As Ruby Nicolas was crossing the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, Ont., on March 15, she felt increasingly stressed.
“It was nerve-wracking,” she told CBC Hamilton.
The 45-year-old mother of two moved from the Philippines to Mississauga, Ont., in 2021.
She graduated from a post-secondary program in December, 2022 but needed a post-graduate work permit if she wanted to stay in Canada and get a job.
Ruby Nicolas flagpoled in the Niagara region with her family in March 2023. (Submitted by Ruby Nicolas)
Nicolas soon realized she wasn’t going to get her application approved quickly, being one of the over 1.1 million applications in
