Filipiniana News -
Rhyme and Reason
14 July 2009
Just a few months after Juana Tejada’s death, another
caregiver stricken with cancer while working under the Live-in Caregiver
Program (LCP) passed away. Ms. Celia
Mansibang succumbed to cancer on 29 June 2009, leaving behind her husband,
William Mallillin, and their two children, Vincent and La Sandra Mallillin, her
three sisters Chona, Eloisa and Marichelle Mansibang and their families, as
well as their elderly mother.
Like Juana, Celia was diagnosed with cancer when she
went through the required medical examination as part of her LCP permanent
residence application. She then applied for an exemption from medical
inadmissibility arising from her terminal illness, and was fortunately granted
an exemption on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Her husband and two children were also
granted temporary resident permits to enable them to travel to Canada and be
reunited as a family during this critical time.
Despite the grim prognosis of only a few months to live, Celia seemed to
have regained strength upon her family’s arrival in Canada that they were able
to celebrate some joyful occasions including their renewal of marital vows, her
daughter’s 17th birthday, their wedding anniversary, and Celia’s 48th
birthday.
Most importantly, Celia and her family were eventually
granted permanent resident status in Canada.
A process that would normally have taken several months to a few years
was completed in a few weeks for Celia and a couple more months for the rest of
her family members. The officers who processed her file were extremely kind,
sympathetic and facilitative of her and her family’s immigration
applications. It is one of those times
that I have seen immigration decision-makers expeditiously acting and taking to
heart the definition of “compassionate considerations” as set out by the Immigration Appeal Division in
the case of Chirwa v. Canada (1969) as “those facts, established by
the evidence, which would excite in a reasonable man in a civilized community a
desire to relieve the misfortunes of another”.
Although it is indeed very sad that the “prize” of
permanent residence in this case was obtained at the expense of a precious
life, it is these types of administrative decisions that somehow restore my
faith in Canada’s proud humanitarian tradition.
I have been disappointed and frustrated many times upon learning of
truly deserving cases being unjustly refused by officers who may have either
misunderstood or have been unduly harsh in applying the relevant legislation,
who did not know the applicable law, or who simply did not care. Unfortunately, immigration law is an area of
law that is fraught with discretionary powers on the part of the
decision-makers which contributes to the often unpredictable outcomes of
immigration applications. Fortunately in Celia’s case, such discretionary
powers were exercised in a manner that took into serious consideration the
relevant humanitarian and compassionate factors and led to a positive
decision.
During Celia’s funeral service, I was also very
impressed by the outpouring of love and affection by the people who paid their
last respects, many of whom are caregivers themselves. I learned that to help ease the burden on Celia’s
family, these caregivers took care of all the preparations for the funeral, the
actual physical arrangements, the food preparation, scraped their meager
resources to not only help assuage the family’s grief, but also to show
solidarity with all other caregivers who continue to suffer in various
ways.
Although there are undoubtedly many people who have
helped Celia during her lifetime, there is one who I thought stood out for her
fierce dedication and advocacy when everyone else seemed to have lost
hope. At the funeral service, Ms. Terry
Olayta tearfully expressed how assisting Celia and other caregivers gave her
life “new meaning.” Having been a
caregiver herself, Terry founded the Caregiver Resource Centre which is a
product of her sincere desire to help other caregivers and uphold their rights
and welfare. “Assisting” is a huge
understatement when describing what Ms. Olayta has done for Celia and continues
to do for all other caregivers contacting her for help. I can personally attest to the various
selfless ways that she has helped these people as she practically lives and
breathes the caregiver’s endless woes, in my view.
Celia’s legacy and Terry’s crusade intersect in that
they both embody the hope that the difficulties, obstacles and various forms of
injustice suffered by the numerous Filipina caregivers in Canada will someday
be finally be vindicated.
However, I would also like to emphasize that I do not
mean to ignore, much less dismiss the work being done by other caregiver groups
and advocates who are similarly doing a great job in advancing the welfare of
caregivers and temporary foreign workers in Canada. I truly appreciate, admire and commend their
selfless efforts towards similar ends.
It just saddens me to note that the mushrooming of various groups and
initiatives going their separate ways only serve to divide and weaken the
overall impact of these campaigns.
Therefore, let this also serve as my sincere appeal to
everyone who care for the issues that Juana, Celia and others have died for:
let us please try to set aside personal differences, selfish motives and even
cultural stereotypes (e.g. crab mentality, rumour mongering, backstabbing) to
finally unite and be seen as a formidable block. It is only then that we can possibly achieve
not only genuine legal reforms for caregivers, but also economic, political and
social reforms within the mainstream Canadian society that will surely benefit
us all.
The author is a lawyer in Toronto and
may be reached at mdsantos@osgoode.yorku.ca.
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