Woman tricked into sham marriage off the hook for ex-husband's bills

Brooke Larsen, Burnaby Now

A Burnaby woman who was tricked into a sham marriage won't have to pay her ex-husband's welfare bill.

In 2005, Shajila Singh was stuck with a $27,000 welfare tab for the man who forced her to be his immigration sponsor. Immigration laws require sponsors to be financially responsible for their spouses for 10 years.

Last month, Singh learned that the provincial government had waived the fee.

"They have forgiven my debt and shown some compassion for women like me," Singh said in an interview Monday.

Singh met her husband in 1993, when she was 21. After one week, he threw an engagement party, even though the pair had never discussed marriage. Later, when Singh refused to marry him, he raped her. She did not tell the police.

"I was stupid and naive," Singh said. "I thought I had asked for it because that's what he told me."

Singh soon learned she was pregnant. Feeling she had shamed her family, she saw no choice but to marry him. After the wedding, Singh discovered her new husband was awaiting deportation to India. Suddenly, the rushed wedding made sense.

"He was running out of time, and that's why he was in such a hurry," Singh said.

After an abusive marriage, the two divorced. In 2004, Singh got a $27,000 bill from the provincial government for her ex-husband's income assistance.

"I got used, raped, I sponsored him, and now this," Singh said. She would spend the next two years campaigning to have the fee - which soon grew to $50,000 - waived.

Although the fee is gone, Singh, who works in the health-care field, says her life will never be the same.

The experience has made her wary of relationships.

"Gosh, I lost a lot of years," Singh added.

Singh isn't alone, according to Burnaby-Edmonds MLA Raj Chouhan. Chouhan said many women have contacted him since he took up Singh's cause.

"It's a huge issue - I got calls from all over British Columbia," Chouhan said.

"I'm very happy that we won for Shajila," Chouhan added. "They should have listened to (her) a long time ago."

Richard Chambers, spokesperson for B.C.'s Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance, declined to comment on Singh's case for privacy reasons.

But he said the ministry has always had a policy of reviewing sponsorship debts when a request is made. In many cases, the ministry will ask for documents to back up arguments.

"If people are alleging abuse, we do take abuse claims quite seriously," Chambers said. "We want people to be treated fairly."

A policy clarified last year allows debt collection to be suspended for one year for sponsors who are victims of domestic violence, Chambers said. At the end of 2007, there were 2,800 outstanding sponsorship accounts in B.C. totalling $33 million. Fewer than 100 are under review.

Chambers said 90 per cent of those billed for outstanding accounts pay promptly. "Their reaction is one of surprise and urgency to make amends by just ... writing a cheque."