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Feb.13,2005 -Feb.20,2005 |
Deportation After 17 Years!
Judge ends Harjit Singh tug-of-war (for now)
By Angelo Persichilli
Originally Published: 2005-02-06
Harjit Singh, the man blamed for having toppled former Immigration Minister Judy Sgro two weeks ago, may very well be flying back to India at the time this paper goes to print.
On Tuesday, Federal Court Justice Michael Phelan considered Singh's allegations against the former minister "not credible" and rejected his request for an emergency stay of his deportation order.
Singh said that the order to remove him from Canada was politically motivated and accused Sgro of prompting this decision. In particular, in an affidavit signed three weeks ago, he said that the former minister promised him a visa in exchange for help during the last federal election. According to Singh, he delivered pizza from his Brampton store to Sgro's campaign headquarters in Toronto and provided her with some volunteers to help her campaign.
Sgro flatly denied those allegations and now is suing Singh and three others who supported his allegations.
Justice Phelan supported Sgro's views. In denying Singh's request, Phelan used harsh words. "The essence of Singh's case is that an experienced politician would risk her career, her reputation and legal sanctions to assist a person whom she does not know in exchange for free pizzas and a few election volunteers, and that the matter would forever remain secret," Phelan wrote.
According to the judge, Singh's allegations "lacked the ring of truth."
Singh arrived in Canada 17 years ago, in March 1988, as a tourist, and immediately applied for refugee status. In 1993 the requests made by Singh and his wife were turned down, and he made another application invoking humanitarian reasons.
A complicated and difficult tug-of-war started between Singh and the immigration department. According to some experts, the Canadian judicial system gives 42 opportunities to prove one's case. Apparently, Singh has already resorted to 34 of them, and has had his request for a permanent visa denied at least half a dozen times.
In fact, even if he is deported, his lawyers can still appeal the decision of the Federal Court.
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