Community members gathered outside the constituency office of Marc Miller, Canada’s new Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, on Monday to demand a stay of the deportation of Rajvinder Kaur and Randhir Singh.
Kaur and Singh are an Indian couple in their 70s living in Montreal’s Parc Extension neighbourhood.
The couple’s lawyer, Stewart Istvanffy, says Singh’s torture at the hands of the Indian secret police led them to seek asylum in 2015. That claim was rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, and the couple has exhausted all options for appeal. Now, only the minister can intervene.
Kaur was once a village chief in the state of Punjab, India. But it was her husband who faced violence over suspicions of sheltering members of the Sikh separatist movement. Now, Singh suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has been criticized for its embrace of Hindu nationalism and treatment of minority groups. For Istvanffy, it’s not just India who’s violating human rights in this case, but Canada. He says the failure to intervene in this case shows a lack of respect for Charter values and international human rights obligations.
Comité d'action de Parc-Extension member Amy Darwish agrees. She says cases like these show how far behind the government is going when it comes to their promises on immigration.
“It’s been nearly two years since the Canadian government issued a mandate letter saying that they would implement a regularization program. And we’re here today to say that it’s already been two years too many.”
Rushdia Mehreen, one of the organizers of Monday’s rally, says she sees more and more deportations happening, often without public attention or even warning. She believes that all migrants deserve status in Canada, but is particularly impassioned about this case.
“Imagine your parents, who are 79 and 70 – imagine them being pushed out and thrown back in a place where they were facing political violence.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has refused to discuss the specifics of the case, stating that “a decision to remove someone from Canada is not taken lightly. Every individual facing removal is entitled to due process, but once all avenues to appeal are exhausted, they are removed from Canada in accordance with Canadian law.”
Istvanffy says they have to remain optimistic. “Basically we’ve done everything. Now we’re hoping that the politicians will do the right thing.”
The Minister has until Aug. 12 to intervene.
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