DON'T LET THE MOB DEFY THE RULE OF LAW

The case of the paralysed Sikh refugee claimant who exhausted his appeals and hid in a Sikh temple, protected by a mob of sympathizers, has taken another strange turn: the mob manged to prevent his imminent deportation by forcing the taxi carrying him to the airport on CBSA orders to turn around. Message to the Government of Canada: don't let the mob dictate immigration policy or defy the rule of law. This is a dangerous precedent and don't e surprised if it triggers copycat actions. Charge the mob masterminds with obstruction of justice and throw the book at them. Show that you have some guts and that you will enforce the law. Rule of law yes, mob rule, NO! Canada does not belong to those who scream the loudest or threaten violence, or try to make a mockery of the system, as flawed as it may be. If you allow this, what is next? As an immigration lawyer who assists people to navigate the system and defend their legal rights, I am personally offended by the government's inability to get rid of this bogus refugee claimant who has done nothing but make a mockery of the system since his arrival in Canada on a false passport, cost taxpayers over half a million dollars in free health care, and now even expects to be rewarded with residency in Canada so he can continue to drain resources and abuse our generosity. Many of my clients are hard working, pay taxes, want nothing to do with social assistance, and are being treated much less leniently by the authorities. But this case shows that if they were able to mobilize a mob in their support, obstruct justice and defy the law, perhaps they could be more successful. That, however, is NOT the way to do things. This individual lied, cheated, and played the system while it was convenient for him, and now that the jig is up, he resorts to enlisting his friends to provoke ethnic tensions and obstruct enforcement. Enough is enough. Deport him ASAP and charge his friends. Don't be shy. Show that Canada is a country of laws and not a banana republic hostage to mob rule. See articles below:

Sympathy isn't enough to concede immigration decisions to a mob

Vancouver Sun

Wednesday, December 12, 2007
CREDIT: Ian Lindsay, Sun, Files

Up to 2,000 supporters of Laibar Singh surrounded his cab at Vancouver airport on Monday to prevent officials from deporting him to India. They also brought airport traffic to a standstill.
It's hard not to feel some sympathy for Laibar Singh. The widower arrived in Canada in 2003, and proceeded to work as a labourer to support his four children in India.
But three years later, Singh was felled by a massive stroke, left paralyzed and reportedly in ill health. If that weren't enough, Singh was then ordered deported by the Canadian government. In India, his supporters say, he will not receive adequate medical treatment for his condition.
Singh's sad story has understandably galvanized members of Abbotsford's Sikh community, who have been protesting his deportation order. Those protests came to a head on Monday, when Singh was taken to Vancouver International Airport to board a plane to Hong Kong in fulfillment of the exclusion order.
Singh never made his flight, though, thanks to the hundreds of protesters who surrounded his taxi van. Although the protesters denied being violent or threatening violence, officials with the Canadian Border Services Agency chose not to wade through the crowd to retrieve the ailing Singh, saying instead that his removal has been delayed "for safety and security reasons."
Now Singh's story is admittedly a sad one -- a hard case if you will. And as we all know, hard cases make bad law.
There is, after all, another side to this story. Singh's arrival in Canada was made possible by the fact that he used a forged passport. Despite that, Singh was afforded the opportunity to apply for refugee status while he stayed and worked in Canada until he suffered his stroke. Just before his first deportation order was to take effect last autumn, his supporters took him to refuge in a Sikh temple in Abbotsford.
Over the last few years, Singh's application and appeals were all denied. Despite that, he was granted two extensions to stay in Canada, the first which expired on Oct. 20, and the second which ran out on Monday.
The only reason the exclusion order was not ultimately fulfilled is that CBSA officials did not feel comfortable escorting Singh from his taxi to the airport. Now even if the protesters were not and would not have been violent, to decide not to deport Singh on account of protests is to succumb to mob rule.
Worse, it suggests that that our legal system, and our government, which decided that Singh did not qualify for Convention refugee status, somehow lack legitimacy.
The decision also suggests that anyone else -- whether or not a refugee claimant -- who is dissatisfied with the outcome of a legal process can simply ignore the results of the process by gathering friends together to intimidate officials.
This, of course, is a message that we must not send. We can feel sympathy for Laibar Singh, but we must avoid allowing our sympathy to seduce us into valuing mob rule over the rule of law.

