THUNDER BAY — His income falls short of what Canada's immigration rules require, but a Catholic priest assigned to the Thunder Bay diocese has won the right to sponsor a niece to come to Canada.
Describing it as an "extremely unusual" situation, the Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board cited humanitarian and compassionate grounds in overturning an immigration officer's rejection of his sponsorship application.
The 59-year-old priest came to Canada in 2005 on a special visa for parish clergy.
He's currently employed in an area parish and earns a modest salary, but receives free room and board.
In February 2018 the man was ruled an ineligible sponsor because his income doesn't meet the threshold established by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
At an appeal hearing in July of this year, the priest testified that he has no family members in Canada, but returns every two years to the Philippines to stay closely connected with his relatives.
He was already providing significant support to a niece there, including paying some of her post-secondary education costs.
The 24-year-old woman, whose father supported her application for a permanent resident visa, said she wanted to come to Canada to take care of her uncle.
She has training in finance, currently works in a bank, and is fluent in English.
Her uncle said he had reached out to the local Filipino community which agreed to provide support and accommodation for her when she arrived.
A lawyer for the government opposed the appeal, arguing that refusing the woman entry to Canada would cause "limited hardship" to either party.
She also maintained it wasn't apparent that the priest needed any help from his niece at this time.
However, Catherine Gaudet, the appeal division member who heard the case, noted the man's testimony that he loves the ministry, and that he intends to work until he's incapable of doing the job.
He "attested to loving his work as a priest, and to providing significant care to the members of his parish and his community, including visiting sick patients at the hospital, providing sacraments to members of his parish, and doing outreach work in the community," Gaudet said.
She also observed that he "clearly values family and has a particularly close relationship with the applicant."
The priest, Gaudet said, "is growing old. He humbly sought my assistance...in his plea for special relief. I find his situation to be sufficiently unique and compelling to merit my intercession on his behalf."
She granted the appeal even though she acknowledged that the original decision by a visa officer to deny permanent residency "is valid in law."
