Legs don’t work? Please leave

35-year old Chris Manson, who lived in Winnipeg since 2001, will be put on a flight and sent back to Manchester after he lost use of his legs while working.

35-year old Chris Manson, who lived in Winnipeg since 2001, will be put on a flight and sent back to Manchester after he lost use of his legs while working.

He said that he has been trying and is still trying to fight his deportation and that he is seeking church refuge. Mason said along with his lawyer, Hafeez Khan, that he was in contact with immigration officials yesterday. He added that the situation has been a fighting and everlasting one.

He said that if he is sent back to England he is not sure as to what will happen there.

Mason came to Canada as a truck driver on an employment visa, and after being unable to use his legs, he applied to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, which, he says, was turned down by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Mason said that his lawyer just couldn’t believe that the application was rejected as they submitted a very good application.

Mason said that the grounds for the refusal of his application, as cited by immigration officials, were his lack of employment and ties in this country.

He said that in Canada, he has a lot of support around him, which will certainly not be around him if he goes back to England. If he is deported then Mason said that he would stay with his mother in Manchester but expressed his willingness to stay in Canada only.

He said that Canada has become his home and he loves living here, loves his friends and has people around him here.

A spokeswoman for Canada Border Services Agency though didn’t directly commented on the case of Mason, said that it is essential for the integrity of the system that once individuals have exhausted all their avenues, they should respect the immigration laws of Canada and thus leave the country.

She said that in cases there are medical concerns, CBSA officials will consult medical professionals and rely on the knowledge of these professionals to determine if or not a person is in a condition to travel.

It must be noted that Mason lost the use of his legs while he was working as a truck driver in Canada. He said that herniated vertebrae discs put pressure on his spinal chord, and a result he was forced to take a wheelchair.

Mason said that all this has left him ashamed, but unfortunately, this is the only way to live for him now.