I’m sick of hearing North American politicians use the term “friends” when talking about each other’s country. Friends don’t treat each other the way Canadians have been treated by the US in recent months, specifically around the increased border security and related policies that have cost Canadians and Canada dollars, time, and hassle. And yet Canada and its provinces have responded to these new requirements, issuing driver licenses and other government issue ID that are “enhanced” to meet the NHSI standards. We have done our part and shown that we are willing to play by the rules of our “friend” to the south.
And yet, the US government is so rigid, so monolithic, and so black-and-white that they cannot see past their own policies when common sense and basic humanity should prevail.
I read with outrage the story of Ava Stinson. Ava was born on Thursday, 14 weeks premature. There were no available beds available in any of Ontario’s neonatal intensive-care centres, so she was sent from Hamilton ON to Buffalo NY and a facility there.
In Buffalo Ava lies in her bed alone, fighting for her life. She’s too young to understand the idea of mother or father, but we can all understand the agony parents in this situation would feel and the longing and need to be by their child’s side. But they aren’t. Natalie and Richard, Ava’s parents, didn’t go to Buffalo. Why?
Because they don’t have passports.
Yes, our “American friends” couldn’t understand the special circumstances surrounding this situation…couldn’t take the time to validate Ava’s parents in other ways with other pieces of identification. They weren’t going for a vacation, or working, or possibly something illegal…they just wanted to be by their incredibly sick child.
For shame on the Department of Homeland Security! For shame on those from the CBP who could have tried to make an exception to the passport rules and didn’t!
This is not the action of a friend.
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Moronic Canadians. An american got them in, your stupid ill equipped care system sent them out country. Father has a criminal record. They are in the US as of sat on a temp permit. The NY and US govt pulled strings. Go to hell.
ReplyDeleteCnd has stricer rules than th US I and others called our congressman and customs as of sat nigh the parents got into Cnd. No thanks to any Canadians. GO fix your broken healthcare system. It sends sick people routinely to the uS and high resp pregnancy cases. Grow up to the person who wrote this. Cnd is more rigid than the US.
ReplyDeleteHey anonymous, my spell checker called...he'd like to meet to re-visit that decision to bail on school in grade 3.
ReplyDeleteSee my latest post for commentary on the realities in this situation.