See link below from CBC. Despite the negative outcome at his residency hearing, there are still many levels of review, and this can take years considering the glacial pace at which these matters proceed and the ability of "refugee claimants" to delay the process. I am sure we will hear much more about this subject in the future.
Tunisia's Trabelsi loses bid for Canadian residency - Montreal - CBC News
Showing posts with label Canada immigration Tunisia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada immigration Tunisia. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
TUNISIAN TRABELSI FACES REMOVAL FROM CANADA
Reports of potential deportation proceedings on former Tunisian dictator's brother in law:
Canada News: Brother-in-law of Tunisia’s ousted dictator faces removal from Canada - thestar.com
Brother-in-law of Tunisia’s ousted dictator faces removal from Canada
February 01, 2012
MONTREAL—The billionaire brother-in-law of Tunisia’s ousted dictator, who is believed to be hiding in Canada, is having his status revoked.
The Immigration and Refugee Board says Belhassen Trabelsi is due before its appeal division in April to fight that decision. According to the IRB, the reason for the hearing is the appeal of a removal order.
Trabelsi is thought to be quietly living in Montreal with his family since last year, when the Tunisian regime collapsed.
The billionaire fled to Montreal with his family after an uprising toppled former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, using his status to get across the border.
According to the IRB, to keep permanent resident status in Canada, one must be in Canada for at least two years during every five-year period and Trabelsi no longer qualifies for residency.
The Canadian government has said previously that Trabelsi has sought refugee status in Canada and has the right to due process, but they don’t want him here.
The interim government in Tunisia has issued an international warrant for the arrest of Trabelsi.
The Canadian Press
Canada News: Brother-in-law of Tunisia’s ousted dictator faces removal from Canada - thestar.com
Brother-in-law of Tunisia’s ousted dictator faces removal from Canada
February 01, 2012
MONTREAL—The billionaire brother-in-law of Tunisia’s ousted dictator, who is believed to be hiding in Canada, is having his status revoked.
The Immigration and Refugee Board says Belhassen Trabelsi is due before its appeal division in April to fight that decision. According to the IRB, the reason for the hearing is the appeal of a removal order.
Trabelsi is thought to be quietly living in Montreal with his family since last year, when the Tunisian regime collapsed.
The billionaire fled to Montreal with his family after an uprising toppled former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, using his status to get across the border.
According to the IRB, to keep permanent resident status in Canada, one must be in Canada for at least two years during every five-year period and Trabelsi no longer qualifies for residency.
The Canadian government has said previously that Trabelsi has sought refugee status in Canada and has the right to due process, but they don’t want him here.
The interim government in Tunisia has issued an international warrant for the arrest of Trabelsi.
The Canadian Press
Friday, January 27, 2012
IS TUNISIAN FUGITIVE STILL IN CANADA?
Is the Tunisian moneyman still in Canada? How did the authorities lose track of him? Are they incompetent?
Mystery follows fugitive Tunisian tycoon Trabelsi
Rumour has it Belhassen Trabelsi, the so-called "Godfather" of Tunisia, has left Montreal for Mexico, following in the footsteps of Moammar Gadhafi's son in search of a country with lax anti-corruption and extradition laws.
A newspaper in Tunisia reported two weeks ago that Trabelsi, whose fortune reportedly runs in the billions of dollars, first left Canada for Venezuela hoping for a warmer welcome, before settling on Mexico. There have been no sightings of him since.
But rumours may just be rumours — and observers in Montreal believe Trabelsi is still in Canada, a hot potato the federal government probably wishes it could pass on to another country, as the Immigration, Foreign Affairs and Justice departments struggle to figure out what to do with him next.
The brother-in-law of deposed Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali — and, according to a 2008 U.S. government cable released by WikiLeaks, among the most reviled of the former dictator's extended family — Trabelsi, 49, arrived in a private jet at Montreal's Trudeau airport with his wife and children on Jan. 20, 2011, flashing his permanent residency papers. (He has been a permanent resident of Canada since the 1990s.)
It was six days after Ben Ali himself fled Tunisia for Saudi Arabia. Trabelsi's residency was soon revoked, however, because he had not lived in Canada for at least two of the previous five years.
