This advocate couldn’t get a meeting with Bill Blair over his COVID-19 border policies — so he’s running against him

As a leader of an advocacy group for Canadians separated from their loved ones by the country's COVID-19 border restrictions, David Edward-Ooi Poon has tried unsuccessfully to schedule a meeting by phone or email with federal Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair for the past 18 months.

So when a federal election was called in August, the Toronto family doctor thought his chance for a face-to-face meeting with the point-man for Ottawa's border control measures had come.

Born and raised in Regina to Chinese and Malaysian immigrant parents, Poon couldn't have imagined running for elected office until now.

What motivated him to enter the race as an independent candidate in the Scarborough Southwest riding were the 12,000 members of Faces of Advocacy and their heart-wrenching stories of family separation, depression, helplessness and hopelessness that they say have been ignored.

I'm born of privilege in Canada, and even I felt completely powerless. How can so many people who don't have good English or French, who don't have access to power and who feel disenfranchised get any sense of justice or fairness or accountability if they suffer?" asked Poon.

If it takes me running an entire campaign just to be able to speak to Bill Blair face to face, that shows how absurd the system is, that a person needs to run a federal election campaign just to speak to the man who needs to be accountable for those actions."

In the wake of the global pandemic, Canada closed its border on March 18, 2020, to non-citizens and non-permanent residents. Although immediate foreign family members were exempted from the restrictions, that family travel had to be essential and nondiscretionary."

As a result, many spouses and partners were stopped at the border and sent back home, including Poon's significant other, Alexandria Aquino, who arrived at Pearson airport from Ireland in April 2020 and was banned from entry.

The voluntary efforts of Faces of Advocacy finally culminated in Ottawa easing the border restrictions in October for unmarried couples and those foreign nationals with a dying relative in Canada.

Poon said it still bugs him that Blair has not spoken to him and his group about the concerns and questions they have raised over the COVID-19 border policies that keep apart loved ones.

What we realized was there's a lack of government accountability when they make a decision that affects so many Canadian families and don't even feel the need to tell us why," said Poon, 35, who is studying at University of Toronto for further training in public health.

We are a disenfranchised group who is speaking to power and power refuses to speak to us."

In a statement to the Star, Blair's campaign said the government has taken meaningful" and unprecedented" action to limit the introduction and spread of COVID-19 into the country. Senior advisers from the offices of health, public safety and immigration have had regular discussions with Poon throughout, he added.

We are aware that many people made sacrifices as a result, and we acknowledge the challenges they faced," said Blair, a former Toronto police chief who was first elected in 2015 representing the Liberals. He was re-elected in 2019 with 57.2 per cent of the votes.

But, reducing international travel at the height of the pandemic and before vaccines were widely available as they are now, was necessary."

Blair said the government has been transparent about its measures during the pandemic, with frequent updates and detailed information being made available online. If re-elected, he said, the Liberal government is committed to ensuring public trust and confidence in the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) by reintroducing legislation to bring external review to the agency.

While the vast majority of CBSA officers perform their tasks admirably, we know there are instances where their conduct will be questioned," Blair said. And when that happens it is important that complaints are examined fairly and impartially."

Madoc, Ont., resident John McCall, a member of Faces of Advocacy, was among the people Poon consulted before he threw his name onto the ballot.

McCall's wife, Donna, a retired ICU nurse, was diagnosed with liver failure early last year but their adult children, Ian and Meghan, in the U.S., were banned from entry because they did not have a Canadian citizenship certificate even though they are citizens by lineage. Their children ended up saying farewell to their dying mother on a video call on Aug. 10, 2020.

Poon wanted to run against Blair in the name of Donna and needed McCall's blessing.

The 68-year-old had no hesitation in endorsing his friend and even volunteered to help door-knock for Poon, driving in all the way from his home, which is an hour away from Peterborough, to campaign for him in Scarborough.

Sporting a grey campaign T-shirt that said Vote Poon," McCall shared the trauma his family went through and asked residents in the riding for their support for Poon's platform to establish an independent federal office to ensure government transparency and accountability, and advocate for citizens failed by government policies.

What I hope is that David raises the profile and embarrasses ministers who are not acknowledging the people who are victims of the decisions they make," said the retired computer systems consultant.

We should at least get some direct explanation and not to be ignored or placated by some boilerplate explanation and emails."

McCall, who had never volunteered in an election campaign, said it was an empowering experience to convince someone to put their name down toward the minimum 100 signatures from people in the riding that Poon required to enter the race.

I'm finding that people listen when you are able to speak directly to them, no matter what their previous predisposed attitudes might be. When you tell them your personal story directly face to face, people listen," said McCall.

That's why it's very difficult to deal with the (government) ministers whom I don't have the opportunity to speak to face to face, and they ignore my situation."

Poon's campaign manager, Sean Dillon, said there's a great need for a federal independent oversight body that works like the ombudsman at the provincial level to help monitor the government's service commitment to its people.

Provinces have had ombudsmen that have a role of government authority to problem solve on behalf of citizens. They don't affect policy," said the 48-year-old Sarnia, Ont., man, whose girlfriend lives just a 12-minute drive away in Port Huron, Mich.

But where government falls short of its commitment, an ombudsman can step in and ensure the government is living up to its service standards to citizens."

Dillon said he met Poon on social media while they were both respectively fighting Ottawa to relax its border rules so they could reunite with their other halves. They have since worked closely together through Faces of Advocacy.

What you get with David is exactly what you see, somebody that is very compassionate, very motivated and has a natural ability to connect people," said Dillon, who works in the charitable sector.

David brought together a very disparate group of people and connected us together to start doing the key work that needed to be done. He was humble and always asking for advice, wanting to know if there were hardships or issues. Those are the skills of leadership that really endear somebody to you."

Also running in the riding are Guled Arale for the NDP, Mohsin Bhuiyan for the Conservatives, Amanda Cain for the Green Party and Ramona Pache for the People's Party of Canada.

Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering immigration for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @nkeung