Toronto Star: thanks for sharing the heartbreaking story of a mother and her three kids who “had their visas abruptly cancelled while flying to Canada and got stuck in Panama for weeks”

Bambi was shocked to read about the unacceptable ordeal of a mother, Paula (or Ms. Mejias), and her three children. As reported by the Toronto Star (https://archive.md/q4UmG), “they were in transit in Panama from Venezuela in 2017 to visit Mejias’s husband,  an international student in Toronto, when their visas were cancelled“.  Can you imagine something like this happening to you?

During their stopover in Panama, Paula was questioned by an Air Canada agent about their trip. After about two hours, she and her children were handed back their passports and guess what? They were told the following: they could not continue the rest of their trip. Why? Their Canadian visas had been cancelled! Indeed, their passports now had the words “Cancelled CBSA”. For those who do not know it, the latter stands for the Canada Border Services Agency” (https://shorturl.at/gAFN0).

The story does not end there since Paula, who is originally from Venezuela, and her kids were stuck in Panama for over a month. From there, they fought to have their visas reinstated in order to be finally able to join their beloved spouse/father, Pedro (or Mr. Molina), in Canada.

Why did the Government of Canada act in such an unprofessional, or apparently abusive as well as neglectful, way by cancelling their visas in that manner? This is one story in the media? Are there others that are unknown to the public, Bambi wonders?

As described in the Toronto Star article (https://archive.md/q4UmG), Paula expressed feeling literally humiliated by the extensive questioning of an Air Canada agent. For instance, he asked about the purpose of their travels on one-way tickets, with her visa and work permit expiring in three months. He justified his apparently highly intrusive questions with the following rationale: “Canadian immigration officials needed to conduct some routine verification of their visas“.

The article in question informs us of the personal story, or choices, of this family. If you are interested, you can read the details. As for Bambi, it meant a lot for her to share the story of this mother and her family. Of note, as per the title of the Toronto Star article (https://archive.md/q4UmG), she is suing. However, from the court website, we can see that she is self-representing (https://shorturl.at/jFNU3). All the best to her!