But Trabelsi, fleeing the revolution in Tunisia — and payback for the violence and corruption by which he allegedly amassed his great wealth — quickly sought to appeal that decision. To Canada's dismay, he also applied for refugee status.
The Immigration and Refugee Board is expected to render a decision on Trabelsi's case in the next few days. But it is not clear if he is in fact still in Montreal.
The Canada Border Services Agency won't provide any information about Trabelsi, citing his right to privacy. It won't even say whether it confiscated Trabelsi's passport upon his arrival.
Then again, the CBSA wouldn't necessarily know if Trabelsi left the country of his own accord — Canada doesn't have exit controls.
Haroun Boazzi, a spokesperson for the Association des droits de la personne au Maghreb, says earlier reports that Trabelsi had fled to Venezuela were false.
"I believe he is still in Canada," said Boazzi, who has been lobbying to have Trabelsi, and his assets, repatriated by force to Tunisia. Trabelsi controlled significant portions of the tourism, banking, aviation, real estate and media sectors.
"But he has a huge problem," Boazzi said. "He can't bring his money here."
In March 2011, the federal government passed new legislation to freeze the assets of "politically exposed" persons fleeing Tunisia and Egypt in the wake of the Arab Spring revolutions.
The Freezing Assets of Corrupt Regimes Act makes it a crime to enter into any kind of financial transaction with Trabelsi, No. 8 on a list amended in December to include 123 people from Tunisia and 145 from Egypt.
Trabelsi's holdings in Canada are worth an estimated $10 million. Anyone found guilty of transacting with him can be fined $25,000 or sentenced to five years in jail.
Donald Kattan, one of Trabelsi's lawyers, is believed to be the first to be investigated under the new law. According to La Presse, Kattan received almost $1.4 million from Trabelsi in January 2011, and acted on his behalf to pay for hotel rooms and rent, as well as school fees for his daughters — $28,000 was refunded when his daughters were asked to leave the school last June.
The RCMP's Eric Gasse confirmed Thursday the investigation into Kattan's dealings with Trabelsi is continuing. Kattan wouldn't comment.
Last September, Trabelsi was found guilty in absentia of corruption, unlawful trade in precious metals and unlawful transfer of currency and was sentenced to 15 years by a Tunisian court.
Last December he was found guilty of possession of archeological pieces, and sentenced to another 21 months.
Trabelsi's convictions buttress Tunisia's request to extradite him — if in fact one was made. According to media reports the Tunisian embassy made a first request in January 2011, after Interpol issued a warrant for his arrest, and new Tunisian president Moncef Marzouki repeated his request two weeks ago.
"It's time our Western friends reconsider their way of seeing our countries, and that they treat us as equals and accept to send us our criminals and our money," he told a reporter in Tunis.
But the Foreign Affairs Department will neither confirm nor deny it has received such a request. On Thursday spokesperson Aliya Mawani said via email that "Canada continues to work with the new Tunisian government to ensure that corrupt foreign leaders are held accountable for their actions, in keeping with the principle of the rule of law."
Barring Trabelsi's extradition, the hot potato remains with the Immigration Department, and like Leon Mugesera, who was deported to Rwanda Tuesday after 16 years in Canada, Trabelsi could be here a long time.
While he is appealing the decision to revoke his permanent residency, he remains a permanent resident, said immigration lawyer Stephane Handfield, and as such is free to come and go as he pleases.
Only after a ruling has been made on his appeal will Trabelsi's claim for refugee status be heard, Handfield said. Given his convictions in Tunisia, his claim would surely be denied.
"Mr. Trabelsi might have good motives to say his life is in danger if he is returned to Tunisia but it will be harder to convince them he didn't engage in serious criminality."
Trabelsi could then appeal to the Federal Court. If the negative decision is upheld, the Immigration Department would then assess the risk of him being tortured or killed upon his removal — a process which in the case of Mugesera took six years.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney would not comment on the case. Instead, spokeswoman Candice Malcolm reiterated his stance.
"Minister Kenney has been clear that improvements to our immigration system are necessary and forthcoming. Our government will ensure that Canada is not the dumping ground for the world's foreign criminals, and that these criminals can no longer hide in Canada among hardworking and law-abiding Canadians."
