To the Editor:
It seems hard to believe, but 14 long months have passed since two foreign students from Nigeria, attending the University of Regina, ran afoul of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and were ordered deported - for working for two weeks at Walmart.
Since June of last year, Favour Amadi and Victoria Ordu have been living "in sanctuary" in a Regina church, pleading for a practical and compassionate way to resolve their situation.
University administration, students, faculty and staff have been united and emphatic in asserting that throwing these two young women out of the country - destroying their chances of an education and damaging them for life - is far too drastic a penalty for the relatively minor mistake of working for a brief time contrary to the terms of their student visas.
The entire Saskatchewan Legislature agrees. In a rare show of unanimity, both the provincial government and the opposition describe these students' transgressions as "trivial". Yes, there should be some sanction, but deportation is out of all proportion.
Make no mistake - securing the integrity of Canada's borders is tough, vital work. A lot is demanded of CBSA. They are called upon to do a difficult job. However, these two cases got seriously cross-threaded.
Long before they reached the point where all flexibility was gone and deportation became a procedural inevitability, someone at the top of CBSA should have asked whether they were on-track to a sensible outcome. Mature and timely judgment was lacking.
It's also peculiar that the punishment meted out here is all one-sided - no action has been taken against the employer, which seems odd if these particular employment offences were so serious as to justify the employees being expelled from the country.
Ironically, the government is now in the process of changing its rules about student employment, to allow the very conduct for which Victoria and Favour are being forced out.
No one is suggesting that Canada's immigration laws can be flouted with impunity, but surely with good will and common sense - and without creating any damaging precedent - some practical accommodation can be found that will allow these two young women to emerge from more than 400 days in sanctuary, finish their education, and have a shot at decent lives.
Impose a penalty, for sure, but make the punishment match the offence.
Ralph Goodale, MP, Wascana, SK.
