News

Canadian-American couple forced apart at border after they couldn't prove common-law status – CBC.ca

Published

4 years ago

June 28, 2020

Canadian Stephen Barkey and American Cathy Kolsch say they’re devastated after being forced apart when they tried to cross the Canada-U.S. border on Monday.

“We don’t know when we’re going to be reunited,” said Barkey, a 65-year-old retired sales rep. “It feels like my whole life has been ripped apart.”

The couple, who had been living together in the U.S., tried to cross the border from North Dakota into Saskatchewan after Canada loosened its travel restrictions to allow immediate family to enter the country. But Kolsch was denied entry to Canada because the couple wasn’t able to prove she is Barkey’s common-law partner.

When they turned back to re-enter the U.S., Barkey was then denied entry because the U.S. land border is now closed to Canadian visitors. Consequently, the couple was forced to separate and return to their respective countries.

“We were screaming and sobbing and pleading,” said Kolsch, a 61-year-old retired paramedic. “It’s inhumane what happened to us.”

Barkey and Kolsch are one of many cross-border couples separated during the pandemic. To help stop the spread of the coronavirus, Canada currently prohibits foreigners from entering the country for non-essential travel.

The federal government loosened the rules on June 8 to allow foreigners to visit immediate family in Canada — including spouses and common-law partners. However, many cross-border couples have been dismayed to discover that their relationship doesn’t qualify.

“We are together. We are common-law,” Kolsch said.

Canadian Steve Barkey and his American partner live in an RV and split their time between Canada and the U.S. before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. (submitted by Cathy Kolsch)

To qualify as common-law, unmarried couples must prove that they’ve lived together for at least one year.

Barkey and Kolsch said they have lived together for a year-and-a-half in their recreational vehicle (RV), mainly splitting their time between Barrie, Ont. and California.

When the pandemic hit and the Canada-U.S. land border closed to non-essential traffic, Barkey stayed in the U.S. with Kolsch. But after the Canadian government revised its travel restrictions, the couple drove their RV to the Saskatchewan border, confident they would qualify as a common-law couple.

Although they came armed with proof of their life together, including receipts for the campgrounds they’ve stayed at, the couple said they didn’t pass the test.

The border officer wanted to see a rental agreement or mortgage documents — which the RV dwellers couldn’t provide, Barkey said.

“We’re being discriminated against because we live in an RV.”

‘We felt like criminals’

The couple’s situation went from bad to worse when they tried to re-enter the U.S., and Barkey was denied entry.

“We were both just holding each other and crying and shaking,” he said.” We felt like criminals.”

Forced to go their separate ways, Barkey drove the RV to a friend’s farm in Grenfell, Sask., to self-isolate for 14 days.

Kolsch was stuck at the North Dakota border, homeless and alone. She said she spent about $1,000 on a taxi, hotel and then a flight two days later to California to stay with friends.

WATCH | ‘Travel bubble’ in Atlantic Canada important to reopening economy:

Atlantic Canadians should be able to travel within the four provinces sometime in early July, P.E.I. Premier Dennis King said. Globe and Mail health columnist Andre Picard says such a travel bubble is the logical conclusion to gradually lifting COVID-19 restrictions. 7:49

“We just cry every time we talk to each other,” said Kolsch, who speaks with Barkey by phone multiple times a day. “This is unjust.”

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) told CBC News that foreigners must satisfy border officers that they meet the requirements to enter Canada.

When asked what documents cross-border couples need to provide to prove their common-law status, CBSA couldn’t provide a definitive list. Instead, the agency offered suggestions such as a common-law status certificate or documents showing a shared residential address.

Many couples still separated

No amount of documentation can help David Poon of Regina and his Irish partner, Alexandria Aquino of Dublin. The couple hasn’t lived together long enough to qualify as a common-law couple.

Frustrated by their situation, Poon and Aquino founded the organization Advocacy for Family Reunification at the Canadian Border. Poon said hundreds of the group’s 1,600 members are still separated from their loved ones, despite Canada loosening the rules for immediate family members.

“As the world gets more scary and more difficult, the one thing they wish is to embrace their partner,” said Poon, a 34-year-old physician.

David Poon of Regina and his Irish partner Alexandria Aquino founded the organization Advocacy for Family Reunification at the Canadian Border. (submitted by David Poon)

The organization has started a House of Commons petition asking the federal government to allow all committed cross-border couples to reunite in Canada.

“I do not believe the government set out to exclude us,” Poon said. “I believe we have just been lost in the technicalities.”

CBSA said the government understands the challenges cross-border families face during the pandemic but that the current travel restrictions are required to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

“These are unprecedented times, and the measures imposed were done so in light of potential public health risks,” CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy said in an email.

The Canada-U.S. land border remains closed to non-essential traffic until July 21 and that date may be extended. But Barkey and Kolsch haven’t given up hope they can soon be reunited.

Barkey could fly to the U.S., as the U.S. has only closed its shared land border with Canada. But he’s too afraid to try, concerned he has been flagged after being denied entry. So Kolsch is gathering more documents of their life together, hoping she can convince CBSA that she meets the requirements to join her partner in Canada.

“I should be there with him,” Kolsch said. “I know we qualify as a couple.”

