By Laura Kane, CTV News | Link to Article
By Laura Kane, CTV News | Link to Article
VANCOUVER — The case of a young family facing deportation due to an error on their paperwork highlights the need for greater provincial oversight of temporary foreign workers, says a member of British Columbia’s Opposition New Democrats.
Honorato Peralta and Vanessa Tamondong arrived in Canada from the Philippines in 2009 under the temporary foreign worker program and recently worked at a Burger King in Victoria.
Their work permits expired in August, meaning they could face deportation.
The couple has a two-year-old son who was born in Canada and in April they applied to the B.C. provincial nominee program, which provides accelerated immigration for foreign workers who plan to live in the province permanently.
But Peralta and Tamondong alleged at a news conference on Tuesday that their immigration consultant knowingly supplied incorrect work locations on both of their applications and they were denied.
“We would just like to ask for a chance to stay here and (be) given the chance to be a permanent resident here so our son could have a better life,” said Tamondong, breaking down in tears.
The couple alleged the consultant put incorrect information on their applications knowing that Tamondong had a work permit for the Vancouver area, not for Vancouver Island. They told the news conference that their application said Peralta worked at a Burger King in Richmond and that Tamondong worked at a location in nearby Surrey.
Their consultant, Ajay Sehgal of First Choice Immigration, said he would never misrepresent such information and he insisted he supplied the work locations that were provided to him. He said he has obtained a lawyer and intends to sue the couple.