HALIFAX — A 33-year-old woman facing deportation to the U.K. pleaded Thursday to be allowed to stay in the country she considers home, a day before a hearing that may shed light on her fate.
Propped up in a hospital bed as she recovers from surgery, Fliss Cramman said she is terrified of being sent back to England, where she was born but left with her family at the age of eight.
The young mother of four girls — all born in Ontario — only became aware she was not a Canadian citizen after a recent drug conviction and incarceration.
The Canada Border Services Agency wants to deport her by Nov. 4, but her physician has said Cramman would require about 18 months in Canada to properly recover from a series of surgeries done after she was rushed to hospital from a prison facility in Dartmouth on Aug. 12.
Her case returns to the Immigration and Refugee Board on Friday, when an adjudicator could issue a decision about releasing her from custody.
However, advocates say if she's released, she may not have health coverage for a range of physical and mental health issues.
