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Being born in Canada is like winning the jackpot — through no good deed of your own, you get the best opportunities for prosperity in a peaceful, healthy environment.

Toward the opposite end of the spectrum sits Taha El Taha.

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A Palestinian born in Saudi Arabia — and therefore officially stateless — he was one of the 1,916 people to cross by foot into Quebec last December from the United States, along the now (in)famous Roxham Rd.

Like most of the other 19,000 migrants who arrived through this back door in 2017, he has since claimed refugee status and undergone the routine security checks and medical exams necessary to stay in Canada, at least for the time being.

Unlike the others, however, he discovered within days of his arrival that he has Stage 4 cancer.

In the lottery of life, he can’t even buy a ticket.

From Beirut to Montreal

El Taha, an electrical engineer in Beirut where he lived with his wife and two young children, left Lebanon in October 2017 fearing for his life.