Anxious To Become Canadian

By all accounts Kemptville has lost an enterprising, hard-working family of Trinidadian East Indians whose request for asylum has been turned away by Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board.  The family had many supporters among the people who live in that small community not far from Ottawa, and those supporters did their best to try to help Motilal and Vashti Maharaj and their grown children and two grandchildren stay in Canada.

However, IRB member Edward Robinson dismissed the family's claim in a 13-page decision making it clear that he felt the family's claim to be completely lacking merit in the quality of disclosure.  He mentioned "omissions and inconsistencies" in written and oral testimony, along with explanations he found lacking in credibility.  He went so far as to accuse Mr. Maharaj of "fabricating the entire story about police being involved in crimes against his family".

And so, they have been deported, since the Federal Court of Appeal turned down the family's request for an appeals hearing.  They have taken it on trust that Mr. Robinson was quite correct when he ruled that Mr. Maharaj had failed to provide "clear and convincing evidence that, on a balance of probabilities, state protection in Trinidad is inadequate."

Forced dislocation is a human tragedy anywhere it occurs.  It is particularly difficult to contemplate and accept when a family has set down roots and established themselves in a community of which they have become an integral part.  A pre-removal risk assessment, however, found the family was highly unlikely to face persecution or violence if returned to Trinidad.

Notice was served that they would be escorted to the Ottawa Airport and deported on June 29, and this is precisely what occurred.  Hundreds of their neighbours had signed petitions on their behalf, the North Grenville Mayor spoke out for them.  And church officials at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Kemptville considered the possibility of offering church sanctuary.

A country's laws generally have been put in place for specific reasons to protect the society at large and its institutions.  Canada accepts about three-quarters of a million new immigrants a year, and considers the appeals of refugees according to UN conventions.  The Maharaj family originally lived in the United States for eight years when Motilal Maharaj was sponsored by a company for which he worked, as an immigrant.

Unfortunately, he missed an important deadline to file sponsorship papers.  Which made their continued stay illegal, and they were invited to leave as a result.  They left the United States and arrived in Canada in 2008, claiming refugee status.  Canada has certain agreements with the U.S. and other countries that if a refugee is already in a country that offers asylum, another country need not take them in. 

The family was in a country of 'first asylum', therefore making it dubious that the follow-on claim for refugee status would be well regarded. Mr. Maharaj appears to have taken his position in the U.S. for granted, not to have followed through on the filing of vital papers meant to ensure he would remain in the U.S. legally as an immigrant.

That casual attitude about something as important as the legality of one's immigrant status is strange.  While there is no denying that the family settled well into Canada, invested themselves in hard work, opening a successful business, and becoming a part of their community.  Laws must still be recognized and followed. 

While the Maharaj family did not qualify as refugees, there is nothing to say that they might not qualify as immigrants.  Should they wish to return to Canada they will have the option of applying through the usual legal channels to emigrate from Trinidad, back to Canada.  Joining the queue of others who are similarly anxious to become Canadians.