Today I lost some faith in humanity and even more in what Canada considers justice. 1. It was admitted today that the only reason that Vice was being investigated, and is now receiving 1 year exclusion from Canada, is because they received a tip from someone who called their anonymous line notifying them that Vice was working in Canada. I never speak like this but.. this person should be ashamed of themselves. Such cowardice is revolting and only shows your true colours. [A coincidence that it was the day after I announced that I will be opening a second Make It Happen location?] 2. Vice is receiving this exclusion, after both the initial charge from an immigration officer and a hearing with a judge and representation of the ministry, decided that he is potentially working in Canada. They based their definition of work on the following: Canadian Immigration regulations define “work” as an activity for which remuneration is earned or that competes directly with activities of Canadian citizens or permanent residents in the Canadian labor market. Even though I explained that Vice helping me out during class is not a real job or position that I have available for someone, the ministry admitted and then argued that even though a job does not exist right now, there is potential that a job may exist one day if the studio gets busier. They also stated that I have 5 coaches that are being paid right now (not true) so I could potentially be paying Vice. My response: I have owned MIH for over 5 years and it can only hold up to 30 people, 95% of our members in a class are regulars and know what they are doing and even in the busiest situations I have always been able to make things work on my own without EVER thinking that I need to hire a second instructor for larger classes. I explained that the studio already gets packed to maximum capacity and I can handle it. There is NO room for more students than we already have/class and therefore there will never be this potential for a job. I also explained that all of my other coaches handle their entire classes on their own. Secondly: Yes, I have 4-5 coaches right now but they are not paid as the Ministry presumed. They exchange coaching for training and sport coaching memberships. All of us are happy and receive mutual benefit from this arrangement. I do not presently HAVE a job to give to someone. We explained that Vice gave up his position practicing as a Chiropractor in the States because I would not give up my gym. For the first year, he had nothing to do with classes. Over time he got to know people, and everyone at MIH inevitably becomes friends, and organically he became a large part of our community. He started helping out as my partner, like anyone would do in support of their partner if they owned and ran their own business. It was not for financial gain and certainly not taking the position of another Canadian. The judge today acknowledged this. He figured it out on his own after patiently listening to the Ministry, Vice and myself explaining everything. The judge realized and stated that this was obviously more of a family thing like helping a nephew or uncle, etc. He also said that Vice probably just started getting involved more because he was bored (it was great to hear him realize this himself because it is 100% what happened). The judge was a kind man with honest and compassionate eyes and it was obvious that he understood that we had no intent to do anything against the rules or to hurt fellow Canadians and he stated this himself. Yet, somehow, Vice ended up receiving a 1 year exclusion from Canada. We still have no idea how this happened. Vice has always completed all of the proper paper work and has followed any rules that were clearly stated to him. As for him helping out with classes, every guard we asked had a different answer. Some stated that they didnt think it was a big deal and others said it depended on who you spoke to. No real evidence or proof was given today that something WRONG or BAD happened. If anything, it is obvious that Vice CONTRIBUTES and makes our community a BETTER place for Canadians AND with the opening of a second Make It Happen in the next few months we WILL finally have an opportunity and the honour to start creating jobs for other Canadians. The roles that men and women at Immigration perform are critical for making Canada a safer place to live. Without them there would be even more human trafficking, drug trafficking, murderers and drug dealers moving into our country. We need Immigration officers BUT my heart aches and my mind cant understand how differentiation cannot be made between the types of people these laws were made for and someone like Vice who has only made our community a better, happier and healthier place for many.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 19:52:34 +0000
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