Executive committee

Eugénie Depatie-Pelletier, Executive director
As executive director, Eugénie oversees the activities of the organization and takes an active role especially in the orientation and implementation of the constitutional challenge project. She works with the board members to ensure that RHFW’s long-term strategic planning is always up to date to advance the organisation’s mission.
Eugénie holds a Master’s Degree in Demography (2006) and a Ph.D. in law (2019) from the University of Montreal. She is an adjunct professor at the Department of Geography of Laval University and co-researcher on Access to rights within the PARTEMP partnership coordinated by the Chaire de recherche du Canada sur les dynamiques migratoires mondiales. Eugénie coordinates and contributes to various academic research projects on the impact of migration policies on household and farm workers’ fundamental rights, and produced articles, book chapters, and research reports on the subject. She has worked as an expert for non-government organizations, worker unions, Canadian federal and provincial departments and public agencies, the government of the Shanxi province, China, and different branches of the UN.
Eugénie is a mother of two wonderful boys and of an adorable even if extraordinarily independent Shiba Inu. To recharge her batteries, she loves to walk in the woods, hit a dance floor and read fantasy/sci-fi novels.

Carlos Rojas-Salazar, Director Operations & International Affairs
Carlos is in charge of optimizing organizational processes, managing resources and facilitating the work of our various committees. He participates in the development and implementation of strategic plans and organizational objectives, oversees the RHFW’s operating budget and helps implement our financing strategy. Carlos also supervises DTMF’s participation within transnational coalitions, as well as its education activities targeting foreign governments and/or international agencies.
A “full-time migrant,” Carlos has been an advocate for the rights of migrants for over two decades. Originally from Mexico, Carlos is multi-cultural and trilingual, a former diplomat, academic and activist who has lived and worked around the world. He is also the president of Conseil Migrant, a non-profit organization dedicated to the health and empowerment of migrants in Canada.
Carlos has extensive experience that makes him an expert in migration issues. Among many things, he has facilitated access to health services for individuals with precarious status in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, directed intervention units for the migrant caravans in Mexico, and has participated in academic studies on the Haitian diaspora in Tijuana and, more generally, on refugees and migrants communities in Mexico, Canada, the United States and Colombia.
An avid outdoor enthusiast, Carlos loves sailing, camping and, since moving to Montreal, winter cycling.

Hannah Deegan, Director of advocacy
Hannah is responsible for developing the RHFW’s advocacy-education program. This role notably involves conducting research, preparing submissions to legislative bodies and government departments, supervising law students during internships with us, and coordinating the RHFW’s involvement in coalitions and committees with other migrant justice and workers’ rights organizations. Most importantly, she provides internal legal opinions, in particular, to ensure the success of RHFW’s strategic litigation project.
Hannah was called to the Quebec Bar in 2017 and holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from McGill University, with a double minor in Economics and Women’s Studies. She became convinced that Canada’s temporary foreign worker programs were incompatible with the fundamental rights of migrant workers when she completed in 2013 a legal clinic internship with PINAY-Filipino women’s organization in Quebec. Since then, Hannah has continued to volunteer with PINAY’s legal clinic, in particular through the production of legal rights education materials and the hosting of workshops for its members.
Hannah believes the key to a good life is everything in moderation, including moderation. Her hobbies include spending too much money at second-hand bookstores and trying to master the art of the 20-minute nap (so far unsuccessful).

Board of Directors

Me Lauriane Palardy, President
Me Palardy is a lawyer and the coordinator of the public interest advocacy program at Justice Pro Bono. She also oversees the project supporting asylum seekers and is involved in the temporary foreign worker support project. Driven by a passion for human rights advocacy and constitutionalism, she holds a Bachelor of Civil Law/Juris Doctor from McGill University and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and International Law from UQAM. Me Palardy completed her stage de barreau at the Legal Affairs Division of the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse, and has worked with organizations such as Equitas – International Centre for Human Rights Education, Clinique juridique du Mile End, Québec Sans Frontières, Ensemble pour le respect de la diversité, the International Clinic for the Defence of Human Rights at UQAM, and the Revue québécoise de droit international.

Me Thibault Froehlich, Vice-president
A litigation attorney with a boutique law firm that specializes in civil litigation, Me Thibault Froehlich started volunteering with the RHFW while he was a law student. He was elected as president of the board in 2022. He also serves as president of the Montreal chapter of Français du Monde, a recognized public interest organization. Politically engaged, Thibault fights for equal rights and against all forms of discrimination.

Mona Ip, Secretary-treasurer
Having grown up in Canada and Hong Kong, Mona was exposed to the issues experienced by in-home care workers from a young age. Currently, as an impact investor and social entrepreneur, Mona’s career has encompassed roles within the federal government, private sector, and various non-profit organizations. Rising through the ranks at Global Affairs Canada, Mona worked in Ottawa, Warsaw, and Guangzhou before joining a renewable energy and sustainable development consulting start-up in Hong Kong. She has been based in Montreal since 2012, where she started a family and also founded a non-profit organization to build connections and facilitate mutual support among young families in her community. Mona is often noted for her vibrant personality and enthusiasm, and she enjoys turning to those who ask questions rather than those who seem to have all the answers.

Jerlie Pascual, Representative of the Internal Advisory Committee
Jerlie came to Canada under the Live-in Caregiver Program. She worked as a caregiver during her first years in Quebec and, after obtaining her permanent resident status in 1999, she volunteered for the Association. She was quickly hired as part of the permanent team and, during her 14 years as an intervenor, Jerlie developed in-depth knowledge of immigration, employment and human rights issues. faced in particular by immigrant women employed in Quebec in private homes. Passionate about DTMF’s mission, which aims for structural changes to improve working conditions, Jerlie now contributes to the work of DTMF on its advisory committee.

Fernanda Cortes, Representative of the Internal Advisory Committee
Fernanda joined the Association in 2020, alongside her (more than full-time) fieldwork with migrant workers employed in Quebec under closed work permits in the agricultural and agri-food sectors, as part of the RATTMAQ team. Over the past few years, Fernanda has provided direct and personalized support to several dozen migrant workers, particularly those from Guatemala and Mexico. Following the disruptions associated with the pandemic, Fernanda returned to stay in Mexico with her partner – coming back to Quebec with a renewed passion for systemic advocacy for the rights of (im)migrants admitted under closed work permits in Canada.
Other members of the Internal Advisory Committee

Benedict Carole Ze, member of the Internal Advisory Committee
Arriving in Canada in 2016 under a work permit for a single employer, she was kept in a situation of “modern-day slavery” by the Quebecois agricultural entrepreneur who had brought her from Cameroon. She refuses to name him, believing that it is necessary to address “the closed permit system” rather than an individual person. After obtaining regular status during the COVID pandemic, Benedict Carole became very active within the rights advocacy networks Solidarity Across Borders and the Immigrant Workers’ Centre, and continues to fight every day, finally reunited with her children, for the recognition of the human worth of every (im)migrant.

Gabriel Allahdua, member of the Internal Advisory Committee
Originally from Saint Lucia, Gabriel Allahdua worked as a migrant agricultural worker under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program for four years, from 2012 to 2015, before, due to unique circumstances, he successfully obtained permanent resident status in Canada. Today, he is a prominent voice and leader in the movement for migrant justice. Allahdua is an organizer with Justicia for Migrant Workers and The Neighbourhood Organization, which provides services to migrant workers throughout southwestern Ontario. He lives in Toronto with his two adult children and grandson.
Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers (RHFW)
1340 St Joseph Blvd E,
Montréal, Québec
H2J 1M3
info@dtmf-rhfw.org
514-379-1262