He was a doctor in India, a trucker here and a hero for delivering a baby midflight

Raveena AulakhStaff reporter

For 25 years in his native India, Balvinder Singh Ahuja worked as a pediatrician, treating thousands of children, saving many lives.

For the past six months in Toronto, however, Ahuja has been learning to drive a truck, convinced it was too difficult a process to practise as a foreign-trained doctor in Canada.

But his experience as a veteran physician kicked into high gear Saturday when he performed an emergency delivery on an Air India flight from New Delhi to Toronto, turning a passenger cabin into a birthing room within minutes and improvising with makeshift instruments.

The baby, a girl, was born 45 minutes later.

“It was very exciting ... I’m glad I was able to help,” Ahuja said in a phone interview en route to Collingwood in a tractor-trailer. “But I doubt I’ll use my skills again.”

At least, he doesn’t expect to use them here. Like most foreign-trained doctors, Ahuja must be recertified before he can practise.

But with thousands of foreign-trained doctors in the country and few opportunities for residency, Ahuja says he knows it will be almost impossible.

“I don’t want to get frustrated,” he says.

“I’m not closing that door completely but as of now I’m focusing on trucking because I have a family and I need money.”

Ahuja said he immigrated to give his three children a better future.

There are at least 7,500 internationally trained doctors in Ontario but fewer than 200 can get residency spots because they have to compete with young Canadians who are more familiar with the language and the system.

On board the plane, Ahuja had settled into his seat and was almost asleep when a call went out on the loudspeaker asking if there was a doctor or nurse aboard.

He went to the back and saw Kuljit Kaur, about 37 weeks pregnant, on the floor obviously in labour and in pain. Her husband, Ranjodh Gill, was sitting next to her.

The couple and their 7-year-old daughter were flying to Canada as landed immigrants.

There was also an oncologist on board. “She had never attended a delivery,” Ahuja said, quickly realizing it was all up to him.

He had seen hundreds of births and though he hadn’t assisted with any he knew exactly what needed to be done.

Ahuja quickly gathered what he thought he would need. And then improvised.

Empty food cartons were used to lift Kaur’s legs. Scissors were sterilized in Scotch. Pieces of thread tied the umbilical cord. The microwave warmed a blanket for the baby.

The baby was born after 45 minutes of intense labour but no one freaked out, said Ahuja.

“I’ve attended all sorts of emergencies in the past years but this was such a different experience,” he said.

“I was anxious but not scared. There was no alternative, too.”

Aakash Leen Kaur was born about 11,000 metres over Kazakhstan. Aakash means “sky” in Hindi.

Ahuja became an instant hero.

Passengers gave him a standing ovation, the Air India crew gave him a bottle of Scotch and the new father visited him at his home and gave him a box of sweets.

“I was so grateful there was a doctor there,” said Gill, 37, a lawyer who immigrated to Alberta under the provincial nominee program.

But the family wanted to spend some days in Brampton with his wife’s sister before flying to Calgary this weekend.

“My wife was due on Nov. 7,” said Gill. “We don’t know what happened, why the baby came early.”

He said her labour pains started an hour after the plane took off.

“We first thought it was gas but soon realized ... it wasn’t,” said Gill, admitting he panicked a bit until Ahuja, calm and composed, showed up.

His wife, he said, is still tired but she and the baby are doing well.

Ahuja, meanwhile, is reliving his days as a physician through the mid-air delivery. “It was the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in Canada,” said Ahuja, who lives in Brampton with his wife and children.

What’s next?

“Getting my own truck.”

Is the baby girl born in Kazakhstan airspace Canadian or Indian? Or Kazakhstani?

Her father, Ranjodh Gill, says he doesn’t know and doesn’t care.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will not comment on the baby’s status due to privacy reasons. “The status of the child will depend on the status of the parents,” said spokesman Bill Brown.

But he did present some hypothetical scenarios:

Generally, a child who is not born in Canada and does not have a parent who is a Canadian citizen is not a Canadian citizen either.

