Article content

TORONTO — Illegal immigrants are not entitled to compensation from public funds for a motor vehicle accident, says Ontario’s court of appeal, which has rejected a hard-fought claim from a Brazilian man hurt in a hit-and-run when walking across a Toronto street.

Jarley Silva was run down in 2011 while he was walking across Bloor Street West. The driver was never identified.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Illegal immigrants not entitled to injury compensation from public funds: Ontario court Back to video

Silva had arrived in Canada in 1992 using a fraudulent passport and lived partially off the grid — he obtained an Ontario driver’s licence but did not own a car or have insurance; he worked as a cleaner and then in construction, even registering his own drywall company, but did not report his income or pay tax.

He even joined a trade union, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, court heard.

Silva lived in rental apartments and paid for his living expenses in cash. He didn’t have any credit cards and never applied for a Social Insurance Number or OHIP, the province’s health plan.