Canada Global(Web News)Immigration delays left a cancer patient in Ottawa waiting for her parents to arrive for years.
Every day, Outaouais resident Maria Fernanda Maxelplatas patiently waits for news from immigration officials that she will be permanently reunited with her elderly parents here in Canada.
So do his parents, thousands of kilometers away, just outside of Mexico City.
Maxell Platas is alone in Canada and after a three-year wait and a recent diagnosis of breast cancer, her frustration is mounting.
As an only child, the 36-year-old says her parents depended on her for help growing up and in turn helped her through her cancer treatment.
“Having someone at home who cares for you will allow me to continue my recovery with high spirits,” she said.
Maxill Platas moved to Montreal in 2010 to pursue her studies, became a Canadian citizen in 2018 and settled in Ottawa.
In 2021, he started sponsoring his parents through a federal government program. He was left in the dark after hearing back from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) a few months later.
It was only after he contacted the MP and the CBC in February that Maxel Platas finally received an update. He was told it could take 50 months to bring his parents to Canada.