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Greater than eight months after a assist employee at a Toronto-area group residence drowned on the job, his physique stays at a funeral residence and his household in Nigeria nonetheless cannot enter Canada to say a last goodbye.
The sudden loss of life of Ashiru Sarafa Awoyemi, 50, has left his spouse and 4 youngsters grief-stricken with unanswered questions and no solution to get into Canada for even a go to, his spouse Awanat Oluwatoyin Ashiru mentioned in an e mail to CBC Information.
Based on their Islamic beliefs, she mentioned, her husband ought to have been buried quickly after his loss of life, however their lack of ability to come back to Canada has prevented that.
“Being [in Canada would] make an impression in our life as a result of that is the place he struggled and died in a mysterious and painful approach,” she wrote.
Ashiru, 50, was working at New Leaf: Residing and Studying Collectively, a gaggle residence for individuals with mental disabilities, developmental delays and psychological well being issues, situated in East Gwillimbury about 56 kilometres north of Toronto. On Feb. 12, he drove a resident to a close-by web site for a stroll within the forest and to go swimming, a Ministry of Labour inspector later wrote in a discipline go to report.
York Area Police discovered his physique on the backside of the pool that afternoon, one other Ministry of Labour inspection report mentioned. Regardless of the house’s coverage {that a} supervisor should be current always, he’d been alone with the resident and could not swim, his household advised CBC Information.
Police and the Ministry of Labour advised CBC Information their investigations proceed. New Leaf, which didn’t reply to a request from CBC Information for remark, was ordered in March to coach its staff about its pool coverage and cease utilizing the pool till the investigation is full.
The Ontario Ministry of Kids, Group and Social Providers, which oversees houses like New Leaf. mentioned after a “thorough overview” that it decided the corporate is “complying with the province’s expectations and requirements and is ready to ship anticipated providers.”
‘He would not need anybody else to endure’
Within the weeks after his loss of life, workers at New Leaf and their union, SEIU, pointed to harmful circumstances and staffing shortages on the residence. At his on-line memorial in March, they described him as all the time smiling and laughing and a superb, selfless chief who greeted residents earlier than COVID-19 with a hug, after which with an elbow bump after the pandemic started.
Ashiru had initially come to Canada three years in the past as a refugee and was within the technique of getting everlasting residency for not solely himself however his spouse and youngsters, too.
“They’re very gifted youngsters,” his sister Sola Salami mentioned in a Zoom interview from Sagamu, Nigeria. “That is why he needed them to realize a greater life. He liked his household and youngsters.”
She mentioned she had implored Ashiru to take break day in the course of the pandemic, however he insisted on persevering with to work so he might present for his household. Ashiru contracted and recovered from COVID-19, after which went again to work. She mentioned he died attempting to fulfill the calls for of his superiors.
“He is filled with compassion,” Salami mentioned. He is the kind of one who thinks of others earlier than himself and desires to assist. He would not need anybody else to endure”
Visa purposes stalled
However makes an attempt to expedite the household’s everlasting residency purposes after Ashiru’s loss of life have been futile, mentioned Dov Maierovitz, their immigration lawyer in Toronto.
He took on their case when he realized of Ashiru’s loss of life, recognizing that navigating Canada’s immigration system on their very own could be “virtually inconceivable,” particularly in the course of the pandemic, he mentioned.
He helped them apply for customer visas by means of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that might permit them to briefly enter the nation and lay Ashiru to relaxation. The federal ministry’s web site estimates processing time to be about 162 days
Eight months later, no progress has been made, a annoyed Maierovitz mentioned.
“[The application] is nonetheless lingering on the visa workplace,” he mentioned. “There isn’t any additional recourse. I do not know what to do to attempt to get this household right here.”
IRCC sends condolences to household
IRCC spokesperson Jelena Jenko advised CBC Information she couldn’t touch upon the household’s state of affairs particularly, and didn’t reply questions in regards to the customer visa course of.
“We’re saddened by the tragic occasion and ship our most heartfelt condolences to the household,” she mentioned.
Ashiru’s spouse Awant has struggled to care for his or her youngsters, she mentioned in a Zoom interview by means of an interpreter. With out his earnings, she will be able to now not pay for them to go to high school. And her hopes to provide them a “lovely” and “peaceable” life in Canada have died.
“Every little thing has stopped,” mentioned Awant, crying.
Ashiru’s daughter Zainab Omoseke Ashiru, 21, mentioned with out his monetary assist she will be able to’t proceed her grasp’s diploma to develop into a nurse.
“His entire plan was for us to come back over there, and for us to proceed our schooling and for every part to be positive,” she mentioned.
“My dad is gone however I do not need my schooling to be gone additionally.”
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