After working four months in a school in Montreal North, a teacher of French origin is about to return to her country because of the slowness of Immigration Canada. The long delays in processing the application, which would have allowed her spouse to join her, got the better of her patience and made her Quebec adventure turn sour.
“I find myself alone here, paying a high price for an apartment. It was not that, the project, at the base”, tells the Duty Sarah Chauveau, who had in mind, among other things, to lend a hand to a Quebec in the midst of a labor shortage.
It is not lightheartedly, but her decision is made: she will definitely return to France during spring break, even if the school year is still in full swing.
The departure of the French teacher is causing a stir at Sainte-Gertrude primary school, where she was welcomed with open arms. Especially since the students in his class of 2e year have already experienced the instability linked to the departure of a teacher last year. “When I introduced Sarah, I reassured the parents. They were happy that she was full-time rather than having a replacement every week, “said Judith Côté, who acted as a mentor for Mme Chauveau.
This experienced teacher finds it a shame to lose her French colleague for “paperwork”. “I find it absurd and sad that we don’t make life easier for people who want to come and work in our school,” she confided to the Duty. And we agree that in times of shortage, her spouse could have been an additional source of labor for Quebec. »
The principal of the school, Julie Morin, is sorry for the departure of a resource that Sainte-Gertrude badly needed, a teacher adored by the children and who had quickly integrated. “It’s very sad that it ends like this,” says the one who remains hopeful, although she admits to having no one to replace Mme Chauveau. She regrets that this departure is due to “a question of immigration papers”. “It’s a shame, because we know that it works to bring in teachers [d’ailleurs]. We have one from France in the class next door. »
A “mere formality”?
The idea of coming to experience the Quebec adventure germinated in the minds of the French couple at the end of 2021. After applying for and obtaining a teaching position at the Center de services scolaire de la Pointe-de-l’Île, Sarah Chauveau had to take various steps, with the help of her employer, to apply for a three-year closed work permit. Her spouse, who was going to accompany her, could apply for an open work permit on her arrival at the Montreal airport.
In August 2022, they had reached the stage of applying online for the Electronic Travel Authorization (AVE), a mandatory document to board the plane and which allows them to land in Canada. This document is generally only a formality whose processing time is “five minutes”, according to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website. Sarah Chauveau got it in a few hours. After six months of waiting, her spouse still does not have it.
It’s still not a simple outrage that will block our project…
The couple believed at first that it was only a matter of days, and Sarah Chauveau informed her school that she would miss the start of the school year while waiting for travel authorization from her husband. But in mid-October, unable to wait any longer after having postponed her arrival twice, she finally resigned herself to leaving alone for Canada. “We had been paying for an apartment for a month and a half and I had a work contract waiting for me. So I left. »
Mme Chauveau was still hopeful that her spouse would soon join her, but she stopped being optimistic at the start of 2023. “Now it’s not anger that I feel, it’s disappointment. It’s a project that cost us a lot of money and energy, and we’re stuck with just one piece of paper. »
Contempt of officer
The couple became concerned when Immigration Canada demanded further documentation for a “contempt of officer” offense that Ms.me Chauveau declared by completing the eTA application form. “We were asked if we had had any problems with the law… so we wanted to be honest,” explained the teacher.
Contempt of a public official, which consists of uttering insults or threats to a member of the public service, is a minor offense in France; it does not appear in criminal records. At IRCC’s request, Mrs.me Chauveau had to provide the police report and several documents relating to this offense dating from 2020. “We took the steps and provided everything that was requested. »
But time progressed, and the couple still remained without news of his request. Despite numerous e-mails and repeated calls, he was unable to obtain information on what was going on.
To support her spouse, who had resigned from his job since he was going to Canada, Sarah Chauveau returned to France during the holiday season. The couple made a new eTA application with a new passport, since the old one had been declared lost in the meantime, then another a few days later. But still no news. “It’s not just a simple outrage that will block our project…” laments the teacher, who has also asked for help from her local deputy.
Asked by The duty, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada declined to comment on this particular case. However, the federal ministry has confirmed that most eTA applicants have their application “approved [par courriel] in a few minutes “. “Some requests, however, may take longer to process if additional information is required,” it notes.
The eTA makes it possible to identify people who are inadmissible to Canada for offenses such as espionage, crimes against humanity or impaired driving, among others. Everything is assessed “on a case-by-case basis,” according to IRCC.