The Honourable Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney commented generally in reply to Vancouver Kingsway MP Don Davies' specific concerns about the Maeng family deportation. The Maeng family has lived in NB for several years and have been valued contributing members to the local community. Their eldest son has done well in school and is studying to become a dentist. Their younger son has autism and epilepsy and for this reason, years after the family arrived in Canada, and after disclosing the son's autism condition, Canada has ordered the entire family deported by the end of June. Don Davies MP for Vancouver Kingsway, BRITISH COLUMBIA, questioned Minister Kenney and received this reply as reported in Hansard:
Mr. Speaker, first of all I congratulate the member on his re-election and his appointment as the immigration critic for the official opposition. The member knows that the minister cannot comment on particular cases because of the Privacy Act. Having said that, there is a very fair process, including access to applications for permanent residency for humanitarian and compassionate reasons by individuals. Those are not considered by elected officials but by highly trained public servants. I would point out that there is in our law provision for medical inadmissibility for those who the provinces deem would represent an undue burden to our tax-funded public health care system.
