WOMAN, DAUGHTER FACE DEPORTATION
Gov’t deems health care needs ‘excessive’
A Saskatoon care home worker and her disabled daughter are scheduled for deportation to Romania Wednesday, but more than 200 supporters are hoping it doesn’t come to that.
Federal officials will escort Eniko Reka Kincses and her 22-year-old daughter Boglarka, who suffers from cerebral palsy, onto their 5 a.m. Wednesday flight from Saskatoon to Toronto, Amsterdam and Bucharest unless something changes.
“We came to Saskatoon to start a new life,” Kincses said in an interview.
In an email to The StarPhoenix, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) spokesperson Paul Northcott said Boglarka has been deemed medically ineligible for Canadian residence.
A potential newcomer can be rejected as an “excessive demand” on the health and social services system if they are deemed to require the same amount of care as the average Canadian.
“Decisions in cases like this one are not easy to make but decision makers at CIC must apply the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) as it is written,” Northcott wrote.
Kincses isn’t sure why her daughter has been labelled an “excessive demand.”
Boglarka requires no medication, has no unique health care needs and neither she nor her mother has ever accessed any social programs.
“(Kincses) works hard. They are good people. They’d be good citizens of Canada if Canada accepts them,” said Rev. Calin Marincas of Saskatoon’s Holy Trinity Romanian Orthodox Church.
“This may be correct politics, but it is not right. Hopefully, somebody will do something.”
Marincas and 220 other congregation members, friends, family and co-workers have signed a letter of support for Kincses and her daughter, urging the courts and government to reconsider. Their Saskatoon lawyer, Haidah Amirzadeh, said recent correspondence with the Saskatchewan government gives her hope they’ll also support Kincses and Boglarka. The pair initially came to Saskatoon in 2009 under a provincial immigration program.
Amirzadeh has applied for a federal court hearing Monday or Tuesday. If that fails, they’ll appeal directly to federal officials such as Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.
“This is a hard-working woman with skills that we need. She will benefit our economy,” Amirzadeh said.
“There must be room for people like this in Canada. This is not just a country for the best and the brightest. The moral thing to do is to let them stay.”
Boglarka nodded and extended a hand to a reporter and photographer Saturday. The tiny young woman, who is unable to form words, sat quietly with her mother during most of the hour-long interview in Amirzadeh’s office. Her eyes widened and she raised her right arm when asked about two of her favourite subjects — cheesecake and pop music.
“She really likes that Justin Timberlake,” Kincses said with a laugh.
When Kincses gave birth to Boglarka and the disability became obvious, she said her husband and parents told her to “send the baby away.
“They said she’s a burden, told me to give her up.”
Kincses refused. Her husband left and her parents disowned her.
In 2006, the deteriorating eastern European economy forced Kincses to take a series of jobs that didn’t allow her time to care for Boglarka. She placed Boglarka in a state home and visited daily.
The separation began to take an emotional toll on the young woman. There were also troubling bruises and other signs of neglect and abuse, Kincses said.
Kincses and her sister, Marta Lieb, who has lived in Saskatoon since 1998 and owns a tailoring and shoe repair store, decided in 2008 that Kincses and her daughter should come to Saskatoon.
Lieb knew there was a high demand here for Kincses’ extensive experience managing care homes for the elderly and people with disabilities. Lieb, who also recently graduated with a master of business administration (MBA) from the University of Saskatchewan, focused her research on private care home models in the province.
“It’s absolutely crucial to have more of these homes. There are dozens of people (unnecessarily) occupying expensive critical care hospital beds,” Lieb said.
“My sister can help our country, our economy.”
The Saskatchewan government agreed and approved her to work in a care home under the Immigrant Nominee Program. Kincses, sponsored by Lieb and her husband, arrived with Boglarka in 2009.
Kincses and Boglarka have lived with her sister’s family for the past three years. Boglarka has thrived in the loving, stable environment.
“She loves it here. She is able to trust again,” Kincses said.
“She can communicate her needs, and she’s no trouble.”
Boglarka accompanied Kincses to work at a local care home, but that situation soon deteriorated. Kincses said the manager took advantage of her, knowing Kincses was in Canada because of that specific job offer.
In 2010, the job ended. The federal government ruled that Kincses could apply for further work permits if she was here alone, but Boglarka had been deemed “medically inadmissible” to remain in Canada.
A formula was applied to conclude Boglarka “would be an excessive demand on the health care and social systems,” Northcott wrote. That designation can be applied to any immigrant in need of the services used by the average Canadian. In 2012, that amount was $6,141 in health and social services costs, Northcott wrote.
“Canada’s immigration law strives to find the appropriate balance between those wanting to immigrate to Canada, and the limited medical resources that are paid for by Canadian taxpayers,” Northcott wrote.
Following the decision, Kincses applied in 2011 for a new work permit and was denied. She applied for a judicial review and was denied.
In September 2011, an “exclusion order” was issued. Kincses and Boglarka were given notice they’d have to leave Canada. She applied for a “pre-removal risk assessment” to evaluate whether she’d face persecution if sent back. Kincses said she was asked for evidence Boglarka was abused or at risk. Kincses said she tried to get documentation but none was forthcoming from Romanian officials. The assessment was not in her favour.
Kincses and Boglarka are scheduled to be deported Wednesday.
Amirzadeh said Kincses and Boglarka have several factors in their favour as they seek a reprieve from the federal court or Minister Kenney.
Kincses is a valuable worker and has been honest about her daughter’s condition with officials from the beginning. She has an accomplished sister and a church community willing to support them in any way necessary. Supporting letters have been signed by an unusually large number of people. And Amirzadeh is hopeful the provincial government may also offer its support.
In a recent email to Amirzadeh, Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program director Kirk Westgard agreed they supported Kincses’s and Boglarka’s immigration to Canada. He said the issue is now in federal hands, but provincial officials are working on Amirzadeh’s request for further help.
Kincses hopes someone will find a way for her and her daughter to stay in Saskatoon. With her sister’s business expertise and Kincses’s work experience, she has plans to open a care home of her own. Boglarka would spend the day with her mother and fellow residents.
“It would be very nice,” Kincses said.
Kincses knows her life would be much simpler without Boglarka, but said she’s never regretted keeping her daughter.
“I accepted (Boglarka) for who she was from the very first minute,” Kincses said, taking Boglarka’s hand. “She’s a gift from God.”