MONCTON, N.B. - A South Korean family living in New Brunswick is facing deportation later this month because the federal government has decided that providing health care for their youngest son would put too much strain on the system.
Fourteen-year-old Sung-Joo Maeng was diagnosed with autism and epilepsy in 2001.
The Maeng family, which also includes 19-year-old son Jung-Joo, moved from Seoul to Moncton in 2003, hoping the clean air of the Maritimes would improve the health of little Sung-Joo.
"He's really improved since we moved here," says his older brother, a science student at Dalhousie University in Halifax who goes by the name John. "He likes it here."
Though the boy is non-verbal, he is learning to communicate, mainly by pointing at objects, his older brother says. As well, Sung-Joo is receiving care from a pediatric specialist in Saint John.
John Maeng says his parents -- father Tae-Shik and mother Hee-Eun Jang -- have temporary work visas, and he has a student visa. When he's not studying at school, he says he looks after his little brother and works at his parents' Asian grocery store.
He confirms that the federal Citizenship and Immigration Department recently rejected the family's request for permanent residency, citing a law that says applicants can be denied if their health-care needs represent an excessive burden.
The family's deportation deadline is June 30.
If they are forced to return to South Korean, John Maeng says his brother will suffer the most.
"It would be very difficult for him," he says, adding there is a lower level of acceptance of autism in South Korean.
The family's story has prompted an outpouring of support from friends, neighbours and the local member of the legislature.
Chris Collins, the Liberal member for Moncton East, says Ottawa's decision is "un-Canadian" because universal health care is considered a basic right in this country.
"The government was aware of the health complications the youngest child had and they let them into the country," Collins said in an interview from Fredericton.
"Since then, this family has contributed to our economy. They started a business and their oldest son is attending university. ... The community is solidly behind this family because they're the type of family that Canadians want to see come to Canada."
Meanwhile, the family has three lawyers working on their case, there's an online petition with more than 6,000 names on it, a Facebook page and a protest rally is planned for Sunday in Moncton.
"I'm hoping that this is a bureaucratic glitch that can be fixed by the minister of immigration," said Collins. "It's not reflective of Canadian values. We believe in health care for all."
The provincial legislature is expected to debate a motion Thursday that encourages the federal government to reconsider its decision.
The province's social development minister, Sue Stultz, told the legislature Wednesday she is working with her federal counterparts to make sure the family stays in the province.
"We are all on the same page with our communities to ensure that this family gets the right solution," says Stultz, the member for Moncton West.
"These families that come in from South Korea are businesspeople. They work hard, they pay their taxes and they give a lot back to their communities at the same time. ... We are standing by them."
Jon Stone, regional spokesman for the federal Immigration Department, said Section 38 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states that foreign nationals are deemed inadmissible to Canada if their health condition could "cause excessive demand on health or social services."
The threshold is determined by calculating the estimated cost of health care and social services over a five- or 10-year period, he said. If the figure exceeds the average, annual per-capita expenditure on health and social services, residency is denied.
"It's designed to protect Canada's health-care system from excessive pressures," Stone said in an interview from Halifax.
In 2010, 1,202 applicants were rejected for permanent residency status because of health cost concerns, he said. That represents about 0.2 per cent of those who applied.
"We're not looking at big numbers here," he said.
Stone confirmed that rejections can be overturned on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