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Source link

News

Langford, Heim lead Rangers to wild 13-8 win over Blue Jays

Published

2 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rookie Wyatt Langford homered, doubled twice and became the first Texas player this season to reach base five times, struggling Jonah Heim delivered a two-run single to break a sixth-inning tie and the Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 13-8 on Tuesday night.

Leody Taveras also had a homer among his three hits for the Rangers.

Langford, who also walked twice, has 12 homers and 25 doubles this season. He is hitting .345 in September.

“I think it’s really important to finish on a strong note,” Langford said. “I’m just going to keep trying to do that.”

Heim was 1-for-34 in September before he lined a single to right field off Tommy Nance (0-2) to score Adolis García and Nathaniel Lowe, giving Texas a 9-7 lead. Heim went to the plate hitting .212 with 53 RBIs after being voted an All-Star starter last season with a career-best 95 RBIs. He added a double in the eighth ahead of Taveras’ homer during a three-run inning.

Texas had 13 hits and left 13 men on. It was the Rangers’ highest-scoring game since a 15-8 win at Oakland on May 7.

Matt Festa (5-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win, giving him a 5-0 record in 13 appearances with the Rangers after being granted free agency by the New York Mets on July 7.

Nathan Eovaldi, a star of Texas’ 2023 run to the franchise’s first World Series championship, had his worst start of the year in what could have been his final home start with the Rangers. Eovaldi, who will be a free agent next season, allowed 11 hits (the most of his two seasons with Texas) and seven runs (tied for the most).

“I felt like early in the game they just had a few hits that found the holes, a few first-pitch base hits,” said Eovaldi, who is vested for a $20 million player option with Texas for 2025. “I think at the end of the day I just need to do a better job of executing my pitches.”

Eovaldi took a 7-3 lead into the fifth inning after the Rangers scored five unearned runs in the fourth. The Jays then scored four runs to knock out Eovaldi after 4 2/3 innings.

Six of the seven runs scored against Toronto starter Chris Bassitt in 3 2/3 innings were unearned. Bassitt had a throwing error during Texas’ two-run third inning.

“We didn’t help ourselves defensively, taking care of the ball to secure some outs,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.

The Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a double and two singles, his most hits in a game since having four on Sept. 3. Guerrero is hitting .384 since the All-Star break.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette (calf) was activated and played for the first time since July 19, going 2 for 5 with an RBI. … OF Daulton Varsho (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day injured list and will have rotator cuff surgery … INF Will Wagner (knee inflammation) was placed on the 60-day list.

UP NEXT

Rangers: LHP Chad Bradford (5-3, 3.97 ERA) will pitch Wednesday night’s game on extended five days’ rest after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and home runs (three) in 3 2/3 innings losing at Arizona on Sept. 14.

Blue Jays: RHP Bowden Francis (8-4, 3.50) has had two no-hitters get away in the ninth inning this season, including in his previous start against the New York Mets on Sept. 11. Francis is the first major-leaguer to have that happen since Rangers Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in 1989.

—

AP MLB:

Source link

News

Billie Jean King set to earn another honor with the Congressional Gold Medal

Published

3 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

WASHINGTON (AP) — Billie Jean King will become the first individual female athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey announced Tuesday that their bipartisan legislation had passed the House of Representatives and would be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.

The bill to honor King, the tennis Hall of Famer and activist, had already passed unanimously in the Senate.

Sherrill, a Democrat, said in a statement that King’s “lifetime of advocacy and hard work changed the landscape for women and girls on the court, in the classroom, and the workplace.”

The bill was introduced last September on the 50th anniversary of King’s victory over Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes,” still the most-watched tennis match of all-time. The medal, awarded by Congress for distinguished achievements and contributions to society, has previously been given to athletes including baseball players Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente, and golfers Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer.

King had already been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican, says she has “broken barriers, led uncharted paths, and inspired countless people to stand proudly with courage and conviction in the fight for what is right.”

___

AP tennis:

Source link

News

Account tweaks for young Instagram users ‘minimum’ expected by B.C., David Eby says

Published

4 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

SURREY, B.C. – Premier David Eby says new account control measures for young Instagram users introduced Tuesday by social media giant Meta are the “minimum” expected of tech companies to keep kids safe online.

The parent company of Instagram says users in Canada and elsewhere under 18 will have their accounts set to private by default starting Tuesday, restricting who can send messages, among other parental controls and settings.

Speaking at an unrelated event Tuesday, Eby says the province began talks with social media companies after threatening legislation that would put big tech companies on the hook for “significant potential damages” if they were found negligent in failing to keep kids safe from online predators.

Eby says the case of Carson Cleland, a 12-year-old from Prince George, B.C., who took his own life last year after being targeted by a predator on Snapchat, was “horrific and totally preventable.”

He says social media apps are “nothing special,” and should be held to the same child safety standards as anyone who operates a place that invites young people, whether it’s an amusement park, a playground or an online platform.

In a progress report released Tuesday about the province’s engagement with big tech companies including Google, Meta, TikTok, Spapchat and X, formerly known as Twitter, the provincial government says the companies are implementing changes, including a “trusted flagger” option to quickly remove intimate images.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

Source link