TEEN POT USE NO LONGER BARRIER FOR MIGRANT

Experimenting with marijuana in his teens is no longer blocking a
British computer programmer and his family from settling permanently
in Saskatoon.

"It's such a relief," said 37-year-old Chris Tarttelin in an interview
Friday evening.

Just a week ago, Tarttelin was facing a Citizenship and Immigration
Canada deadline that was impossible to meet. He was ordered by a visa
officer at the Canadian High Commission in London to have a
psychiatric assessment because he admitted during his mandatory
medical examination that he tried marijuana as a teenager. But the
Saskatoon doctor referring him to the specialist couldn't get an
appointment in time.

Tarttelin, a highly skilled computer programmer recruited to
Saskatchewan in 2008 from the United Kingdom by Point2 Technologies in
Saskatoon, told his story to The StarPhoenix. The article was also
published in the National Post and other daily newspapers in Canada.

"As a result of a newspaper article, your file has come to my
attention," wrote the senior medical officer at the Canadian High
Commission in an email to Tarttelin on Thursday.

"In view of your age and the nature of the condition you reported at
the time of your medical examination, the request for further
evaluation appears to have been overly cautious; you are therefore not
required to proceed with the instructions outlined in our letter of
July 12. I have informed the visa officer of this conclusion."

The email goes on to say Tarttelin, his wife and their two children
have been approved as permanent residents.

"It's been shaken up a bit and they've decided to give us the benefit
of the doubt and let us in. There are no more decisions to be made,"
said Tarttelin, who expects permanent resident cards to be issued
within a few weeks.

The family had been packing to return to Britain and were planning to
continue the fight for residency from there. Tarttelin had even
purchased plane tickets for an October departure, but that's changed
now.

Tarttelin also credits the Saskatchewan government with helping his
cause. The family had been nominated by the province under the
Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program. While the government couldn't
intervene on the family's behalf, a program employee contacted the
High Commission earlier this week and asked that Tarttelin's file not
be closed when the deadline for his psychiatric assessment was not
met.