Campaign Details

We, the undersigned appeal to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Honourable Chris Alexander, to grant Maria Victoria "Vicky" Venancio permanent residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Vicky is a 29 year old woman who came from the Philippines to to work in the service industry. In June 2012, Vicky was cycling to work in Edmonton when she was struck by a vehicle leaving her quadriplegic. Her employer is not providing disability benefits and the government is now in the process of deporting her.

Vicky is a hard working woman and if allowed to stay she will be able to speed her rehabilitation and continue to work and contribute to Canadian society and support her family back in the Philippines. If deported, she will never be able to receive the treatment she needs to recover.

Since her arrival in Canada, Vicky has been engaged not only in providing for her family, but also in her community and has developed strong community ties. She is currently providing for herself with the help of the network of friends she created. With strong conviction, Vicky continues to volunteer for experimental treatments at the University of Alberta's ReWalk program. She has made significant progress and is helping the research group to discover new directions in making post injury recovery possible. Vicky is determined to recover, return to work and realize the Canadian dream.

We ask that Vicky be allowed to stay and be given the right to live in Canada as a permanent resident. We strongly believe that you, as the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and the face of Canada on immigration issues should grant our appeal.

After all, this is what Canadian compassion is about.