My name is Maria Paz. I am a single mother, of my beloved 7 year old son, Johao Nicholas. We have lived in the Pemberton, Whistler, and Lil’wat Nation communities for almost 5 years. When my son was just two years old, we moved to the beautiful town of Pemberton to be with brother, Emerson, and mother, Marcela Bravo Rojas. My son and I came to Canada following the unexpected passing of my partner when he was 21, Johao’s father, in a motorcycle accident in Chile Johao was only 1.5 years old when this happed.

When I first arrived in Pemberton, I was filled with grief and fear about the future. This community welcomed us and made us feel safe. Through the generosity and kindness of the community, little by little I found the strength to get back up. Johao has thrived in our new life, enrolling in kindergarten and then elementary school. He now speaks both English and Spanish fluently. He has many friends, church family and his childhood is truly blessed. He does not know about the problems we faced in Chile, how my mother became a refugee to Canada, or the sadness of our life following the passing of his father. Johao only knows the support from his school, affection of his classmates and teachers, and the extended family that have grown around him.

As his mother, I have tried to shelter him from some of the realities of life as an immigrant. Currently, I have two jobs as the costs of being a single parent and paying for immigration lawyers and fees are always challenging. My brother and mother are wonderfully supportive and do as much as they can to help me so I can work on weekends and attend immigration appointments. You may have met me working at RONA, the Pemberton community centre children’s recreation programs, Whistler Combo Camp and GAP, and I am often at our parks with my son.

Recently, I received a deportation notice for my son and I. We were told to leave the country by July 17th. Errors in my immigration process by a previous lawyer and inattention to my file resulted in problems that I am now working to address. I have engaged a new lawyer that has been able to delay the deportation order until the mistakes made in our visa applications can be remedied. This will be a long and expensive process. I have already spent many thousands seeking permanent residency in Canada, and we thought we were almost at the end of the process. The deportation notice and awareness of the mismanagement of our applications have been crushing. But we are so grateful to have the opportunity to fight to remain in this community and this country that we now feel in our hearts is our home.

We are asking for your support to help us pay for our new lawyer to continue his work to address our deportation order and ensure that we can remain in this beautiful life we hold so dear. We have paid a $3,500cad retainer and have a legal debt of $13,500cad that we need to pay for our new lawyer to continue to provide his services. This amount is needed almost immediately, and my family and I are unable to pay on our own. Any amount you are able to contribute would be so appreciated.With gratitude,

Maria Paz and Johao