Roma family returns to Canada after Conservatives' deportation order reversed

When Georgia Brouwer, 11, hugged her friend Viktoria (Lulu) Pusuma, 8, goodbye at Toronto Pearson International Airport in 2014, neither of the girls wanted the moment to end.

"We wouldn't let go of each other and it was really sad,"Georgiasaid of their farewell two years ago. But her dad, Andrew Brouwer,also thePusumas'lawyer, promised his daughterhe'd keep fighting for the family until they came home.

On Thursday, thefamilydeported from Canada in 2014 did just that, returning tothe country that was their sanctuary for nearly three years.

• Roma family living in Toronto church exhausted from living in exile
• Deported Roma have little chance of return despite disciplinary rulings against their lawyers

"This is freedom's smell!" Lulu's mother,Timea, exclaimed, stepping outside the airport for the first time after their return.

Grateful to return

Among those the family thanked for their return were Prime Minister JustinTrudeau, community refugee support organizationRomeroHouse and Toronto's west-endWindermereUnitedChurch, whose walls gave them sanctuaryfor so much of their time in Toronto.

In 2009, the Roma activist couple Jozsef Pusuma andTimea Daroczi and their daughter, Lulu, fled from Hungary, a country where they say they were the targets of violence. The family found refuge in local Toronto churches until December 2014, when they received the heartbreaking news that they could no longer stay in Canada.

The family was unable to secure refugee status, despite reports by international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International that documented abuse against Roma at the hands of Hungarian authorities.

At the time, the Canadian government had been workingto stem the flow of what it called "bogus" refugee claims, with thenimmigration minister Jason Kenney dismissing the claims of those from EU countries such as Hungary and the Czech Republic even travelling to Hungary to discourage Roma from travelling to Canada.

'Full to the brim with gratitude'

But in a sudden change of fate for the Pusumas, Immigration and Refugee Minister John McCallum granted special permission to the family to return to Canada in February. McCallum intervened in the Pusumas' case, granting them ministerial approval for their return and clearing the way for them to receivefull permanent residency status.

Following the news of the reversal, the minister atWindermere United Churchread aloud a letter of thanks written by the family.

"I have no words my heart is full to the brim with gratitude. Thank you for all you have done for us, thank you a million times," the familywrote.

• Toronto lawyer suspended 5months for misconduct involving Roma refugees

The Pusumas'case was among thousands of other Roma refugee claims thatlawyer Viktor Hohots would eventually admit he failed to adequately represent. In May 2015,Hohotswas handed a contentiousfive-month suspension by the Law Society of Upper Canadafor the claims he handled from 2009 to 2013. Hefailed to show up for hearings, submit documents and mixed up clients' stories.

Hohotswas barred from practising refugee law for two years, ordered to undergo a practice review and pay $15,000 in legal fees.

The sentence was met with outrage by several Roma advocates who called it a "sham."

Speaking to reporters Thursday,JozsefPusuma said he's excited to build a life in what is now his new home.

"Right now today, I'm free, I know," he said. "I'm so happy."