A newspaper in Tunisia reported two weeks ago that Trabelsi, whose fortune reportedly runs in the billions of dollars, first left Canada for Venezuela hoping for a warmer welcome, before settling on Mexico. There have been no sightings of him since.
But rumours may just be rumours — and observers in Montreal believe Trabelsi is still in Canada, a hot potato the federal government probably wishes it could pass on to another country, as the Immigration, Foreign Affairs and Justice departments struggle to figure out what to do with him next.
The brother-in-law of deposed Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali — and, according to a 2008 U.S. government cable released by WikiLeaks, among the most reviled of the former dictator's extended family — Trabelsi, 49, arrived in a private jet at Montreal's Trudeau airport with his wife and children on Jan. 20, 2011, flashing his permanent residency papers. (He has been a permanent resident of Canada since the 1990s.)
It was six days after Ben Ali himself fled Tunisia for Saudi Arabia. Trabelsi's residency was soon revoked, however, because he had not lived in Canada for at least two of the previous five years.
But Trabelsi, fleeing the revolution in Tunisia — and payback for the violence and corruption by which he allegedly amassed his great wealth — quickly sought to appeal that decision. To Canada's dismay, he also applied for refugee status.
The Immigration and Refugee Board is expected to render a decision on Trabelsi's case in the next few days. But it is not clear if he is in fact still in Montreal.
The Canada Border Services Agency won't provide any information about Trabelsi, citing his right to privacy. It won't even say whether it confiscated Trabelsi's passport upon his arrival.
Then again, the CBSA wouldn't necessarily know if Trabelsi left the country of his own accord — Canada doesn't have exit controls.
Haroun Boazzi, a spokesperson for the Association des droits de la personne au Maghreb, says earlier reports that Trabelsi had fled to Venezuela were false.
"I believe he is still in Canada," said Boazzi, who has been lobbying to have Trabelsi, and his assets, repatriated by force to Tunisia. Trabelsi controlled significant portions of the tourism, banking, aviation, real estate and media sectors.
"But he has a huge problem," Boazzi said. "He can't bring his money here."
In March 2011, the federal government passed new legislation to freeze the assets of "politically exposed" persons fleeing Tunisia and Egypt in the wake of the Arab Spring revolutions.
The Freezing Assets of Corrupt Regimes Act makes it a crime to enter into any kind of financial transaction with Trabelsi, No. 8 on a list amended in December to include 123 people from Tunisia and 145 from Egypt.
Trabelsi's holdings in Canada are worth an estimated $10 million. Anyone found guilty of transacting with him can be fined $25,000 or sentenced to five years in jail.
Donald Kattan, one of Trabelsi's lawyers, is believed to be the first to be investigated under the new law. According to La Presse, Kattan received almost $1.4 million from Trabelsi in January 2011, and acted on his behalf to pay for hotel rooms and rent, as well as school fees for his daughters — $28,000 was refunded when his daughters were asked to leave the school last June.
The RCMP's Eric Gasse confirmed Thursday the investigation into Kattan's dealings with Trabelsi is continuing. Kattan wouldn't comment.
Last September, Trabelsi was found guilty in absentia of corruption, unlawful trade in precious metals and unlawful transfer of currency and was sentenced to 15 years by a Tunisian court.
Last December he was found guilty of possession of archeological pieces, and sentenced to another 21 months.
Trabelsi's convictions buttress Tunisia's request to extradite him — if in fact one was made. According to media reports the Tunisian embassy made a first request in January 2011, after Interpol issued a warrant for his arrest, and new Tunisian president Moncef Marzouki repeated his request two weeks ago.
"It's time our Western friends reconsider their way of seeing our countries, and that they treat us as equals and accept to send us our criminals and our money," he told a reporter in Tunis.
But the Foreign Affairs Department will neither confirm nor deny it has received such a request. On Thursday spokesperson Aliya Mawani said via email that "Canada continues to work with the new Tunisian government to ensure that corrupt foreign leaders are held accountable for their actions, in keeping with the principle of the rule of law."
