Barry's mom was a very tough woman, described as vengeful 

Barry's mom and dad were going through a divorce and his mom Ethel wanted to hurt his father Howard in the worst way she could 

• In her opinion, this meant taking Barry out of Australia and leaving Howard behind

• Barry's father wasn't paying for Barry's upkeep

• In addition, it was not a good divorce. Barry says that "she didn't get over it and wanted to apply the dagger”. 

• To make matters more complicated, Ethel did this without consent and without his knowledge 

No. Ethel wanted to get to the US because, like a lot of other immigrants, she imagined the streets were paved with gold and that if they immigrated there, they would have a great life

The issue was, that it was extremely hard to arrive in the US illegally (which was the only way they could come)

Ethel knew if they went to Canada it would be easier because both countries Australia and Canada were members of commonwealth nations: they were former British possessions

• Therefore, it was easier to go from Australia to Canada rather than Australia to the USA 

In addition, Canada was welcoming with open arms because they were looking for and needed immigrants to build their country

Barry and Ethel went on a long trip by steamboat from Sydney Australia around the southern part of Australia, to Perth, across the Indian Ocean, up through the Suez Canal, to Italy, across the Atlantic Ocean, to finally Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada

When they finally got to Canada, they realized they didn't have the right medical information. Barry remembers being stuck in Halifax and only being allowed out at night to walk around

To get into Canada they had to test negative on a test and once they did they were free to go...and start a life in Canada!

Barry and Ethel ended up in Montreal and lived in St. Catherines, lived there from late 1952-1954

For the most part, Barry enjoyed Canada (played ice hockey, and had a good life), and thought they would be there forever. However, Ethel had another plan in store 

Ethel had met an American man who was visiting Canada with the name of Bob Stewert

Barry quotes, “and to this day I still believe it was a marriage of convenience because after they married we then were free to come into the United States” which was the original goal of immigration