gc.ca, Adam.Chambers@parl.gc.ca, Francois-Philippe.Champagne@parl.gc.ca, Martin.Champoux@parl.gc.ca, Wade.Chang@parl.gc.ca, Rebecca.Chartrand@parl.gc.ca, Sophie.Chatel@parl.gc.ca, Shaun.Chen@parl.gc.ca, Madeleine.Chenette@parl.gc.ca, Maggie.Chi@parl.gc.ca, Michael.Chong@parl.gc.ca, Leslie.Church@parl.gc.ca, Braedon.Clark@parl.gc.ca, Sandra.Cobena@parl.gc.ca, Connie.Cody@parl.gc.ca, Paul.Connors@parl.gc.ca, Michael.Cooper@parl.gc.ca, Serge.Cormier@parl.gc.ca, Michael.Coteau@parl.gc.ca, Chris.dEntremont@parl.gc.ca, Julie.Dabrusin@parl.gc.ca, Marc.Dalton@parl.gc.ca, Raquel.Dancho@parl.gc.ca, Marianne.Dandurand@parl.gc.ca, John-Paul.Danko@parl.gc.ca, Scot.Davidson@parl.gc.ca, Don.Davies@parl.gc.ca, Fred.Davies@parl.gc.ca, Mike.Dawson@parl.gc.ca, Claude.DeBellefeuille@parl.gc.ca, Gerard.Deltell@parl.gc.ca, Kelly.DeRidder@parl.gc.ca, Guillaume.Deschenes-Theriault@parl.gc.ca, Alexis.Deschenes@parl.gc.ca, Caroline.Desrochers@parl.gc.ca, Sukh.Dhaliwal@parl.gc.ca, Anju.Dhillon@parl.gc.ca, LenaMetlege.Diab@parl.gc.ca, Kerry.Diotte@parl.gc.ca, Todd.Doherty@parl.gc.ca, Terry.Dowdall@parl.gc.ca, Jean-Yves.Duclos@parl.gc.ca, Terry.Duguid@parl.gc.ca, Eric.Duncan@parl.gc.ca, Julie.Dzerowicz@parl.gc.ca, Philip.Earle@parl.gc.ca, Ali.Ehsassi@parl.gc.ca, Faycal.El-Khoury@parl.gc.ca, Dave.Epp@parl.gc.ca, Nathaniel.Erskine-Smith@parl.gc.ca, Doug.Eyolfson@parl.gc.ca, Rosemarie.Falk@parl.gc.ca, Ted.Falk@parl.gc.ca, Jessica.Fancy@parl.gc.ca, Bruce.Fanjoy@parl.gc.ca, Greg.Fergus@parl.gc.ca, Darren.Fisher@parl.gc.ca, Peter.Fonseca@parl.gc.ca, Mona.Fortier@parl.gc.ca, RhealEloi.Fortin@parl.gc.ca, Peter.Fragiskatos@parl.gc.ca, Sean.Fraser@parl.gc.ca, Chrystia.Freeland@parl.gc.ca, Hedy.Fry@parl.gc.ca, Stephen.Fuhr@parl.gc.ca, Iqwinder.Gaheer@parl.gc.ca, Anna.Gainey@parl.gc.ca, Cheryl.Gallant@parl.gc.ca, Jean-Denis.Garon@parl.gc.ca, Vince.Gasparro@parl.gc.ca, Marie-Helene.Gaudreau@parl.gc.ca, Leah.Gazan@parl.gc.ca, Bernard.Genereux@parl.gc.ca, Garnett.Genuis@parl.gc.ca, Mark.Gerretsen@parl.gc.ca, Amanpreet.Gill@parl.gc.ca, Amarjeet.Gill@parl.gc.ca, Dalwinder.Gill@parl.gc.ca, Harb.Gill@parl.gc.ca, Marilene.Gill@parl.gc.ca, Sukhman.Gill@parl.gc.ca, Marilyn.Gladu@parl.gc.ca, Joel.Godin@parl.gc.ca, Laila.Goodridge@parl.gc.ca, Karina.Gould@parl.gc.ca, Jacques.Gourde@parl.gc.ca, Wade.Grant@parl.gc.ca, Will.Greaves@parl.gc.ca, Jason.Groleau@parl.gc.ca, Claude.Guay@parl.gc.ca, Michael.Guglielmin@parl.gc.ca, Steven.Guilbeault@parl.gc.ca, Mandy.Gull-Masty@parl.gc.ca, Aaron.Gunn@parl.gc.ca, Patty.Hajdu@parl.gc.ca, Jasraj.Hallan@parl.gc.ca, Brendan.Hanley@parl.gc.ca, Gabriel.Hardy@parl.gc.ca, Emma.Harrison@parl.gc.ca, Lisa.Hepfner@parl.gc.ca, Alana.Hirtle@parl.gc.ca, Vincent