If one or both parents are Canadian citizens, they can apply to have a citizenship certificate issued for the child.

If one or both of the parents are permanent residents, they can apply to have the child become a permanent resident.

If the parents are here temporarily, they can apply to have the child gain temporary status as well.

Raveena Aulakh

Conditional spousal sponsorship visas to be introduced

The Government of Canada will soon be announcing conditional visas for those sponsored under Canada’s Family Class Spousal Sponsorship Program in attempt to curb marriage fraud. There was speculation that this change would be considered, but Canadian officials are now confirming that the conditional visa will be introduced later this year.

Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, has noted that immigration officials are seeing an increased number of cases of marriage fraud from certain countries, China and India in particular. Marriage photos from those countries are often Photoshopped to show the faces of husband and wives on the same wedding photo.

“Then we required that people have bigger pictures of their wedding reception so we could see if it was authentic. Then we saw that in the Punjab, some of these wedding palaces were offering fake wedding receptions for people. So then we go out and visit some of these wedding palaces. It’s a cat and mouse game,” he said.

Under the new changes, a sponsored spouse will have to remain in the relationship for a certain period of time before becoming a permanent resident. At this time, Ottawa has only said that the time period would be for two years or more. Furthermore, the government will introduce a five-year ban on sponsored spouses being allowed to sponsor a new spouse to come to Canada. Ottawa hopes these changes will make it easier to deport those who have lied in order to come to Canada.

There are those however who are not supporting the new changes. Don Davies, NDP MPm has said that the focus should be on improving the screening process overseas, not imposing a conditional visa. His concerns are that these changes could result in domestic abuse in failed marriages.

“What if the marriage fails? You’re going to force two people to live together for two years when that didn’t work?” he asked. “I just think that’s unsound policy.”

Although an official date for the new change has not yet been announced, Canadavisa.com will report on any information as soon as it is revealed.

Immigrants essential: Mayor

Naheed Nenshi became the poster boy for diversity and successful immigration/integration in Canada when he was elected the mayor of Calgary a year ago.
Although his ethnicity and Muslim religion triggered international curiosity, that issue hardly came up during the campaign, he told attendees of a Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT) breakfast event this morning. He said his single status was raised a lot more.
Nenshi did 34 interviews with national and international media the day after his election about his ethnicity and religion, and he did them because he believed it was important to showcase how successful multiculturalism has become in Canada, especially at a time when political leaders in Britain, Germany and France had all gone on record suggesting that multiculturalism was a failure in their countries.
What makes it work in Calgary, he said, is that the city is a meritocracy where the focus is on what you bring to the table and how hard you’re prepared to work — not where you came from or where you worship.
And, it’s not because of the city’s oil wealth either. 
“Many people think the success of Calgary and Alberta is because of ‘luck’ — because we have carbon molecules under our feet,” he said. The oil sands, he points out, are two hours away from Calgary.
Nenshi credits immigrants who have brought their work ethic and skills west for its success. To continue to be successful, whether as cities or a country, what’s needed is to spread Canada’s brand around the world to attract the best and brightest immigrants.
Nenshi describes immigration as “one of the greatest bait-and-switch games in human history,” saying it gives points to would-be immigrants for their education and skills, yet makes it difficult for them to get Canadian accreditation once they arrive. 
“That’s a waste of human potential,” he said.
However, change is happening in some sectors; Nenshi admits he was surprised that 70 per cent of engineers accredited in Alberta last year were trained abroad.
Still, more changes in government, more and better ESL programs, and the need for professional bodies to be more open to foreign-born and trained professionals are needed. Above all, he believes the key is the private sector.
Those issues were echoed by other speakers at the MBOT event. Ellen Austin, an HR professional with the Business Development Bank of Canada, said the shortage of skilled workers will only getting worse as the country’s population ages.
Laura Artibello, president and founder of the Mailennium Group, said employers shouldn’t worry about how tough it is to pronounce a potential employee’s name — instead, they should focus on hiring for skills and spirit.
jdean@mississauga.net