The 8 week
long Private Sponsorship of Refugee Course offered by Immigration Canada said
nothing about the possible highs and lows and ups and downs of our visit to
Service Ontario with our family of 7 in tow to apply for OHIP. Granted the
issue that arose was partially our own fault.
My co–chair and I had cased our
Service Ontario weeks ago. We found out that without a document listing the
family’s address they couldn’t apply for OHIP. However, with the help of other
more experienced people we determined that by creating a
legal lease between the owner of their temporary home (my co-chair) and the
family this problem could be surmounted.
I went into the Service Ontario office
feeling fairly confident. Our family of 7 had to go in two cars so two of them
were ahead of us in line when we arrived. Their driver motioned to us to take
our places beside them. As we moved forward I could hear mutterings as we
passed several people and I thought
… bad idea!
It was too late because a man farther up the line started to
yell at us. I apologized for breaching line etiquette and moved the other 5
members of the family to the back of the line. However, the man didn’t stop. He
started to rant about his role as a veteran. I am sure he had some mental
health problems but that didn’t stop me from being very uncomfortable and
embarrassed that the family was being met with this kind of reception at their
first time in a public place.
However, thank God for Canadians!
People began to move towards the
family, shaking their hands and welcoming them to Canada. Someone left the
office and returned with a large box of Tim Horton’s donuts for them. Another
gentlemen offered them a job. It went from being a very uncomfortable
experience to a very happy one in short time. I came home very proud of the
response of my fellow citizens. All in all it was a great introduction to
Canada.
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