Seidu Mohammed

Razak Iyal was given a warm embrace as he officially became a Canadian citizen, more than six years after nearly freezing to death walking across the Canada-United States border in Manitoba.

A refugee from Ghana who lost all his fingers to frostbite crossing irregularly into Canada made an impassioned plea to MPs on Thursday, May 9, 2019, to scrap proposed new asylum-seeker rules the Liberals want to turn into law.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending controversial changes to asylum laws included in an omnibus budget bill tabled this week, saying his government wants to ensure Canada's refugee system is fair for everyone.

Razak Iyal still wakes up in the middle of the night feeling the icy winds of Christmas Eve two years ago when his life drastically changed.