Barring Trabelsi's extradition, the hot potato remains with the Immigration Department, and like Leon Mugesera, who was deported to Rwanda Tuesday after 16 years in Canada, Trabelsi could be here a long time.
While he is appealing the decision to revoke his permanent residency, he remains a permanent resident, said immigration lawyer Stephane Handfield, and as such is free to come and go as he pleases.
Only after a ruling has been made on his appeal will Trabelsi's claim for refugee status be heard, Handfield said. Given his convictions in Tunisia, his claim would surely be denied.
"Mr. Trabelsi might have good motives to say his life is in danger if he is returned to Tunisia but it will be harder to convince them he didn't engage in serious criminality."
Trabelsi could then appeal to the Federal Court. If the negative decision is upheld, the Immigration Department would then assess the risk of him being tortured or killed upon his removal — a process which in the case of Mugesera took six years.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney would not comment on the case. Instead, spokeswoman Candice Malcolm reiterated his stance.
"Minister Kenney has been clear that improvements to our immigration system are necessary and forthcoming. Our government will ensure that Canada is not the dumping ground for the world's foreign criminals, and that these criminals can no longer hide in Canada among hardworking and law-abiding Canadians."
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
SERGIO KARAS QUOTED IN GLOBE AND MAIL EDITORIAL ON IMMIGRATION REFORM AND TUNISIAN EXILES
I have been quoted in today's Globe and Mail Editorial.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/tunisia-canada-and-some-very-attractive-immigration-loopholes/article1889458/
Tunisia, Canada, and some very attractive immigration loopholes
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Bill C-49 should be amended to include provisions to prevent those who are stripped of permanent residency from making asylum claims. Moreover, the guidelines in place to prevent those who engage in corruption and abuse of power from immigrating to Canada should be uniformly applied
The case of Belhassen Trabelsi, the billionaire brother-in-law of Tunisia's disgraced ex-president, raises troubling questions not only about Canada's refugee system, but about the screening in place for permanent residents.
A bill to reform Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is already before the House, and must be amended to close these loopholes, and prevent further abuse.
Mr. Trabelsi gained permanent residency in the 1990s, as an investor immigrant. Immigration officers are supposed to conduct background checks for security and criminality, but Mr. Trabelsi apparently flew under the radar. His sister, Leila, married President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in 1992. Surely the nature of that relationship, coupled with long-standing questions about his business dealings, should have been known to Canadian authorities.
Once granted permanent residency, it was up to Mr. Trabelsi to maintain the requirements of living in Canada for two out of every five years. He failed to do so. Yet, when Mr. Ali's tyrannical regime came to an ignominious end last month, Mr. Trabelsi, his wife, children and nanny were still able to fly to Montreal in their private jet and check into the Château Vaudreuil, a five-star lakeside resort outside Montreal. Why wasn't he detained by immigration officers at the point of entry for failing to live up to his residency obligations?
Once immigration authorities caught up with Mr. Trabelsi, they rightly stripped him of his status. He promptly filed for asylum, claiming he will be persecuted if sent to Tunisia, where he now faces charges of embezzlement, money-laundering and abuse of power.
"It is likely nobody knew who he was when he first immigrated to Canada in the 1990s," said Sergio Karas, a Toronto immigration lawyer. "He should have been excluded because of a reasonable suspicion he was involved in criminal activity."
Bill C-49 should be amended to include provisions to prevent those who are stripped of permanent residency from making asylum claims. Moreover, the guidelines in place to prevent those who engage in corruption and abuse of power from immigrating to Canada should be uniformly applied. Ottawa often rejects investor immigrant applicants from Russia and China over concerns about the legality of their funds. There should never have been a place in Canada for Mr. Trabelsi.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/tunisia-canada-and-some-very-attractive-immigration-loopholes/article1889458/
Tunisia, Canada, and some very attractive immigration loopholes
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Bill C-49 should be amended to include provisions to prevent those who are stripped of permanent residency from making asylum claims. Moreover, the guidelines in place to prevent those who engage in corruption and abuse of power from immigrating to Canada should be uniformly applied
The case of Belhassen Trabelsi, the billionaire brother-in-law of Tunisia's disgraced ex-president, raises troubling questions not only about Canada's refugee system, but about the screening in place for permanent residents.
