ImmigrationCanadian citizens fight a section of Canada’s Immigration Act they consider too broad
Several civilians targeted under Section 34 (1) (f) of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, are voicing their concerns that the measure is too broad and unreasonable. The bill, in place since 2001 in response to 9/11, blocks national admission to anyone who has supported an organization with possible grounds for acts of terrorism.
Several civilians targeted under Section 34 (1) (f) of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, are voicing their concerns that the measure is too broad and unreasonable. The bill, in place since 2001 in response to 9/11, blocks national admission to anyone who has supported an organization with possible grounds for acts of terrorism.
As the Toronto Star reports, twenty-one people have been removed within the past three years, and many are questioning the justice and precision of the law. Among them are individuals such as Oscar Vigil, a Salvadorian journalist who once sought an interview with rebel militants over a decade ago, or an elderly woman who stitched together uniforms for factions that fought the dictator Haile Mariam Mengistu in Ethiopia.
Andrew Brouwer, an Ontario lawyer, told the newspaper, “It’s an extreme overreaction. Their stories are so compelling. There’s not a single allegation of ever being involved in any kind of violence, much less a terrorist act,” he says, “Many were members of minority groups fighting against a repressive regime.”
Additionally, Toronto immigration lawyer Angus Grant added, “The problem with using a blunt instrument like this is you don’t have a process of filtering out those for whom the law was never intended. And then you just have the blunt instrument.”
These lawyers and more are also pointing out that the majority of these decisions are being made by one woman,- Karine Roy-Tremblay, a former diplomat to Morocco. The Star explained that “Since the beginning of 2013, Roy-Tremblay has ruled on five humanitarian-and-compassionate applications from individuals…people declared inadmissible on security grounds — and she rejected them all.”
Further research also shows that Roy-Tremblay did not even write up her own decision, instead employing an officer to draft the short deportation letter.
People like Vigil, however, will continue to fight the section in the court system. Steve Foster, Vigil’s lawyer, said, “They don’t even mention his wife and family, his accomplishments in Canada. There’s not a word about that. I think they don’t really care.”
