Immigration’s Medical Inadmissibility Clause

The admissibility guidelines of the Government of Canada’s immigration department fly in the face of our own human rights code, as demonstrated in a case currently before the Federal Court.

Angela Chesters has been refused Canadian citizenship even though she is married to a Canadian, is well educated and has extensive work experience. The reason: she has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair. A medical inadmissibility clause in the immigration law allows the government to turn down immigrants who might be taxing on our health and social services.

Chesters, who is physically independent and has never been unemployed, says the law is discriminatory. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that "every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination," regardless of disability.

"It doesn’t go with the picture that you have of Canada, being a free country, being so generous, being so accepting of minorities," Chesters told the courtroom. She and her husband are now living in Germany, and Chesters is no longer sure she will choose to live in Canada even if she wins her case.

After Chesters lodged her complaint the federal government did offer her a special permit to live in Canada despite the guidelines, but she refused to drop her case because she believes it is an important constitutional challenge.