Booting family with disabled daughter out of country unacceptable: May

NEW GLASGOW – Green Party leader Elizabeth May is denouncing the treatment of the Chapmans, a British family who vacation in Canada. The Chapmans have been accepted as potential immigrants through the provincial nominee program and are half-way through the process when they entered Canada as tourists earlier this month.

The family has been booted out of the country – at their own expense – after being told their disabled daughter Lucy has been banned for life from Canada. Lucy has Angelman syndrome, a genetic disorder.

“This is discrimination of the worst sort,” said Ms. May. “In this day and age, in a country like Canada, discrimination against the disabled should be a relic of the past. Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley must reverse this ban immediately.”

Ms. May noted that the family members were entering as tourists and has already purchased a home in Miller Lake, Nova Scotia. There are no laws preventing disabled persons from visiting Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that for immigration purposes, each case must be examined individually and that a blanket ban on disabled applicants is discriminatory.

“The Harper government has a lot to explain to the Chapman family and to Canadians who are rightfully outraged by this treatment. The Green Party is demanding action without delay.”