Owosso woman sues "discrimination" after Canada entry-refusal

[Saddle Bronc 124]

http://www.argus-press.com/articles/2009/0.../news/news1.txt

Local woman files discrimination complaint after being turned away at the Canadian border

By MICHAEL PETERSON Argus-Press Staff Writer

2009/05/08 22:25

Rose Kelly sits with her children Xander Hildendorf, 5, left, and Onyx Kelly, 1, in their Owosso apartment. Argus-Press Photo by Anthony Cepak

OWOSSO - An Owosso woman says she was recently denied permission to cross the Canadian border because she is on welfare.

Rose Kelley, 25, said she was trying to visit friends and family who live in Canada, but ran into many complications on the way.

She arrived at the Sarnia, Ontario, border May 1 with her children Xander, 5, and Onyx, 1. When she reached the customs and immigration office she was given a list of items she needed to cross the border - some of which included: evidence of citizenship, financial support, financial assistance, confirmed means of departure, and more.

Before leaving home on May 1, Kelley said, she contacted the Canada Border Services Agency, and was told she only needed to bring identification and papers proving she had full custody of her children.

Because of this, she had to travel back to Owosso to get the necessary papers and then return May 3.

“I brought everything. My entire folder had every piece of paperwork that they could ask for,” Kelley said.

However, she was once again denied entry.

“They said I don't make enough money and people on welfare shouldn't take a vacation,” said Kelley, a single mother who has been on assistance for five years. “I was told that I wouldn't be allowed to cross the border until my life ‘drastically changed.'”

She said she was stunned by the events.

“My son was running around saying ‘I want to go to Canada. I want to go to Canada.' But I had to say, ‘Honey, we can't go to Canada. They won't let us,'” Kelley said. “And I just broke down in tears as I was walking out.”

But it wasn't necessarily the fact that she wasn't let into the country that bothered her - it was because she felt the way she was treated was rude and unfair.

Kelley added that the people she was visiting were going to cover her expenses as well as room and board, so she didn't understand why being on welfare mattered.

Because of the incident, Kelley said she filed a discrimination complaint with the agency Tuesday, but has heard no response yet.

Patrizia Giolti, a spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency, said that there are many reasons why a person could be deemed inadmissible to cross the border under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

“Some of the reasons are for security issues. They may have ties to terrorism or organized crime. And financial reasons are another reason,” Giolti said. “A foreign national may be inadmissible for financial reasons if they will be unable to support themselves while they are here in Canada.”

She added that every case, however, is taken on its own merits.

“For privacy issues we do not discuss specific cases,” Giolti said. “I really couldn't speculate what transpired between the traveler and the officer at that time. But each case in unique, and the officer will make a decision based on the information that is presented at that time.”

Marian Kramer, the national chair of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization - the Detroit-based union of public assistance recipients and low-income workers in the state, said she had never heard of an incident like this.

“And I've been dealing with welfare rights for some 40 years,” she said. “Why should she be discriminated against because she is on public assistance?”

The story of Kelley's rejection has recently made some waves in the Canadian media. The events were reported by the Toronto Sun, and one article stated that “Kelley's plight outraged dozens of Toronto Sun readers who wanted the family to visit Canada after reading about their plight in yesterday's paper. Many readers sent e-mails or called to voice their concerns.”

Also, Kelley said she was called Friday morning by a Toronto radio station, in which she said the DJ's described her as a “celebrity of sorts.” During her time on air, she was asked questions and was even allowed to listen to the callers who gave their opinions.

The new-found attention has been a strange experience, Kelley said.

“I don't like being called ‘welfare mom.' I'm more than that,” Kelly said of the Toronto Sun's headline. “I take care of my kids. When you say ‘welfare,' most people are going to look at it and look down on you. That's just how society is and it's sad.”

#######-for-tat Rose (from one who tried visiting US while unemployed, and got turned away)!

[Nagishkaw 510]

Terrible and just wrong.

[scandal 951]

Giolti said. “A foreign national may be inadmissible for financial reasons if they will be unable to support themselves while they are here in Canada.”

Exactly. Travel to a foreign country is discretionary. Every nation has the right to determine who will be allowed entry, and to set their own standards for entry. I don't see what the big deal is here.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

She has a one year old named Onyx (pron. On-Ix).

