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Dying man asks for relaxation of rules so he can see his children at Christmas

Last Updated: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 | 9:24 AM ET

CBC News

Phillip Ebanks says that all he wants for Christmas is to be together with his two adult children, but the Department of Citizenship and Immigration is standing in the way.

Ebanks is from Jamaica. He's been coming to Canada for more than 25 years to work as a seasonal farm labourer. The money he earned picking peaches, cherries and plums in the massive orchards of the Niagara region supported and schooled his two children in Jamaica.

Six months ago, while in Canada, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He has been given just months to live and has been allowed to remain in Canada for treatment.

But with the holiday season approaching, Ebanks wanted to bring his 20-year-old daughter, Asheda, and 23-year-old son, Troy, to Canada to celebrate Christmas.

"I would like them to be here this Christmas because I don't know if I'm going to live for a next one," he said during an interview in St. Catharines.

His daughter will arrive Wednesday night, but his son's visa application has been denied.

"I feel very bad, really sad. Perhaps for the last time we can't sit and talk for the Christmas," he said.

Ebanks says his son teaches at a high school but was rejected because of what the Canadian High Commission in Jamaica describes as his limited employment prospects and his financial situation.

Margaret Klassen, who met Ebanks at the hospital where he receives chemotherapy, says the problem is having a negative effect on Ebanks.

Klassen, who has been a registered nurse for 33 years, has taken Ebanks into her own home.

"Asheda was given a visa but Troy was turned down.… It just doesn't make any sense to me," she said.

"Knowing what his passion has been to get his children out of the poverty situation he has grown up in, and has put them through school, you know just how unfair this whole thing is."

A Toronto lawyer has intervened on Ebanks's behalf and asked Citizenship and Immigration Canada to reconsider.

A spokesperson says the department is looking into the case.

This story is now closed to commenting.

Audio

Jean Carter reports for CBC Radio (Runs: 1:30): Play: Real Media »

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