A bill to reform Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is already before the House, and must be amended to close these loopholes, and prevent further abuse.
Mr. Trabelsi gained permanent residency in the 1990s, as an investor immigrant. Immigration officers are supposed to conduct background checks for security and criminality, but Mr. Trabelsi apparently flew under the radar. His sister, Leila, married President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in 1992. Surely the nature of that relationship, coupled with long-standing questions about his business dealings, should have been known to Canadian authorities.
Once granted permanent residency, it was up to Mr. Trabelsi to maintain the requirements of living in Canada for two out of every five years. He failed to do so. Yet, when Mr. Ali's tyrannical regime came to an ignominious end last month, Mr. Trabelsi, his wife, children and nanny were still able to fly to Montreal in their private jet and check into the Château Vaudreuil, a five-star lakeside resort outside Montreal. Why wasn't he detained by immigration officers at the point of entry for failing to live up to his residency obligations?
Once immigration authorities caught up with Mr. Trabelsi, they rightly stripped him of his status. He promptly filed for asylum, claiming he will be persecuted if sent to Tunisia, where he now faces charges of embezzlement, money-laundering and abuse of power.
"It is likely nobody knew who he was when he first immigrated to Canada in the 1990s," said Sergio Karas, a Toronto immigration lawyer. "He should have been excluded because of a reasonable suspicion he was involved in criminal activity."
Bill C-49 should be amended to include provisions to prevent those who are stripped of permanent residency from making asylum claims. Moreover, the guidelines in place to prevent those who engage in corruption and abuse of power from immigrating to Canada should be uniformly applied. Ottawa often rejects investor immigrant applicants from Russia and China over concerns about the legality of their funds. There should never have been a place in Canada for Mr. Trabelsi.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
TUNISIAN EXILES MAKE REFUGEE CLAIM
Note this report from the Wall Street Journal: "The Canadian government said this weekend that one of Mr. Ben Ali's brothers-in-law has applied for refugee status in Canada, effectively blocking Tunisia's efforts to extradite him.".
While they have a right to make a refugee claim given our ABSURD laws that permit that, the claimants should be placed in custody as a fight risk.
Tunisian Islamic Party Leader Returns Home - WSJ.com
While they have a right to make a refugee claim given our ABSURD laws that permit that, the claimants should be placed in custody as a fight risk.
Tunisian Islamic Party Leader Returns Home - WSJ.com
Saturday, January 29, 2011
TUNISIANS FACING EXTRADITION
This fast-developing story highlights the many shortcomings of our immigration system and its inability to deal with unsavoury characters in a speedy and firm manner.
Globe and Mail: Canada moves to extradite, freeze assets of exiled Tunisian billionaire
Globe and Mail: Canada moves to extradite, freeze assets of exiled Tunisian billionaire
Friday, January 28, 2011
TUNISIANS INTERVIEWED BY IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES
If they are placed in detention under IRPA, as the authorities have the power to do, their case will move a lot faster.... that would send a powerful message around the world to other dictators and their allies.
Trabelsi questioned by immigration officials, leaves Chateau Vaudreuil: report
Trabelsi questioned by immigration officials, leaves Chateau Vaudreuil: report
By Marian Scott, Montreal GazetteJanuary 27, 2011
Montreal Tunisians hailed news Thursday that Belhassen Trabelsi, the billionaire brother-in-law of deposed dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, faced questioning by immigration officials after Tunisia officially requested his arrest.
Trabelsi reportedly left the Château Vaudreuil Thursday afternoon for an undisclosed location, where he was to be questioned by officials.
He had been staying at the hotel west of the city since arriving in Montreal by private jet last week with his wife, four children and a governess.
Esme Bailey, a senior media spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), refused to confirm that Trabelsi faced questioning. A statement by CBSA noted that all “persons seeking to enter Canada must appear for an examination to determine whether they have a right to enter or become authorized to enter Canada.”
However, members of the local Tunisian community, which numbers 6,500 according to the 2006 census, were celebrating in the wake of media reports that Canada had revoked the permanent-resident status Tabelsi had obtained as an immigrant in a category reserved for wealthy investors.