.Ho@parl.gc.ca, Randy.Hoback@parl.gc.ca, Tim.Hodgson@parl.gc.ca, Corey.Hogan@parl.gc.ca, Kurt.Holman@parl.gc.ca, Anthony.Housefather@parl.gc.ca, Ahmed.Hussen@parl.gc.ca, Angelo.Iacono@parl.gc.ca, Lori.Idlout@parl.gc.ca, Grant.Jackson@parl.gc.ca, Helena.Jaczek@parl.gc.ca, Tamara.Jansen@parl.gc.ca, Matt.Jeneroux@parl.gc.ca, Jamil.Jivani@parl.gc.ca, Gord.Johns@parl.gc.ca, Melanie.Joly@parl.gc.ca, Natilien.Joseph@parl.gc.ca, Arielle.Kayabaga@parl.gc.ca, Mike.Kelloway@parl.gc.ca, Pat.Kelly@parl.gc.ca, Iqra.Khalid@parl.gc.ca, Arpan.Khanna@parl.gc.ca, Jeff.Kibble@parl.gc.ca, Rhonda.Kirkland@parl.gc.ca, Ernie.Klassen@parl.gc.ca, Tom.Kmiec@parl.gc.ca, Helena.Konanz@parl.gc.ca, Annie.Koutrakis@parl.gc.ca, Michael.Kram@parl.gc.ca, Shelby.Kramp-Neuman@parl.gc.ca, Tamara.Kronis@parl.gc.ca, Ned.Kuruc@parl.gc.ca, Stephanie.Kusie@parl.gc.ca, Jenny.Kwan@parl.gc.ca, Mike.Lake@parl.gc.ca, Marie-France.Lalonde@parl.gc.ca, Emmanuella.Lambropoulos@parl.gc.ca, Kevin.Lamoureux@parl.gc.ca, Melissa.Lantsman@parl.gc.ca, Linda.Lapointe@parl.gc.ca, Viviane.Lapointe@parl.gc.ca, Andreanne.Larouche@parl.gc.ca, Patricia.Lattanzio@parl.gc.ca, Stephane.Lauzon@parl.gc.ca, Ginette.Lavack@parl.gc.ca, Steeve.Lavoie@parl.gc.ca, Philip.Lawrence@parl.gc.ca, Andrew.Lawton@parl.gc.ca, Dominic.LeBlanc@parl.gc.ca, Eric.Lefebvre@parl.gc.ca, Carlos.Leitao@parl.gc.ca, Sebastien.Lemire@parl.gc.ca, Branden.Leslie@parl.gc.ca, Chris.Lewis@parl.gc.ca, Leslyn.Lewis@parl.gc.ca, Joel.Lightbound@parl.gc.ca, Dane.Lloyd@parl.gc.ca, Ben.Lobb@parl.gc.ca, Wayne.Long@parl.gc.ca, Tim.Louis@parl.gc.ca, Michael.Ma@parl.gc.ca, Heath.MacDonald@parl.gc.ca, Kent.MacDonald@parl.gc.ca, Steven.MacKinnon@parl.gc.ca, JagsharanSingh.Mahal@parl.gc.ca, Shuvaloy.Majumdar@parl.gc.ca, Chris.Malette@parl.gc.ca, Gaetan.Malette@parl.gc.ca, James.Maloney@parl.gc.ca, Jacob.Mantle@parl.gc.ca, Richard.Martel@parl.gc.ca, Elizabeth.May@parl.gc.ca, Dan.Mazier@parl.gc.ca, Kelly.McCauley@parl.gc.ca, David.McGuinty@parl.gc.ca, Jennifer.McKelvie@parl.gc.ca, David.McKenzie@parl.gc.ca, Ron.McKinnon@parl.gc.ca, Jill.McKnight@parl.gc.ca, Greg.McLean@parl.gc.ca, Stephanie.McLean@parl.gc.ca, Heather.McPherson@parl.gc.ca, Eric.Melillo@parl.gc.ca, Marie-Gabrielle.Menard@parl.gc.ca, Alexandra.Mendes@parl.gc.ca, Costas.Menegakis@parl.gc.ca, Marjorie.Michel@parl.gc.ca, Shannon.Miedema@parl.gc.ca, Marc.Miller@parl.gc.ca, Giovanna.Mingarelli@parl.gc.ca, Rob.Moore@parl.gc.ca, Billy.Morin@parl.gc.ca, Rob.Morrison@parl.gc.ca, Robert.Morrissey@parl.gc.ca, Glen.Motz@parl.gc.ca, Dan.Muys@parl.gc.ca, David.Myles@parl.gc.ca, Yasir.Naqvi@parl.gc.ca, John.Nater@parl.gc.ca, Juanita.Nathan@parl.gc.ca, Chi.Nguyen@parl.gc.ca, Taleeb.Noormohamed@parl.gc.ca, Christine.Normandin@parl.gc.ca, Bienvenu-Olivier.Ntumba@parl.gc.ca, Dominique.ORourke@parl.gc.ca, Robert.Oliphant@parl.gc.ca, Eleanor.Olszewski@parl.gc.ca, Tom.Osborne@parl.gc.ca, Jeremy.Patzer@parl.gc.ca, Pierre.Paul-Hus@parl.gc.ca, Yves.Perron@parl.gc.ca, Ginette.PetitpasTaylor@parl.gc.ca, Louis.Plamondon@parl.gc.ca, Marcus.Powlowski@parl.gc.ca, Nathalie.Provost@parl.gc.ca, Jacques.Ramsay@parl.gc.ca, Aslam.Rana@parl.gc.ca, Brad.Redekopp@parl.gc.ca, Scott.Reid@parl.gc.ca, Michelle.RempelGarner@parl.gc.ca, Colin.Reynolds@parl.gc.ca, Blake.Richards@parl.gc.ca, Anna.Roberts@parl.gc.ca, Gregor.Robertson@parl.gc.ca, Pauline.Rochefort@parl.gc.ca, Sherry.Romanado@parl.gc.ca, Lianne.Rood@parl.gc.ca, Ellis.Ross@parl.gc.ca, Jonathan.Rowe@parl.gc.ca, Zoe.Royer@parl.gc.ca, Alex.Ruff@parl.gc.ca, Ruby.Sahota@parl.gc.ca, Gurbux.Saini@parl.gc.ca, Randeep.Sarai@parl.gc.ca, Abdelhaq.Sari@parl.gc.ca, Simon-Pierre.Savard-Tremblay@parl.gc.ca, Jake.Sawatzky@parl.gc.ca, Francis.Scarpaleggia@parl.gc.ca, Andrew.Scheer@parl.gc.ca, Peter.Schiefke@parl.gc.ca, Jamie.Schmale@parl.gc.ca, Kyle.Seeback@parl.gc.ca, Judy.Sgro@parl.gc.ca, Terry.Sheehan@parl.gc.ca, Doug.Shipley@parl.gc.ca, Maninder.Sidhu@parl.gc.ca, Sonia.Sidhu@parl.gc.ca, Mario.Simard@parl.gc.ca, Clifford.Small@parl.gc.ca, Amandeep.Sodhi@parl.gc.ca, Evan.Solomon@parl.gc.ca, Charles.Sousa@parl.gc.ca, Eric.St-Pierre@parl.gc.ca, Gabriel.Ste-Marie@parl.gc.ca, Warren.Steinley@parl.gc.ca, William.Stevenson@parl.gc.ca, Mark.Strahl@parl.gc.ca, Matt.Strauss@parl.gc.ca, Shannon.Stubbs@parl.gc.ca, Jenna.Sudds@parl.gc.ca, Kristina.TesserDerksen@parl.gc.ca, Luc.Theriault@parl.gc.ca, Rachael.Thomas@parl.gc.ca, Joanne.Thompson@parl.gc.ca, Corey.Tochor@parl.gc.ca, Fraser.Tolmie@parl.gc.ca, Ryan.Turnbull@parl.gc.ca, Tim.Uppal@parl.gc.ca, Rechie.Valdez@parl.gc.ca, Adam.vanKoeverden@parl.gc.ca, Tako.VanPopta@parl.gc.ca, Anita.Vandenbeld@parl.gc.ca, Dominique.Vien@parl.gc.ca, Arnold.Viersen@parl.gc.ca, Louis.Villeneuve@parl.gc.ca, Brad.Vis@parl.gc.ca, Cathay.Wagantall@parl.gc.ca, Chris.Warkentin@parl.gc.ca, Tim.Watchorn@parl.gc.ca, Kevin.Waugh@parl.gc.ca, Patrick.Weiler@parl.gc.ca, Jonathan.Wilkinson@parl.gc.ca, John.Williamson@parl.gc.ca, Jean.Yip@parl.gc.ca, Salma.Zahid@parl.gc.ca, John.Zerucelli@parl.gc.ca, Bob.Zimmer@parl.gc.ca, Sameer.Zuberi@parl.gc.ca
cc: info@quebecreunifie.ca
Madam Minister,
I am writing to you with deep concern regarding the case of Mr. Jonas Kiese Umba, a 27-year-old young father who has been living in Quebec since 2019, married to Ms. Fannie Séguin, a Quebec citizen, and father to little Kimia, born last May. His case was recently reported by Le Soleil: https://www.lesoleil.com/actualites/2025/08/06/un-pere-bien-installe-au-quebec-menace-dexpulsion-au-congo-J2AVG2CLYNBKDBRZ3TVG3IRBHU/.
