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Subject:
From:
Meir Weiss <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Cerebral Palsy List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 14 Apr 2011 07:38:31 -0400
Content-Type:
text/plain
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http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Desperate+Barlagne+family+seeks+politici
ans+help+stay/4611954/story.html




Desperate family seeks politicians' help to stay
 
 
 

Deportation; Child's cerebral palsy an 'excessive burden'
 
 
 
By KATHERINE WILTON, The Gazette April 14, 2011 4:04 AM
Rachel Barlagne (right) and mother Sophie, father David and sister Lara
(left) are hoping they'll be able to reverse immigration officials' decision
to deny them residency.
 
Photograph by: PIERRE OBENDRAUF GAZETTE FILE, The Gazette
 

David Barlagne's family made headlines across the Frenchspeaking world last
year after Canadian immigration officials rejected his application to stay
here permanently - saying his 8-year-old handicapped daughter would be an
"excessive burden" on the state's social services.
 
His daughter, Rachel, was deemed "medically inadmissible" because she has
cerebral palsy.
 
Her "excessive burden" on social services would amount to $5,259 a year in
special educational costs.
 
Barlagne moved to Montreal from the French island of Guadeloupe in 2005 on a
work permit after a Canadian embassy official in Paris persuaded him
Montreal would be great place to expand a computer software business. The
family has settled in Montreal, and his wife, Sophie, had been teaching
French to immigrants on a voluntary basis.
 
However, the family's desire to remain in Canada was dealt a setback in May
2010 when a Federal Court judge upheld the immigration department's
decision.
 
Almost one year later, Barlagne will return to the court of public opinion
on Thursday. He is holding a news conference in Montreal to announce that he
is applying to stay in Canada on humanitarian grounds and is asking
candidates in next month's federal election for support.
 
While Barlagne's family appears to have a compelling case, a successful
application might not be clear-cut. That's because immigration officials
contend that Barlagne withheld details about Rachel's medical condition on
several important immigration documents.
 
According to evidence filed in Federal Court by federal government lawyers,
Barlagne "failed to disclose Rachel's condition on his initial work permit
application" in France and on subsequent documents once he moved to Canada.
 
After his application for permanent residency was rejected last year,
Barlagne told reporters that he set up his business in Montreal only after
being assured by an official at the Canadian embassy in Paris that Rachel's
cerebral palsy would not affect his ability to become a permanent resident.
 
He also told CTV News that an embassy official advised him in 2005 to
conceal Rachel's handicap on his application form for a temporary work
permit.
 
However, court documents reveal that Barlagne and embassy officials in Paris
have different versions of what was said in their 2005 conversations.
 
Two embassy employees who dealt with Barlagne in person, by telephone or
email have denied in affidavits that they told Barlagne to hide his
daughter's disability. They also deny telling him that the handicap would
not pose immigration problems for the family down the road.
 
"I never suggested, encouraged or recommended to Mr. Barlagne to not mention
the medical condition of his child when applying for a work permit," Patrice
Hidalgo, an investment delegate at the Canadian Embassy in Paris, said in an
affidavit.
 
On their 2007 application to become permanent residents in Canada, both
Barlagne and his wife answered "No" when asked whether they or a member of
their family "suffer from a grave illness or a physical or mental disorder."
 

When Barlagne applied to extend his temporary work permit, he also answered
"No" to the following question: "Have you or any of your family members in
Canada suffered from any serious mental or physical illness?"
 
In court documents, Barlagne's lawyer said he answered no to that question
because "Rachel is not sick, but handicapped."
 
Stéphane Minson, another of Barlagne's lawyers, denied that his client has
tried to hide his daughter's illness on immigration forms.
 
"He isn't hiding anything," Minson told The Gazette last year. "The
questions in these forms aren't clear - they are badly worded. She doesn't
have a mental or physical illness."
 
Minson said he doesn't know why embassy officials in Paris have contradicted
statements Barlagne has made about the conversations he says he had with
them.
 
"Someone is not telling the truth," he said. "I believe my client."
 
After a court hearing last year, Barlagne told reporters that he has been
truthful with immigration officials every step of the way.
 
The court file also contains several letters of support for Barlagne's
family from Montrealers who know them and say they have made a positive
contribution to society since moving here in 2005.
 
Marie-José Begin, a spokesperson for Barlagne, said neither he nor his
lawyer would give interviews on Wednesday.
 
Begin said the immigration battle has taken its toll on the family. Barlagne
and his wife were unable to return to France to attend two family funerals
in the past year because they would not have been permitted to return to
Canada if they had left the country, she said.
 
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© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette


Read more:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Desperate+family+seeks+politicians+help+
stay/4611954/story.html#ixzz1JUqliiTQ

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