You are a newly licensed immigration consultant, working in a firm with others. Your firm has asked you to assist Maryam Helou Tannous with an inland application for permanent residence based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Ms. Tannous has already been interviewed and has provided her affidavit.

Affidavit of Maryam Helou Tannous

I, Maryam Helou Tannous, of the City of Ottawa in the Province of Ontario, DO SOLEMLY

SWEAR TO THE FOLLOWING:

1. My name is Maryam Helou Tannous. I was born on August 2, 1948, in Beirut, Lebanon.

2. I was married to Elias Chamoun on July 10, 1973. We had two sons, Youssef Chamoun,

(DOB: February 3, 1975), Bashir Chamoun, (DOB: May 14, 1977) and a daughter,

Nadine Chamoun (DOB: November 25, 1980).

3. Since 1994, my husband and I lived in an apartment in the Hazmiyeh neighbourhood of

Beirut. My husband died in August of 2022 from a stroke. After his death, I lived alone in

the apartment. In October of 2022, I came to Ottawa where I reside with my daughter,

Nadine, and her family. I have a temporary resident visa. Due to multiple compassionate

reasons, my family and I now believe that I should remain permanently in Canada.

4. In Lebanon, I worked as a custodian for Al-Dar (a large property maintenance company)

from 1995 until 2013. I made the decision to retire in 2013 because I had reached the age

of retirement and was experiencing physical difficulties. As I worked in the private

sector, I was not eligible for a pension (only public employees get pensions in Lebanon).

I managed to get by financially in Lebanon with the help of my children. I don't have any

savings, but my children helped me financially as much as they can every month.

5. I have suffered many physical injuries in the past two decades. I underwent double knee

replacement surgery over 15 years ago and since then I have been living in pain. Two

years ago, after falling twice, I underwent two other knee replacement surgeries and now

I have trouble walking and standing on my feet for a long time. Moreover, I have been

dealing with gall bladder issues and in 2018 I had two surgeries to remove my gall

bladder. On top of all this, I am diabetic and have hypertension problems.

6. These physical problems have impacted my life greatly. For example, because of my

knee injury, I can't stand on my feet for a long time and if I stand for too long I feel like I

am going to fall. Moreover, I get tired very quickly. I can't shower alone and I need

someone to help me. Because of the removal of my gall bladder, I am struggling with

digestion issues and get sick often.

7. I am not able to leave my house without assistance. I struggle with going out to get

necessities. Because of my physical disabilities, I used to stay at home almost all the

time. When my daughter was in Lebanon, she used to help me as much as she could,

since she was the closest to me. However, my daughter has relocated to Canada.

8. In case of necessity, my neighbours in Hazmiyeh used to help me whenever they could,

but obviously they're not available all the time for me. I fear what will happen to me if I

return to Lebanon and I am once again forced to live by myself. As a result of my knee

problems, I fall very often, which may cause many serious physical injuries that will

worsen my already limited physical difficulties. If I fall, I won't be able to get back up by

myself and I won't be able to call for help.

9. It is difficult living in my apartment in Lebanon. The apartment is very humid and there

are wet spots on the walls, which leads to unpleasant smells. There are also pests in the

apartment like cockroaches, mice, and rats. The structure of the building is not sound. It

was damaged during the civil war. There are cracks in the walls and there are exposed

electric wires everywhere. The stairs are severely eroded, cracked, and chipped. There is

no elevator. My apartment is on the second floor of the building and because of my

physical condition, it is difficult for me to get up and down the stairs. I can't go down the

stairs unaided. I have been living without a lease since 1994. This gives the landlord the

power to oust me from the building anytime.

10. There is no one in Lebanon whom I can rely on. My eldest son Youssef is unable to

check in on and help me regularly because he lives in a village that is far from Beirut. He

would not be able to reach me when I need him in an emergency, especially with the

frequent street closures that happen throughout the country because of spontaneous

demonstrations. Going to live with my son would not be possible either. My son's

financial ability is very limited. My son's wife also has said many times that she does not

want me live with them and is not willing to take care of me.

