Ailing war vet faces prospect of life without son
U.S. man deemed inadmissible following many trips made to care for dad
Michael Napolitano lived independently until two years ago, when the 95-year-old widower was hospitalized for a week and left relying on a wheelchair to get around.
Since then, his son Raymond, 64, has travelled more than a dozen times between Monterey, Calif. and Gravenhurst, Ont. to be his father’s primary care provider, helping him with shopping, banking and other personal chores. Raymond always makes sure he leaves Canada within six months on each visit because as an American citizen, he knows he can only spend so much time in the country without a visitor visa.
In total, he said he has spent more than two years in Canada in the last 30 months. According to the Immigration Department, American visitors are not required to get visas to come to Canada and most can stay six months in the country from the day they arrive unless they are told by border services officials otherwise. On June 20, when Raymond arrived at the Thousand Islands Bridge to enter Canada, he told a border officer, as he had always done previously, that the purpose of his visit was to look after his father. This time Raymond was deemed inadmissible because he had spent more than six months in Canada in the past year and because of an impaired driving conviction in California in 2010.
Although the officer ultimately let him into the country despite what the agency called “serious criminality,” Raymond was ordered to leave Canada by July 4 and banned from returning.
“I stayed here for five months over the winter because I couldn’t leave my father by himself. It’s just the comfort of knowing somebody is here with him in winter time,” said Raymond, a retired food writer. “I’m not going to leave him alone.” Michael Napolitano, from the Bronx, N.Y., moved to Canada in1980 to live with his second wife, a Canadian. He was the primary care provider to his wife until she died in 2008.
The Second World War veteran, a dual American and Canadian citizen, chose to remain in Gravenhurst.
“I was a rather independent guy. But then I got a bad heart and a bad hip. Ray became my personal caretaker, helping me with banking, cleaning, shopping and cooking,” said Michael, who receives three one-hour home-care visits through Canadian veteran affairs each week. “No one does what Ray does.”
What is baffling to the Napolitanos is why Raymond had been allowed to travel freely between the two countries until now.
The Canada Border Services Agency said foreign nationals are permitted to stay in the country up to the period for which have been approved by an officer at the time of their arriv- al to Canada — even though Canadian officials don’t normally stamp American passports, as with Raymond’s previous visits.
“The decision to permit entry to Canada is at the discretion of the officer and is determined on each entry,” said agency spokesperson Patrizia Giolti in an email.
“Foreign nationals may visit Canada multiple times. However, they must satisfy the officers at each entry that they are eligible to enter Canada and that they will leave Canada at the end of their approved stay.”
“The decision to permit entry to Canada is at the discretion of the officer and is determined on each entry.” PATRIZIA GIOLTI CANADA BORDER SERVICES AGENCY SPOKESPERSON
Someone could be found criminally inadmissible as a result of convictions for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Giolti said a visitor may still be allowed to come to Canada depending on the crime, how long ago it was committed and the person’s behaviour since the conviction.
A banned traveller can apply for individual rehabilitation to enter Canada, to be approved by the immigration minister’s delegate if at least five years have elapsed since the act.
The application for rehabilitation — which costs $200 for minor offences and $1,000 for serious criminality — can take more than a year to process.
Raymond hopes Canada will show some compassion, but he said he will abide by Canadian law and leave on July 4 and try to expedite his return to care for his father.
“I like the comfort at my own home,” Michael Napolitano said. “I don’t want to go to a nursing home. If Ray leaves, I have to be on my own. “I’m starting to miss him already.”