Good news out of Antigonish: Welcome back Dr. Khalid!

Our office has been working to bring stranded Canadians back home from every corner of the world over the past few weeks.

One of those Canadians is Dr. Khalid, who is a physician at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital in Antigonish.

Dr. Khalid, who recently became a Permanent Resident (congratulations!) has been providing care to local community members for some time, and had travelled to Pakistan to visit family before this pandemic evolved into the threat we are facing today.

Unfortunately, due to travel restrictions implemented in response to COVID-19, Canadian planes could not enter Pakistan. This meant Dr. Khalid has no way back to Canada and to his important work as a doctor in Antigonish.

I am thrilled to share that yesterday, with the extraordinary support of Drs. Emily Rice and Minoli Amit, our office was able to connect with Global Affairs Canada who negotiated an agreement to allow Canada to repatriate its citizens stranded in Pakistan. By working with Consular Officials on the ground we were able to have Dr. Khalid added to the first flight out of Lahore, which recently arrived in Toronto.

Dr. Khalid is expected to arrive in Halifax this evening and will return to St. Martha’s after his period of mandatory self-isolation comes to an end.

I want to say thank you to our entire office team, Drs. Rice and Amit, the staff at Global Affairs, and those working in the Canadian High Commission in Pakistan. Without your work, this success story would not have been possible.

To Dr. Khalid - thank you for your patience through this ordeal. I look forward to seeing you back in action once it is safe to do so!

Dr. Khalid’s plane in Lahore, preparing for departure.