Terror group founder rallying behind paralyzed refugee claimant

Kim Bolan, CanWest News Service

Published: Wednesday, December 12, 2007

A key figure in the campaign to keep a paralyzed refugee claimant in Canada is the founder of the banned terrorist organization International Sikh Youth Federation, who himself won refugee status in 1998.
Harpal Singh Nagra, who has used several aliases, is now the president of the South Asian Human Rights Group, which is fighting to keep Laibar Singh in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Mr. Nagra's link to an organization banned by Ottawa in 2003 has not prevented him from getting meetings with federal and provincial politicians about the plight of Singh.
The deportation to India of Mr. Singh, a failed refugee claimant who suffered an aneurysm after coming to Canada, was halted after a massive demonstration at Vancouver International Airport on Monday.
Mr. Nagra was one of three community representatives who met with Canada Border Services Agency officials at the airport and has put out several news releases about Mr. Singh's case since last summer.
Mr. Nagra's name surfaced at the Air India inquiry in Ottawa just last week.
Bob Solvason, a retired RCMP staff sergeant, testified he investigated Nagra on allegations he brought a Sikh extremist into Canada on someone else's passport 24 days before the June 1985 Air India bombings.
Nagra was convicted but won a new trial on appeal. The second trial hasn't been held.
Solvason told Air India commissioner John Major he believed the RCMP dropped the ball by not putting more resources into the Nagra investigation at the time.
The person who was brought to Canada from the Philippines, Pushpinder Singh, ended up travelling to Toronto with bombing mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar on the weekend of June 8 and 9, 1985, according to exhibits entered at the Air India inquiry.
Pushpinder Singh, who is no relation to the paralyzed man fighting to stay in Canada, also attended a meeting on June 12, 1985, with other International Sikh Youth Federation members, the Air India inquiry heard.
One person at the meeting allegedly criticized him, saying: "You have not killed an ambassador or a consul yet," and Singh reportedly replied: "You will see. In two weeks we'll show the community."
Border service officials did not return phone calls on Wednesday about the status of Laibar Singh's deportation or the involvement of Nagra in the current campaign.
Mr. Nagra did not return phone calls.
Jean Tessier, of the federal public safety ministry, said he would not comment on anyone involved in the Laibar Singh campaign.
"We are not in a position to provide an opinion about any individuals who may or may not support Mr. Laibar Singh," Mr. Tessier said.
Mr. Nagra, who has also used the names Harjinderpal Singh Nagra and Harpal Singh Ghuman, arrived in Canada in February 1985 and eventually filed a refugee claim, according to documents obtained by the Vancouver Sun.
He won his case in October 1998 when the Immigration and Refugee Board ruled he could face persecution if deported to India because of his involvement in the separatist struggle for an independent Sikh nation called Khalistan.
But the immigration department appealed the board's ruling, saying Mr. Nagra was a leader of the All India Sikh Student Federation in India, which was responsible for "directing a campaign of violence, including murder, assassination and the use of motorcycle hit squads."
It said the militant activities of the federation qualified as crimes against humanity, making Nagra ineligible as a refugee.
In 1999, Mr. Nagra won again when the Federal Court accepted his claim that he left the International Sikh Youth Federation in May 1986 when members got arrested for shooting a visiting Punjabi cabinet minister on Vancouver Island.
He also said he was discouraged when a member of his group was charged with the 1985 beating of Ujjal Dosanjh, who was then a community activist critical of the use of violence by some Sikh extremists and is now a Liberal MP.
Laibar Singh, meanwhile, remains at a New Westminster Sikh temple being cared for by members of the community who have pledged to support him and pay for all his medical expenses in Canada.
Balwant Singh Gill, president of Surrey's Guru Nanak temple, said Wednesday that everyone in the Sikh community is behind the disabled man regardless of traditional divisions or political affiliations.
And Mr. Gill said Laibar Singh should not suffer even if some of those involved in the campaign to help him have controversial links.
"This poor guy should be allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds," Mr. Gill said. "He can't afford to pay for the hospital if he is sent back to India.