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International Law

: Canadian Immigration Blawg

Canadian denied right of return

By immlawyer

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In a web exclusive commentary at the Globe and Mail, Irwin Cotler, makes a compelling case for allowing Abousfian Abdelrazik to return to Canada.

At the National Post, the cause has been taken up by Chris Selley at Full Comment, who makes the following points:

Yesterday, the latest chapter in the Sudanese-Canadian?s mind-boggling six-year struggle to return home unfolded as many had ruefully predicted. Having booked and paid for a flight to Canada, thus fulfilling the conditions under which the government had promised, in writing, to issue an emergency passport, the apparently destitute Abdelrazik was instead told he needed somehow to get himself removed from the United Nations? no-fly list before the papers would be issued. Quite apart from the absurdity of the condition, Foreign Affairs itself had until recently been petitioning to have Abdelrazik?s name stricken from that list, citing all-clear verdicts from CSIS, the RCMP and Sudanese intelligence. Also, the blacklist doesn?t prevent anyone on it from returning home. Nevertheless, Mr. Cannon made it official yesterday: "I denied Mr. Abdelrazik an emergency passport on the basis of national security,? he said. No further explanation was forthcoming.

There is no such thing as absolute and "untrammelled" discretion in a rule of law jurisdiction (see Rand J. in Roncarelli [1959] SCC 121). Given that there is no obvious and apparent reason for the refusal to issue the travel document, is Abdelrazik being denied for some more nefarious reason? Is it because he's Muslim and/or Sudanese?

Is the government acting in good faith given the reversal of various positions and offers made to Abdelrazik -- and most mind-boggling of all, the recent efforts by Foreign Affairs itself to have Abdelrazik's name removed from the UN no-fly list?

Full post as published by Canadian Immigration Blawg on April 04, 2009 (boomark / email).