Bass River, N.S. upset over family's deportation

Immigration Canada has told a family in Bass River, N.S. they have to leave the country immediately.

The Platneurs moved to Nova Scotia from England four years ago and want to become Canadian citizens.

The province accepted the Platneurs under its nominee program, but the federal component could take more than two years to complete.

The family hoped to stay during the process on a temporary visa so their daughter could finish high school but their visa application was turned down this week. They're supposed to leave immediately.

Sean Platneur is a software engineer. He came to Nova Scotia on a work permit but the job didn't pan out. He's now doing consulting work in Europe.

"So I went and did that so my family could stay here while we went through the residency process and so I could come back and eventually maybe find a job or start a business," he said.

People in the small community that the family has called home for the past few years say the Platneurs are valuable members of the community who should be allowed to stay.

"We struggle all the time to keep people in our community and attract people to our community and here we have three people who have really moved here and become a real part of this community and here we are losing them because of bureaucracy. Its a tragedy," said local municipal councillor and friend Tom Taggert.

The Platneurs have put down roots here. Their teenage daughter joined the 4-H club. Sean and his wife Becky are both members of the local fire brigade.

"Fundraising, dances, whateverwe always try to help out where we can," said Becky.

Martha Brown, a friend of the family, said the news is devastating.

"Heart wrenching to have someone somewhere else saying these people can't live in your community anymore when they've given so much to our community," she said.

The Platneurs are meeting with their local MP later Friday to try to figure out their next move.