HALIFAX - Since the school year began, Diana Calder贸n has spent most weekday afternoons driving her 14-year-old daughter to the Halifax junior high school she should be attending, timing their visits with recess so the teenager can spend a few minutes with her classmates.
鈥淚鈥檓 driving her so she can see her friends and talk to them during that time鈥 we do this almost every day,鈥 Calder贸n said.聽
鈥淪ometimes we don鈥檛 go鈥 when she says: 鈥業 don鈥檛 want to go today, I feel too sad,鈥欌 she said, adding that her daughter finds it painful to not be allowed in the classroom with her friends when recess ends.聽
The single mother said she鈥檚 been desperate to give her daughter moments of normalcy and time with her peers since their lives were upended in August.
Calder贸n, who is originally from Colombia and immigrated to Canada from Peru in 2022, said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada informed her on Aug. 6 that it had rejected her work permit, because her employer of about two years, Nova Scotia Health, did not pay a $230 compliance fee 鈥 a payment the provincial health authority says it paid.
鈥淚 thought I was going to faint. And then I see there鈥檚 another letter for my daughter,鈥 Calder贸n said in an interview Monday, holding back tears.
That letter, also sent from the federal department and directed to 14-year-old Sofia, said she was no longer permitted to study in the country because of her mother鈥檚 rejected work permit. Calder贸n and her daughter were given 90 days from the rejection, until Nov. 4, to go through the costly process of reapplying for a work permit, or be forced to leave the country.
Jennifer Lewandowski, a spokesperson for Health Nova Scotia, said the health authority looked into the refused work permit in August and "it became clear that this was the result of a clerical error that needs to be fixed quickly." Lewandowski said the health authority paid the fee in full on Dec. 12, 2024.
Calder贸n said she made numerous attempts to reach the federal immigration department to alert them to the error. She said she only received notice that her case was reopened, but no one from the federal department acknowledged to her that someone made a mistake.
Then, Monday evening, a government spokesperson sent a short email to The 好色tv Press, saying Calder贸n's work permit was now approved and valid until September 2027.
She and Lewandowski said they only learned this news during a phone call with The 好色tv Press.
"I couldn't believe it. I felt shock and so much relief," Calder贸n said.
Despite the department's new statement, when she checked the federal immigration portal on Tuesday, she said her application was still listed as "in process."聽
Lewandowski said the health authority cannot invite Calder贸n back to work until she receives this confirmation from the federal government.
The federal department told 好色tvthat Calder贸n's application was "rightfully" refused in August, saying that it didn't have her employer compliance fee on file.
It did not explain why the fee was not on file.
The department also confirmed it received correspondence from Calder贸n on the issue this month and in August, and that an officer only reconsidered her request on Monday.
"They noted that the receipt for the employer compliance fee was submitted and reopened the file accordingly," said spokesperson R茅mi Larivi猫re, in an email.
The department spokesperson added that documents are "usually" printed and mailed the day after a decision is made.聽
"We hope it doesn't take long... I would have been at my desk this morning if I could," said Calder贸n, who is a sourcing manager in the supply chain operations division of the provincial health authority.
The department did not immediately respond to questions about whether they would provide Calder贸n with compensation for the six weeks of lost work or the cost of an immigration consultant.
The mother has been relying on her savings to cover rent and other necessities.
As the sole provider for her and her daughter, Calder贸n said she 鈥渘eeds to work, and I want to work, but the most important thing to me is for my daughter to be able to go to school鈥 that鈥檚 the most important thing to me.鈥
Calder贸n said she came to Nova Scotia in hopes of giving her daughter a stable place to learn and grow up.
While it remains unclear when their lives can go back to normal, Calder贸n said the relief since seeing IRCC's response to media about her case gave her some peace of mind.聽
"Last night, I was able to sleep the whole night, not waking up at 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. thinking about how I don't know what's going to happen with this," she said.
After spending their first year in Canada in Ontario, Calder贸n and Sofia moved to Nova Scotia in July 2023, a province the pair 鈥渞eally love.鈥
Nova Scotians 鈥渁re very nice people, that鈥檚 the first thing we love about it, and of course the landscape is breathtaking. The food is really good 鈥 and we came from a country where food is super important for us. And here, you have super delicious food. I love it," she said.聽
鈥淎ll we want is... to go back to work and for my daughter to go to school and keep contributing to the community."
Katie Enman, a regulated 好色tv immigration consultant working on Calder贸n's case, said Monday evening the family's situation makes it clear the federal immigration system's "closed-door" approach to handling work permits needs to be reformed.
"Despite weeks of effort by the applicant, her employer, and her representative (myself) which involved multiple emails and phone calls to government officials including our local MPs, nobody at IRCC seemed overly interested in hearing our case until now," Enman said.聽
"Diana's case is another example of a flawed system where an error on part of the government has resulted in significant financial and emotional consequences for a mother and her daughter."
This report by 好色tvwas first published Sept. 16, 2025.