11. My younger son Bashir is a priest with the Maronite Church and is subject to being

posted around the world depending on the decision of Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, who is

the Patriarch of the Maronite Church. Right now, Bashir is stationed in Bkerk. Bashir's

living arrangements are provided by the Church so I would not be able to reside with

him.

12. I have 3 living brothers and one sister. They are unable to look after me or provide me

with support. First, all of them are old and have financial difficulties. They are all looked

after by their own close relatives. Their situation is even getting worse because of the

current situation in the country. Lebanon has had political and economic issues for a long

time. Since October 2019, revolutions are being made almost every day on the streets. As

a result, almost all roads are closed, many employees are either laid off, or their wages

cut. Moreover, many people are forced to close their stores.

13. Moreover, my elder brother is not working and has bladder cancer. As a result, his wife is

taking care of him. My younger brother's wife has breast cancer. Therefore, with his

limited income, my brother is taking care of his wife and cannot also take care of me. My

other younger brother is taking care of his sick wife with his limited income. I don't

recall the name of her condition, but she can barely walk because of a disease in her leg

muscles. Therefore, she gets continuous treatments which costs a lot of money.

Regarding my sister, we had a falling out and it's been more than 10 years since we have

talked to each other. Consequently, she cannot help me or take care of me.

14. I fear for the quality of life I would have if I were to go to a nursing home in Lebanon.

The quality of care in the nursing homes is not good. Nursing homes are short staffed and

are not able to provide adequate care. Standards are non-existent. Aside from the

inadequacies of the care, I would be extremely lonely. Moreover, nursing homes are very

expensive in Lebanon (800 USD monthly), which I cannot afford. On top of this, I have

to pay to my medicines every month.

15. If I were allowed to remain in Canada on the other hand, I would continue living with my

daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter. While visiting in Canada, my physical

problems followed me and I had another fall that caused me a lot of pain. With my

daughter's help, I was able to recover. This made it clear to us that living with her is the

best option for my health and security. Had I experienced this while living alone in

Lebanon, I cannot imagine how I could have coped.

16. Living with my family in Canada will allow me to live out the remainder of my life with

dignity. I will be able to live in a warm and safe home, surrounded by loved ones. I

would be able to be around my beloved granddaughter, and celebrate her

accomplishments.

17. I also have a cousin, Maroun, who lives in Ottawa. Maroun is ready to help me

financially by purchasing some of my necessary medications. Between my daughter, my

granddaughter, my son-in-law, and cousin, there will always be someone to help me

when I want to leave the house to go for a walk or go run errands. I will not be confined

to my home or a nursing home like I would be in Lebanon.

18. My daughter and son-in-law are unable to sponsor me under the Parents and

Grandparents Program because they do not have Notices of Assessment for the past three

years, as they resided in Lebanon in 2020 and 2021. They are unable to reside in Lebanon

because they are permanent residents, and they need to meet their residency obligations

in Canada.

Questions

Your firm has asked you to assist Mrs. Maryam Tannous with an inland application for permanent residence based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Mrs. Tannous has already been interviewed and has provided heraffidavit. Use only the facts presented in the affidavit in your submission.Do not add or make up any facts that were not in the affidavit.

-Draft a brief submission in point form to the Immigration Officer.

-First, draft your brief point-form argument about three hundred words using the FILAC (legal reasoning) and CREAC (legal writing) structures as you prepare your notes. Make sure to use only the facts presented in the affidavit. Do not make up additional facts.

-Then, based on your written point-form argument, write a brief submission arguing your client's case on H&C considerations.

Your submission must include:

-A brief opening statement that identifies your client's goal, gives a brief summary of the relevant facts of their case, and provides an outline of your argument

-A statement of the central legal issue and a brief summary of the relevant H&C factor that you have identified, drawing from the relevant law and policy.

-The legally relevant facts raised in your client's affidavit that support your argument.

Your argument (including applying the law and policy that you know to the facts you have identified) as to the reasons the H&C exemption should be granted.

A brief conclusion.