Montrealers without legal immigration status or living with precarious status will have two more opportunities this fall to obtain a municipal identity and residence attestation at the Parc-Extension Library.
Following a clinic scheduled for October 7, additional sessions will be offered on November 11 and December 2, from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The library is located inside the William-Hingston complex at 421 Saint-Roch Street.
Often called the “Access Without Fear card” or “BINAM card,” the attestation is intended to remove identification barriers that can prevent residents from using municipal facilities and programs.
The City says applicants do not need to present documents proving either their identity or Montreal address. The attestation is issued on site, and personal information collected through the process will not be shared with other organizations.
The card can make it easier to obtain a Montreal library membership and access related services. It can also facilitate registration for sports facilities, day camps and programs available through different municipal service points.
The initiative is part of Montreal’s Access to Municipal Services Without Fear policy. Its objective is to allow people living in the city to use municipal programs without fearing that their immigration status will be disclosed to government enforcement authorities.
The policy is intended for people whose status is precarious or who have no current legal status. That can include individuals whose temporary visas, study permits or work permits have expired, as well as rejected asylum claimants and people who entered Canada irregularly.
The attestation does not grant or regularize immigration status. It functions as municipal proof of identity and residence for access to City services.
There is also one important limitation: Montreal’s policy applies to municipal departments and services but specifically excludes the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal.
Residents who cannot attend the Parc-Extension dates can obtain the attestation daily at the Ville-Marie Accès Montréal office, located at 800 De Maisonneuve Boulevard East. Other mobile clinics are also offered at selected community organizations and libraries.
The City’s information page directs people with additional needs toward specialized resources. Médecins du Monde provides frontline health and social services to people without status or precarious-status residents who lack medical coverage. Montreal City Mission’s legal clinic offers information and assistance related to refugee and humanitarian immigration law.
The City also refers victims of abuse or crime to Montreal’s crime victims assistance centre, known as CAVAC, which provides confidential and free support.
Locating the mobile clinic in Parc-Extension is significant because the library already serves hundreds of residents from varied linguistic, cultural and immigration backgrounds. It shares the William-Hingston complex with an adult francization centre, an elementary school and community services.
For people who have avoided public facilities because they lack conventional identification—or fear that asking for help could expose their status—the clinic offers a direct entry point into everyday municipal life.
The remaining Parc-Extension clinics will take place November 11 and December 2, from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
