A South Korean family with an autistic son, who are at the centre of a deportation controversy, will be allowed to stay in Canada after the government issued temporary visas Friday evening.
The family received a temporary stay of three years while their permanent residency application is being processed, Keri Ciz, an assistant for the family's lawyer, told The Canadian Press.
Federal officials had previously told Tae-Shik Maeng and Hee-Eun Jang, who moved to Moncton, N.B., eight years ago, that they would have to leave Canada by June 30 because providing health care and social services for their son would put too much strain on the system.
The family moved to the Maritimes in hopes clean air would bring health benefits for their youngest son, Sung-Joo, and they were granted temporary work visas at the time.
Sung-Joo's parents disclosed to Canadian authorities the health conditions that affected their young son, which include autism and epilepsy.
Almost a decade later, the Maengs are thriving in Moncton where they own a grocery store, and their eldest son, Jung-Joo, is attending Dalhousie University in Halifax where he is studying science.
The family says that Sung-Joo, who is now 14 years old, is learning to communicate, mainly by pointing at objects. And they believe he is getting better care than he would in the country where he was born.
In Canada, foreign nationals can be deemed inadmissible to Canada if their health problems could "cause excessive demand on health or social services." However, a lawyer representing the Maeng family says that Sung-Joo has only incurred about $1,000 in hospital-care costs over the past four years and he does not need expensive medications.
When the news of their pending deportation became public, many people in New Brunswick were outraged.
Thousands signed an online petition outlining the Maeng family's desire to stay in Canada and the New Brunswick government has since guaranteed to cover the costs of Sung-Joo's care while the family is seeking permanent residency.
Chris Collins, the provincial MLA for Moncton East, said a unanimous motion passed in the New Brunswick legislature Thursday calling on Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to quash the deportation order against the Maeng family.
Collins told CTV's Canada AM on Friday morning that there is word the deportation order "is being rescinded" in Ottawa.
Collins said the Maengs are valuable members of the Moncton community and it is clear that their fellow New Brunswickers opposed their deportation.
"This family has proven itself to be the type of family that we really want to have immigrate to Canada," said Collins.
"And we knew it was a bureaucratic error and we had to bring it to the attention of the federal government and the minister has stepped up to the plate and will be rescinding that error."
A community celebration to support the family is being held in Moncton on Sunday.
With files from The Canadian Press
