My name is Ericson Santos De Leon. I'm a member of Migrante, in Quebec, or immigrants in Canada. I have a nursing degree from the Philippines and came to Canada in 2009 under the live-in caregiver program. I was able to come here after a friend referred me to an agency in Montreal. The agency told me that they could help me find work as a caregiver if I paid them $4,300. The agency told me they were charging me a high placement fee because people don't like hiring male caregivers. I previously worked in Italy where I was employed by an agency, and I thought that what they said made sense.
When I arrived in Montreal I found myself without a job. My agency paid someone to pretend to be my employer for my papers. For three months I lived on my savings. After three months I was getting desperate. I went to the agency and told them I really needed to work. They found me a job with a family, but it was under the table.
After a year I told them I would report them to the authorities. I said that they had been abusing me, that I had a family to support. They got discouraged and finally fixed my papers. What they did was very wrong. They took advantage of me because they knew that I wanted to come to Canada. With many agents, you are tied to what they want you to do and where they want you to work.
In 2013 I applied for permanent residency, and in 2016 I received a letter saying my application was rejected because my son who has a mild case of Down's syndrome was medically inadmissible. I was surprised because I had already received my CSQ from the Quebec government. I had already saved money for my family's arrival and rented an apartment for us when I received this news.
Immigration officials wrongly assume that all people born with disabilities are a burden. They ignore what the doctors are saying, that my child is leading an independent life. Why is my child being treated differently from normal children? Their decision discriminates against people with disabilities and against caregivers like me who live apart from their families for many years, work hard, and sacrifice so much because of the promise of Canadian citizenship.