The Public Citizen,
Immigrant’s story resonates with customers, Citizen readers
The saying for March weather — in like a lion, out like a lamb — pretty much describes Massimo Marti’s month.
But it wasn’t bad weather that gave the Italian the blues in the early going. Rather, it was the sudden separation from his family and an uncertain future that ravaged his emotions. Now, weeks later, life for the baker is taking a turn for the better.
Marti, co-owner of the Little Italy Bakery on Preston Street and a celebrity with customers after his family’s plight was recounted by The Public Citizen, has been issued a new two-year work permit. And he’s about to enrol again in English classes to help prove he is serious about becoming a Canadian.
He acquired the work permit quickly, only three days after an immigration tribunal dismissed the case against him by Immigration
UNNAMED CUSTOMER of the Little Italy Bakery, speaking about its co-owner, Massimo Marti
Canada. As required, he had to leave Canada and apply for a permit on re-entry. So on March 14, he entered the U.S. at the Prescott-Ogdensburg border crossing, then turned around and presented his application for a work permit to the Canada Border Services Agency.
“We are all very happy,” Julie Taub, Marti’s immigration lawyer, wrote in an email soon after her client was given his papers.
But best of all, Marti could be reunited with his wife and four children sooner than later. Marti, 39, is crossing his fingers in the hope that they can return to Canada by late summer. He doesn’t want the children to miss the start of school.
On March 1, Marti bid Victoria Toscano, 29, and their children a long, painful goodbye at Ottawa airport. Toscano’s temporary resident permit expired on Jan. 4, and though she should have been given 90 days to renew her status, she still got the boot back to Italy. Though Taub went to the Federal Court to try to postpone Toscano’s order so three of the children could finish the school year, the request was rejected by Justice Anne Mactavish. Meanwhile, Marti stayed behind in the hope of regaining his status as temporary resident with working privileges. He faced an immigration charge of working without a permit after he was arrested on Jan. 24 by CBSA officers who stopped his vehicle. He was handcuffed and thrown into jail overnight. Marti says the humiliating ordeal made him feel like a criminal.
‘He’s not a criminal. He has his own business. He is good for Canada.’
Taub convinced an immigration tribunal that her client tried to get a new work permit issued three different times through a Toronto lawyer, who filled out one application after another incorrectly. The tribunal also accepted Taub’s argument that Marti wasn’t working at the bakery or making any salary or commissions. As well, the tribunal ruled that as Marti specialized in cuisine and bread from the southern Italian province of Calabria, he would not be taking a job away from a Canadian.
In The Public Citizen story March 2, Marti said he regularly went to his bakery to hang out, chit-chat with customers and keep an eye on his new investment. He insisted he knew better than to do any work at the bakery until he had a new permit. In 2011, he worked as a cook at a Merivale Road restaurant.
Marti and Toscano arrived in Ottawa in 2008 with Santo, now nine, and Giovanni, six, as temporary residents. Temporary residency is a first step for non-refugee claimants in acquiring permanent status and then Canadian citizenship. Maria, four, and Paolo, three, were born here.
Marti says his wife will be applying through the Canadian Embassy in Rome for re-entry to this country in the coming weeks. It’s believed she will apply for “Authorization to Return to Canada,” which, if granted, would allow her back into the country as a temporary resident, even though she was issued an “exclusion order” when she was kicked out. Under that order, 12 months need to pass before she can apply to return to Canada.
A spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says Authorization to Return to Canada applications are processed quickly.
Marti is cautiously optimistic. “It’s not a done deal that my family can return. If it was up to me, they would be here today, but it’s not for me to decide. ... You need a lot of patience.”
Marti says his wife tells him that their children are always asking about their “Papa,” and when will they see him again.
“She explains the situation to them and that it needs a bit of time.”
Marti is disappointed that at least the two eldest, Santo and Giovanni, have not yet been able to enrol in an Italian school. Education authorities there are trying to determine which grades would be most suitable for them. As they have had no formal instruction in Italy, it was suggested that Santo, who was in Grade 4 at St. Rita Catholic School in Nepean, should start in Grade 1 in Italy. Giovanni was in Grade 1 at St. Rita. Maria was enrolled in a Montessori program.
“See the problem this has created (for their schooling)?” says Marti.
There is a very good chance that at least Santo would be held back a year in school here as he will have missed the last four months of Grade 4.
Marti says his kids can’t wait to get back to Ottawa as they miss their home and friends. Toscano and the children are living with her parents in Calabria.
Despite the positive developments, some bakery customers still can’t believe Immigration separated Marti from his wife and children.
“Who would have ever thought in Canada?” said one customer, who immigrated from Italy 45 years ago. The arrest, the handcuffs, the night in jail were all too, too much, he says. “He’s not a criminal. He has his own business. He is good for Canada.”
Marti says he was moved by the reaction the story received from the public. He says even strangers showed up at his bakery or phoned, offering sympathy and support.
“‘Massimo,’ he says they asked, ‘what can we do to help you and your family?’ It was incredible.
“From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank (everyone) for their support.”