A family in a small Manitoba town is still waiting to learn if they’ll have to move back to their native America.
Last month, Global News first reported the story of the Warkentin family, who moved to Waterhen from Colorado in 2013.
They were denied permanent residency because Immigration Canada said their daughter would place “excessive demand” upon Manitoba’s publicly-funded education system.
Karalynn, 6, has an intellectual disability, but Immigration Canada never shared exactly how much it would cost taxpayers to educate her.
Get daily National news
The family has been living in limbo ever since, hoping that bureaucrats will come to their senses and let them stay in Canada.
“We have a case pending before federal court. That’s kind of a long process,” explained Jon Warkentin, Karalynn’s dad. “In the meantime, our lawyer sent a request for reconsideration with about 200 pages of documents showing how Karalynn will not be an excessive demand. We’re waiting to hear from them.”
Karalynn and her mom, Karissa, recently came to Winnipeg for the girl to undergo a pediatric assessment in case Immigration asks for more information.
Since the original story ran in July, the family has been blown away by the support they’ve received from the public.
“I have a retired teacher who has volunteered to work with us, on her own time, tutoring Karalynn. The people of Manitoba are so generous,” Jon said. “The not knowing wears on you. If we have to leave, what does that look like? I really think that, in the end, common sense will prevail. I’m frustrated at this point, but quite optimistic.”
He also told 680 CJOB’s Geoff Currier that business has been good this summer and said that ‘the bureaucrat sitting in an office at a desk is not the heart of Canada.’
Comments