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Government working on plan to reunite committed couples kept apart by COVID-19, Liberal MP says

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Legislation reuniting thousands of Canadians with loved ones abroad is a matter of when, not if, according to a Liberal MP who has been critical of his government’s handling of the issue.

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Nate Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York) said Tuesday something should have been done “weeks ago” to allow committed couples to reunite as long as proper precautions were taken. Currently, only spouses, common-law partners who have lived together for at least 12 months, or dependent children are considered essential family during the pandemic, which has resulted a lengthy border closure to non-essential travel.

That has left committed couples, including Stratford’s Sarah Campbell, from seeing their loved ones. Campbell’s fiancé, Jacob Taylor, remains in England while she recovers from surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid. The couple was supposed to be married in Stratford in June.

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“There’s no question the government is actively working on a solution,” Erskine-Smith told The Beacon Herald. “I would love to say it’s going to be a matter of days, but I don’t know. This should have been weeks ago, but I can’t imagine this is going to take months. I wish I had a clear answer for so many deeply affected by this. I would have loved to have seen an interim process for people like Sarah who are in more difficult circumstances.”

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Erskine-Smith has advocated for desperate couples looking to reunify in Canada, often addressing the subject in Facebook Live videos from his home. He’s spoken to and heard from many in similar situations as Campbell, who hasn’t seen Taylor since early February.

“Everyone has a unique story … and our government I think should have acted more quickly so people like Sarah have the support they need,” Erskine-Smith said.

Stratford’s Sarah Campbell underwent surgery in early August to remove her thyroid and 56 lymph nodes from her neck. She recently learned that only six were cancerous. Supplied photo
Stratford’s Sarah Campbell underwent surgery in early August to remove her thyroid and 56 lymph nodes from her neck. She recently learned that only six were cancerous. Supplied photo

Campbell, 25, underwent surgery in early August to remove her thyroid and 56 lymph nodes from her neck. She recently learned that only six were cancerous, and her papillary thyroid cancer – the most common type – was less aggressive than once feared with a high likelihood that it won’t return once treatment is complete.

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“It was the first piece of good news I had in so many months,” she said.

The full thyroidectomy, which left Campbell with an incision across her neck, didn’t come without complications. There’s residual pain in her neck and left shoulder, which has led to mobility issues requiring physiotherapy, and the drains in her neck were removed too early, which resulted in swelling and an ear infection, not to mention very little sleep in the days following the lengthy procedure.

Campbell had a catheter inserted, and she couldn’t eat for several days. The mostly liquid diet only made her weaker.

“That was the time I really missed Jacob a lot,” she said. “My mom should not have to sponge bathe me.

“I love my parents, and they did a great job taking care of me, but Jacob should have been there. It was horrible without him.”

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It took Campbell two weeks until she was able to resume her letter campaign to government officials. She’s sent 80 handwritten notes so far, mostly to Bill Blair, the minister of public safety and emergency preparedness; Patty Hajdu, the minister of health; Francois-Phillipe Champagne, the minister of foreign affairs; Marco Mendicino, the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship; and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

She has yet to hear back, though her story has captured the attention of politicians both in Canada and around the world. Several MPs from various parties have voiced their support for Campbell on social media, as did Joelle Garriaud-Maylam, a senator from France.

“Why are governments acting with such a lack of basic humanity?” Garriaud-Maylam wrote on Twitter after seeing Campbell’s story. “This is shameful.”

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Campbell reiterated she doesn’t want open borders, just compassion from the federal government, which posted on its website Aug. 14 regarding a flight plan for safe air travel that it “is not aware of any cases attributed to passenger-to-passenger transmission on a flight to or from Canada.”

Several European countries have made exemptions allowing for the reunification of committed, non-married couples. Erskine-Smith said he’d like to see his government’s plan include rapid virus testing before and after the partner coming to Canada arrives in the country, simple documentation and attestation proving the relationship, and a 14-day quarantine.

He’s spoken multiple times to Liberal ministers and their teams, and vowed to keep pressing until a plan is in place.

“I understand these things take time,” he said. “I understand it’s not so very simple, but if we’ve been able to accommodate actors and athletes, we should be able to accommodate loved ones.”

cosmith@postmedia.com

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