“It’s a victory. We are very happy,” said Fadoua Mhiri, 39, a homemaker who has been glued to her computer to keep abreast of events in Tunisia since Ben Ali fled the country Jan. 14.
However, Mhiri and other Montreal Tunisians charged that Canada has been slow to react to the popular revolt that toppled Ben Ali and is now roiling Egypt and Yemen.
“The Tunisian revolution took everybody totally by surprise. The same people who were friends of Canada a week or two ago became enemies and wanted criminals overnight,” Mhiri said.
In Rabat, Morocco, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said members of the deposed regime in Tunisia are “not welcome” in Canada and that he supports calls for “democratic development” in Egypt. Harper made the comments after a meeting with Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, where the two of them discussed the recent wave of unrest hitting nations in North Africa.
Middle East expert Henry Habib said the overthrow of the Tunisian dictator and violent protest in Egypt have been a long time coming.
“This has been going on for decades: the malcontent and unhappiness of the people from political corruption,” said Habib, an emeritus professor of political science at Concordia and lecturer at the University of Ottawa.
“What you needed was a spark to put the whole tinder box ablaze.”
That spark was 26-year-old fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi, whose spectacular suicide touched off Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution. Bouazizi, who was the sole support of his mother and five siblings, died Jan. 4, weeks after setting himself on fire to protest the confiscation of his wares by a city inspector.
Bouazizi’s gesture symbolized the despair of a people struggling against poverty, unemployment and rampant corruption, said Haroon Bouazzi, a Montreal computer scientist and spokesman for a local Tunisian pro-democracy organization.
“Every Tunisian felt he was this person,” Bouazzi said.
Bouazizi’s case was nothing new, said Bouazzi.
“What’s new is that this time, people said, ‘It’s enough.’ ”
Bouazzi, 32 who came to Montreal 11 years ago, has been organizing demonstrations in front of the Tunisian consulate and film screenings on human-rights abuses in Tunisia for eight years. He said the events used to attract only a handful of people but Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution has galvanized the community.
“The people are still very angry,” said Bouazzi, who called on the Canadian government to help prosecute members of the former regime and to take an active role in restoring democracy to Tunisia.
On Thursday, the Tunisian ambassador, Mouldi Sakri, and Montreal consul Imed Sassi signed a letter announcing their resignation from Ben Ali’s party, the Rassemblement constitutionnel démocratique.
“We can say today that a new page has been turned for Tunisia,” said Sakri, who said he supported a return to democracy and stability for the country of 10 million.
In the letter, he also called on the Canadian government to seize any property held by members of the deposed dictator’s family.
In 2008, Ben Ali’s son-in-law Mohamed Sakher El Materi bought a $2.5-million house in Westmount but its current occupants say el Materi has sold it.
PQ international affairs critic Louise Beaudoin charged Quebec’s Liberal government is dragging its feet when it comes to making members of ousted Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali feel unwelcome here.
Beaudoin said it’s time Quebec stopped acting “like a small province” and made it clear what it thinks about the presence of the family here.
Trabelsi’s right-hand man, Hamadi Etouil, was said to have taken a Montreal-bound flight from Paris to join him last night.
PHILIP AUTHIER OF THE GAZETTE AND MARK KENNEDY OF POSTMEDIA NEWS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT
Trabelsi questioned by immigration officials, leaves Chateau Vaudreuil: report
Trabelsi questioned by immigration officials, leaves Chateau Vaudreuil: report
By Marian Scott, Montreal GazetteJanuary 27, 2011
Montreal Tunisians hailed news Thursday that Belhassen Trabelsi, the billionaire brother-in-law of deposed dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, faced questioning by immigration officials after Tunisia officially requested his arrest.
Trabelsi reportedly left the Château Vaudreuil Thursday afternoon for an undisclosed location, where he was to be questioned by officials.
He had been staying at the hotel west of the city since arriving in Montreal by private jet last week with his wife, four children and a governess.
Esme Bailey, a senior media spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), refused to confirm that Trabelsi faced questioning. A statement by CBSA noted that all “persons seeking to enter Canada must appear for an examination to determine whether they have a right to enter or become authorized to enter Canada.”