On 10 September, Mr Kiese Umba is at risk of being deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that the Canadian government currently advises its citizens not to visit due to the high risks associated with war and political instability.
However, Jonas is no stranger to our communities. Since his arrival, he has worked as an essential employee at the Exceldor factory during the pandemic, has fully integrated into the life of his village of Saint-Anselme, has contributed to the parish choir, and has formed a family with Fannie that is loved and supported by the entire community. Even the mayor of the municipality has publicly highlighted Jonas' exemplary integration and positive contribution to Quebec.
Jonas' expulsion would pose three serious problems:
A violation of security and human dignity: Jonas fled the DRC after participating, as a teenager, in a peaceful demonstration against the illegal extension of Joseph Kabila's term of office. He was unjustly associated with the BDK political-religious movement, even though he had never been involved in violent activities. Forced return exposes him to real threats, as evidenced by the recent attack on his brother.
A violation of the fundamental rights of the child and the family: Three-month-old Kimia has the right to grow up with her father. Her wife, Fannie, should not be faced with the dilemma of having to leave her country to live safely with her husband. As lawyer Stewart Istvanffy points out:
‘Kimia has the right to live with her father, Fannie has the right to live with her husband, and Jonas has the right to live with his family.’
A contradiction with Canadian and values and Quebec needs: At a time when Quebec is facing a demographic crisis and labour shortages, it is incomprehensible to expel a skilled worker who is fully integrated, contributes to our society and has chosen to raise a family here.
Madam Minister, this case goes beyond the individual journey of one person. It highlights the need to treat family and humanitarian immigration cases with discernment, humanity and consistency.
We urge you to intervene immediately with your federal counterparts to do everything possible to suspend Mr. Kiese Umba's deportation, re-evaluate his case, and ensure that he can continue to live in Quebec with his family in peace and safety.
Thank you for your attention and for your swift action on this issue, which has already attracted widespread attention from civil society, local elected officials and the media.
Yours sincerely,
[Your full name]
[Postcode]
[Telephone number]