(Ottawa) Isabelle Branco and Jean-Louis Ménard, these two French doctors caught in the bureaucratic maze of Immigration and Citizenship Canada, will finally be able to stay in the country. However, they are waiting to know the details for their work permits. The confirmation letter was sent to them in English only, a language they do not speak.
“For me, it’s not clear,” reacted Isabelle Branco on the phone, shortly after receiving the letter. “This is the first time they have sent me a document in English. »
The letter dated October 2 states that the two doctors’ applications for work permits have been approved and that they can remain in Canada under certain conditions. However, they are not detailed. They must wait to receive their work permits in the mail.
The two French doctors, based in the Laurentians for five years, had to stop their practice abruptly on Friday after the renewal of their work permits was canceled following a mix-up. They followed a total of 2700 patients. The ministry maintained that Isabelle Branco never provided the necessary “valid employment identification number”. She claimed to have uploaded it on September 14, probably 12 days before receiving a refusal letter.
“They tell us in the refusal letter that the statuses need to be reinstated,” she explains. At no time do they talk about restoration of status or temporary residence [dans la lettre de confirmation]. »
“The situation is now resolved for these doctors and their families,” wrote Immigration Minister Marc Miller on the social network X late Monday afternoon.
“Yes, the bureaucracy is sometimes heavy, but it is thanks to the work of civil servants and not politicians that we have been able to rectify the situation. Governing is more than bogus slogans, Mr. Poilievre,” he added, throwing an arrow at the leader of the Conservative Party.
The latter had seized this story a little earlier in the day. “That doesn’t make any sense!” Trudeau officials prevent 2,700 Quebecers from having a doctor. I will remove bureaucracy to allow immigrant doctors to treat Canadians. »
Bloc Québécois MP Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, who took many steps to help the couple, denounced the “inhumanity” of Immigration and Citizenship Canada.