We are writing this article on Epiphany Sunday after a beautiful Zoom service from Christ Church Windermere. The message we heard was that of three wise men, standing against oppression, defying the ruthless power rulers and following their intuition in spite of grave threat to their safety. They knew that they themselves were powerless against the power structure of the day.
We have an idea of the kind of oppression of the day and how they must have felt over 2,000 years ago as, on December 30, 2021, Gary received a registered letter from the Federal power structure (the Assistant Deputy Minister, Integrity Service Branch, Service Canada) telling him that they are fining him 10’s of thousands of dollars because they say he owes them several thousand dollars. And that he must pay, make arrangements to pay within 30 days or make an appeal within 15 days.
We shared some of the details of the situation in our Doppler article last September and in an open letter to the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Immigration, Service Canada, Spinal Cord Injury, our MP and MPP. We stressed the situation about non-compliance beyond our control with the Federal Temporary Foreign Worker Programs and the Provincial Direct Funding programs and the severe shortage of caregivers. At that time we implored the power structures to make some adjustments in funding formulae and requirements as quickly as possible so that those whose lives depend on it can breath a little easier. And we begged them to help save lives. There was no substantial reply from anyone.
In our last communications to the ‘review committee’ dealing with our ‘non-compliance’ we asked them to advise us of how they came up with the amount they said we owed them. There was insufficient response from them until we received this shocking registered letter.
We downloaded the Form IR-1 (Rule 5) and the instructions on how to file an appeal with the Federal Court as outlined in the registered letter but soon realized it was certainly beyond our ability to file on our own. And the clock is ticking as we search for, I suppose, an immigration lawyer, for starters and/or someone who can deal with the brutal power structure on our behalf.
We are loathed to make arrangements to pay something that may indicate that we agree that this amount or any part of it is justified.
We tried to explain to them that the provincial government supplies the funding for caregivers and dictates their remuneration, in a letter we had sent to them on January 21, 2021. In their registered letter dated December 21, 2021, which we received on December 30, 2021 they said they are not willing to accept that justification under IRPR 203(1.1).
In addition to the ridiculous amount of money they have fined us they further decree that we will no longer be able to use the Temporary Foreign Worker Programs upon which we depend for Gary’s care.
For the past six years we have come to understand and tried to explain to both the federal and provincial governments how it is not possible to be compliant with both power structures at the same time.
We were grateful that our MP’s office has been working with us since last summer. But so surprised that all of a sudden it had come to this unjust and intense situation. We are hopeful that Scott Aitchison’s office is able to step in on our behalf and sort this out to a fair conclusion. The timeframe is very tight. Or that maybe even Norm Miller’s office can help.
Where is the love, justice and righteousness for the people of this country, the law-abiding, community builders, the Canadians who have built this country over the past 150 years.
Where are the wisemen/women?
Gayle Dempsey and Gary Froude
Gayle and Gary, I do hope you receive the necessary support from Scott to address this horrific judgment. Following up on the federal site, one can see the penalty and other individuals, possibly in similar situations charged over $10k for ‘failing to keep documents for 6 years’ or ‘failing to provide documents to an inspector’.
I am uncertain how you are caught between the 2 programs, federal and provincial, and I cannot claim to know the situations of some of the other individuals vs companies charged but it does seem apparent that the fines are far greater than warranted by the charges.
Reading some of the regulations in the provincial direct funding process is also disturbing.
You both have done so much in the community since Gary’s return home, I hope that you are able to not only address this dreadful personal issue but also make the case for any others caught in similar situations. You should be commended for going public with this ongoing battle.
It is a confluence of victimization of both foreign workers and people requiring support workers.
Norm, Scott and any others in positions to address this should act quickly to defend and support you and work out the conflicts between the programs.