Help Reunite an Ottawa Family: Paperwork Error Bars 4-Year-old Daksh Sood from Canada

Thursday, November 26, 2015 8:22 PM

Friends,

There's a lot of nasty business left over from the Harper regime. One case in particular illustrates the cruelty that underlined the Harper government's immigration policies: telling a 1-year-old  boy, Daksh Sood, that he can never live in Canada with his Ottawa parents because of a simple, honest paperwork error. Daksh is now almost four, and wants to live in Ottawa with his parents, Bhavna Bajaj and Aman Sood. In fact, you can see him here in a very short clip asking for this very thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfrdyH18pKs

The new Liberal government has committed to family reunification. This is in keeping with Canada's domestic and international law obligations.

But two separate applications to the Canadian visa office in India to issue Daksh a temporary resident permit to come to Canada have been returned with a refusal to even consider the requests. In one reply, the office suggested that Daksh, only 4 years old, apply under the skilled workers program!

Bhavna and Aman are a hard-working Ottawa couple who simply want to put their kid to bed each night with a story, a hug and a kiss, and to walk him to school the next day, to play in the snow together, to celebrate as a family. They stay in touch by skype, but that's not enough, as any parent knows. 

We sincerely hope this will change with a humanitarian, compassionate response under the new government.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

You can help reunite Daksh with his Ottawa family by:

1. Signing this online petition: https://www.change.org/p/allow-4-year-old-daksh-to-live-in-canada-with-his-parents-minister-mccallum-must-issue-immediate-temporary-resident-permit-to-reunite-family?just_created=true

2. Sharing the petition link on your facebook and twitter feeds.

3. Dropping a quick line to Minister of Immigration John McCallum (john.mccallum@parl.gc.ca) with a polite, respectful request that Daksh Sood be granted a temporary resident permit to live with his Ottawa family. Mr. McCallum can exercixe his direction under Section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.  Please cc NDP Immigraton critic Jenny Kwan (Jenny.Kwan@parl.gc.ca) and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca)

Thanks for helping reunite this family.

Matthew Behrens

Rural Refugee Rights Network

(613) 267-3998, tasc@web.ca

"The child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding." – UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

"Applications by a child or his or her parents to enter or leave a State Party for the purpose of family reunification shall be dealt with by States Parties in a positive, humane and expeditious manner." – UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

"to see that families are reunited in Canada" (3d) Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Canada, under "Objectives" of the Act

"Childhood is entitled to special care and assistance”, Universal Declaration of Human Rights