A family in Milton, Ont. is racing against the clock to be able to stay in Canada, saying that being deported to Portugal will put their health in jeopardy.
“Sending us back to Portugal now, in the middle of this pandemic, it’s like they are sending us into war,” said Eva Ferreira, who, along with her husband and 15-year-old son, has been living here for eight years.
Diabetes puts people at greater risk for developing a severe illness from COVID-19, and is also a common comorbidity in COVID-19 related deaths.
“The way things are in Portugal, I feel like we’re going to put our lives at risk,” Ferreira said.
On Thursday, the family got the news they were dreading: their application to defer their deportation was rejected by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA.)
Ordered to leave by Feb.11, it gives them exactly one week to make a last-ditch appeal in federal court.
“We love Canada, we’re hopeful that we can stay. But we are running out of time,” said Ferreira.
‘Significant and obvious safety risk’
The family’s lawyer, Jacqueline Swaisland, is now scrambling to prepare the documentation necessary to file for a stay in federal court this week to put off the family’s departure.
“There’s such a significant and obvious health and safety risk here, that I really was quite surprised that the CBSA would decide to continue the removal,” she told CBC Toronto.
Swaisland has also submitted a humanitarian and compassionate application on their behalf which would put them on the path to permanent residency, but no decision has been made on it yet.
Lawyer Jackie Swaisland hopes that a federal court will step in this week to prevent Eva Ferreira and her family from having to leave on Thursday. (Antonia Giroux Photography)
“If the family is deported it is highly unlikely that this application will be granted, as it hardly ever is for people not in Canada,” she explained.
They had initially obtained legal work permits when they arrived back in 2012, but those lapsed primarily because of inept legal counsel, said Swaisland.
“Applications weren’t submitted correctly, and so they found themselves without status.”
Ramped-up removals ‘out of step’ with other safety measures
Swaisland is one of a number of Canadian lawyers who say they’re appalled that the CBSA has chosen to restart broader deportations.
The agency had put a freeze on most removals back in March when the pandemic began, but, according to a spokesperson, began removing “serious inadmissibility cases” in early August and “all inadmissible persons” as of Nov. 30.
BLAC is outraged CBSA is deporting people amid a global pandemic & government restriction on non-essential travel to Canada, putting vulnerable members of our community, incl. migrant workers & refugee claimants, at risk of removal or prolonged detention. <a href=”https://t.co/RTibe4XuuB”>https://t.co/RTibe4XuuB</a>
Speaking to CBC Toronto, lawyer Maureen Silcoff described the November decision as “completely out of step with all other measures the Canadian government is taking to protect public health.”
Silcoff, president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, says resuming deportations for people who are not security risks has no “appropriate rationale.”
She points out that the process requires a number of risky interactions, including public transit trips to the CBSA offices, time spent with lawyers and CBSA officers, the process of packing up a home, and the necessary travel to get back to a home country.
“And when you go back… the process starts again, you have to re-establish yourself there,” Silcoff said.
Her group is calling for the CBSA to revert back to its previous deportation policy, which allowed the removal of “serious criminal cases” but put a freeze on others.
Removals undertaken ‘in responsible manner’: CBSA
For its part, the CBSA says it does not comment on individual cases.
The agency defends the decision to re-broaden removals, with a spokesperson writing in a statement that it has a legal requirement to do so.
“This was done for a number of reasons, including… the resumption of business processes at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada to produce decisions leading to removal, an increase in available routings by commercial partners that facilitate returns and the ability to ensure that removals are undertaken in a responsible manner,” it said.
“Those being removed have either exhausted or chosen not to pursue further legal recourse and have no legal right to remain in Canada.”
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