However, members of the local Tunisian community, which numbers 6,500 according to the 2006 census, were celebrating in the wake of media reports that Canada had revoked the permanent-resident status Tabelsi had obtained as an immigrant in a category reserved for wealthy investors.
“It’s a victory. We are very happy,” said Fadoua Mhiri, 39, a homemaker who has been glued to her computer to keep abreast of events in Tunisia since Ben Ali fled the country Jan. 14.
However, Mhiri and other Montreal Tunisians charged that Canada has been slow to react to the popular revolt that toppled Ben Ali and is now roiling Egypt and Yemen.
“The Tunisian revolution took everybody totally by surprise. The same people who were friends of Canada a week or two ago became enemies and wanted criminals overnight,” Mhiri said.
In Rabat, Morocco, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said members of the deposed regime in Tunisia are “not welcome” in Canada and that he supports calls for “democratic development” in Egypt. Harper made the comments after a meeting with Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, where the two of them discussed the recent wave of unrest hitting nations in North Africa.
Middle East expert Henry Habib said the overthrow of the Tunisian dictator and violent protest in Egypt have been a long time coming.
“This has been going on for decades: the malcontent and unhappiness of the people from political corruption,” said Habib, an emeritus professor of political science at Concordia and lecturer at the University of Ottawa.
“What you needed was a spark to put the whole tinder box ablaze.”
That spark was 26-year-old fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi, whose spectacular suicide touched off Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution. Bouazizi, who was the sole support of his mother and five siblings, died Jan. 4, weeks after setting himself on fire to protest the confiscation of his wares by a city inspector.
Bouazizi’s gesture symbolized the despair of a people struggling against poverty, unemployment and rampant corruption, said Haroon Bouazzi, a Montreal computer scientist and spokesman for a local Tunisian pro-democracy organization.
“Every Tunisian felt he was this person,” Bouazzi said.
Bouazizi’s case was nothing new, said Bouazzi.
“What’s new is that this time, people said, ‘It’s enough.’ ”
Bouazzi, 32 who came to Montreal 11 years ago, has been organizing demonstrations in front of the Tunisian consulate and film screenings on human-rights abuses in Tunisia for eight years. He said the events used to attract only a handful of people but Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution has galvanized the community.
“The people are still very angry,” said Bouazzi, who called on the Canadian government to help prosecute members of the former regime and to take an active role in restoring democracy to Tunisia.
On Thursday, the Tunisian ambassador, Mouldi Sakri, and Montreal consul Imed Sassi signed a letter announcing their resignation from Ben Ali’s party, the Rassemblement constitutionnel démocratique.
“We can say today that a new page has been turned for Tunisia,” said Sakri, who said he supported a return to democracy and stability for the country of 10 million.
In the letter, he also called on the Canadian government to seize any property held by members of the deposed dictator’s family.
In 2008, Ben Ali’s son-in-law Mohamed Sakher El Materi bought a $2.5-million house in Westmount but its current occupants say el Materi has sold it.
PQ international affairs critic Louise Beaudoin charged Quebec’s Liberal government is dragging its feet when it comes to making members of ousted Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali feel unwelcome here.
Beaudoin said it’s time Quebec stopped acting “like a small province” and made it clear what it thinks about the presence of the family here.
Trabelsi’s right-hand man, Hamadi Etouil, was said to have taken a Montreal-bound flight from Paris to join him last night.
PHILIP AUTHIER OF THE GAZETTE AND MARK KENNEDY OF POSTMEDIA NEWS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
TUNISIANS ESCAPE TO MONTREAL
Should we have an "automatic arrest" category? Under current legislation, individuals in similar circumstances can stall the process for several years, particularly if they have unlimited funds to file a series of applications in different courts to make the process as protracted as possible.
Ousted Tunisian leader’s brother-in-law in Montreal - The Globe and Mail
Ousted Tunisian leader’s brother-in-law in Montreal - The Globe and Mail
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
TUNISIANS UNDER SCRUTINY
If indeed they obtained residency, how did they maintain it if they do not live here?
Canada probing ex-Tunisian president's residency status
Canada probing ex-Tunisian president's residency status
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