Despite multiple steady jobs, relentless volunteerism and overwhelming community spirit, Wilmer Gonzalez is on the brink of being deported from Kindersley, Sask. to Venezuela.
Gonzalez came to Canada in 2014, but learned last week he would soon be returned to his former country.
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“I wake up in the middle of the night and I think it’s dreaming. No, it’s true and it’s really hard because you have to be strong,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez came to Canada in 2014 and most recently worked at the hospital and the Salvation Army in Kindersley, providing for his wife and two children, along with his mother in Venezuela.
He also coached his son’s soccer team.
Gonzalez applied to extend his work permit beyond March 2017, but he said the federal government responded in July, stating the permit couldn’t be renewed because it expired before processing.
An online petition calls for the deportation order to be cancelled.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, the intended recipient of the petition, didn’t respond to a request for comment Monday.
The mayor of Kindersley, Rod Perkins, considers Gonzalez a “model citizen,” who once received recognition from the town as a “Winter Angel” for clearing snow from senior couples’ sidewalks.
“I just hope that we are able as a community to convince the powers that be to at least extend his work visa,” Perkins said.
Venezuela is experiencing political turmoil, with a socialist government recently claiming victory in a referendum, giving it seemingly limitless power.
READ MORE: U.S. hits Venezuela with new sanctions after ‘sham’ election
Violent clashes between protestors and police escalated leading up to the vote on a new constituent assembly.
Gonzalez is scheduled to be deported in late August.
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