Weird.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

She has a one year old named Onyx (pron. On-Ix).

Weird.

No more than Barbara Hershey's 1967/1968 change of her last name to "Seagull" (as in Utah's state bird, generally unloved in any other state). Edited May 11, 2009 by CherryXS

[scandal 951]

She has a one year old named Onyx (pron. On-Ix).

Weird.

No more than Barbara Hershey's 1967/1968 change of her last name to "Seagull" (as in Utah's state bird, generally unloved in any other state).

My favorite was always Moon Unit Zappa. Oh, and Dweezil Zappa too.

[Peikko 1,575]

Dweezil?

I want to rename my child Zoogy

[scandal 951]

Dweezil?

I want to rename my child Zoogy

Named for a pinky-toe. I kid you not:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dweezil_Zappa

Dweezil's registered birth name was Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa,[4] although this occurred only because the hospital at which he was born refused to register him under the name Dweezil. The name was a nickname coined by Frank for an oddly-curled pinky-toe of Gail's. He was always called "Dweezil" by his family and was unaware that this was not the name on his birth certificate. Upon this discovery at the age of five, he insisted on having his nickname become his legal name. Gail and Frank hired an attorney and soon the name Dweezil was official.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Every time I've entered Canada, CBSA has asked about my finances. Granted, I was going to see my fiancee at the time (so they were a bit more cautious), but the point is that they wanted to make sure I had money. Someone on welfare probably won't (or at least not enough) and Canada doesn't want to take care of them.

She claimed she's staying with friends who would pay for her? Great. How did she prove that? If she couldn't, then the decision was at the discretion of CBSA officer she dealt with at the time.

Every country may establish their own rules for entry. It's a privilege to visit any country, including the U.S. and Canada. No one has the "right" to enter a foreign nation.

[Peikko 1,575]

Dweezil?

I want to rename my child Zoogy

Named for a pinky-toe. I kid you not:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dweezil_Zappa

Dweezil's registered birth name was Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa,[4] although this occurred only because the hospital at which he was born refused to register him under the name Dweezil. The name was a nickname coined by Frank for an oddly-curled pinky-toe of Gail's. He was always called "Dweezil" by his family and was unaware that this was not the name on his birth certificate. Upon this discovery at the age of five, he insisted on having his nickname become his legal name. Gail and Frank hired an attorney and soon the name Dweezil was official.

Zappa was one of a kind. I really like eccentricity if its effects are not detrimental.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Discrimination my @ss. That is what happens when people don't read up before trying to travel abroad. Canadian law is quite clear about this and applies it across the board. Like DP said: a letter from her host family would have possibly sufficed.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Regardless if she's on welfare or not, I do support those who want to visit a family member across borders without the intention of living there permanently. There has to be a way to separate or filter this type of abuses. Maybe doing a background check prior to traveling.

Incidentally, it just happens that there is biases towards those who don't have money.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Regardless if she's on welfare or not, I do support those who want to visit a family member across borders without the intention of living there permanently. There has to be a way to separate or filter this type of abuses. Maybe doing a background check prior to traveling.

Incidentally, it just happens that there is biases towards those who don't have money.

Of course there are. But she needed some sort of proof.

Those of us who aren't on welfare needed proof of our ties. That includes job, finances, leases, and whatever else. We had to convince the Customs Officer that we weren't going to immigrate illegally and sponge off the system.

If this woman had produced something similar -- even if it was a letter from her family in Canada -- then I'm sure the CBSA officer would have least considered it. Unfortunately, she had nothing like that and with welfare added to the mix, she seemed like a potential immigration risk.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

nm

Edited May 11, 2009 by *Len*

[_Simpson_ 250]

Every time I've entered Canada, CBSA has asked about my finances. Granted, I was going to see my fiancee at the time (so they were a bit more cautious), but the point is that they wanted to make sure I had money. Someone on welfare probably won't (or at least not enough) and Canada doesn't want to take care of them.

She claimed she's staying with friends who would pay for her? Great. How did she prove that? If she couldn't, then the decision was at the discretion of CBSA officer she dealt with at the time.

Every country may establish their own rules for entry. It's a privilege to visit any country, including the U.S. and Canada. No one has the "right" to enter a foreign nation.

Exactly what I was thinking.