‘Medically inadmissible’ deaf teen can join mom
Ottawa reverses decision, allows Filipino girl to come to Canada
Facing public outrage, Ottawa has reversed an earlier decision and will now let a deaf girl it deemed “medically inadmissible” join her Filipino caregiver mother in Canada. But the move wasn’t without a twist. Late Tuesday afternoon, Karen Talosig received an email from the Canadian visa post in Manila saying: “Please see the attached letter regarding your permanent residency application.”
“I was shaking but then disappointed because there was no file attached,” recalled Talosig, who came here under the live-in caregiver program in 2007 and applied for permanent status five years ago.
Talosig then fired off three emails to the visa officials while at her night job in Vancouver, looking after a client with a disability, but they still had not responded by the time she went to bed at 11:30 p.m.
Sleepless and anxious, she got up at 1:30 a.m. to check her email again, and finally saw a reply saying her immigration application had been reopened despite the inadmissibility ruling against her daughter.
Their immigration visas are ready to be issued, it added.
“I just started screaming and my tears were flowing. It’s a big victory, a big relief,” Talosig, a registered nurse in the Philippines, told the Star. “I came here to be a caregiver to give my daughter a better life. It’s been my dream to bring my daughter here. I’m looking forward to a new life with Jazmine.”
This year, Ottawa told Talosig that Jazmine, 14, was inadmissible because her deafness could cost Canadians $91,500 for health-related services over five years — despite contrary evidence from the Burnaby school board and the British Columbia Provincial School for the Deaf.
The public outrage also prompted B.C. Education Minister Peter Fassbender to weigh in on the federal government’s controversial decision, vouching that Jazmine would not incur extra costs to taxpayers because she has no additional learning or physical needs.
The family’s supporters were ecstatic with Ottawa’s change of heart.
“We could never be completely certain what’s going to happen without seeing the letter. We were just overwhelmed,” said Helene Whitfield, one of Talosig’s four employers. Talosig has looked after Whitfield’s two children for years.
“I was so happy for Jazmine and Karen. If you see something wrong, you should step up and speak up. If your voice is loud enough, people hear you. I have faith that change can be made.”
Talosig must now update her family conditions and send her passport and Jazmine’s to Manila, along with two recent photos of each. Jazmine’s father died when she was 8 months old and she has been living with her maternal grandmother when not away at boarding school.
The visa post’s latest decision didn’t come without a catch, however, said Toronto lawyer Adrienne Smith, who reached out to represent the family pro bono after reading their story in the Star.
While Jazmine can come to Canada and permanent residency is highly likely, it is still not guaranteed.
“It’s a huge win. After five years, Jazmine can finally join her mother. But there is a condition put on her,” Smith said. “There is no final admissibility decision yet. It’s still conditional to a positive finding by the immigration department.”
Talosig, having anticipated a reunion with Jazmine, has just secured a new rental home in Vancouver. She hopes to get Jazmine to Canada by the end of July so she can enrol in a summer camp run by the deaf school, and be ready for September.
“Jazmine had asked me if she would have her own room when she came to Canada. The house we are getting has four bedrooms, so there will be a room for her and a room for my mom when she comes to visit,” said Talosig, who picked up the keys for the new place on Wednesday.
“This has been my dream for so long,” she added. “Having my daughter together with me has been my dream. Now this is happening. This is my biggest achievement as a mother, to give my daughter a better life.”