Whitehorse mother reunited with children after six years

A woman in Whitehorse who until recently was a temporary foreign worker has been reunited with her children after six years of separation.

Marivic Perlawan first arrived in Canada in 2006 from the Philippines on a temporary work visa. She was granted permanent residency in Canada in October after first applying in 2011. Her application was one of many delayed by a six-month foreign service worker strike last year.

Since October, she had been saving enough money for airfare to bring her kids to Yukon.

But last month she was finally able to bring her children, Mardee and Mikki, to Whitehorse just in time for the holidays. Marivic Perlawan says the struggles were all worth it, and so do the kids.

"She sacrificed many things for us," said Mardee. "I feel that she worked hard for us, she worked really hard for us, and I appreciate that."

But Perlawan admits after six years of separation, she's just starting to get to know her kids again.

Marivic says her daughter liked to hold hands when she was six and she was surprised to find she still does.

"If we walk in the mall, she wants to hold hands again, even [at] 13."

Perlawan says she'll enrol her children in local schools and hopes they're able to integrate into life in Yukon.