Deportation order for Vancouver refugee claimant delayed
Last Updated: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 | 10:10 AM PT
CBC News
Paralyzed refugee claimant Laibar Singh can stay in Canada for the time being after more than 1,000 people protested his scheduled deportation at Vancouver International Airport's departures terminal Monday morning, blocking traffic and causing delays.
Laibar Singh came to Canada in 2003 on a forged passport and suffered a massive stroke last year that left him a quadriplegic.
(CBC)
The removal order for Singh has been delayed for "safety and security reasons," Derek Mellon, a spokesman for the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) told CBC News from Ottawa Monday afternoon.
"As to when to enforce the removal order of Mr. Singh, I cannot discuss the details," Mellon said.
Protesters, some holding placards reading "Deportation is death to Singh," blocked the lane to the Vancouver airport departures terminal in support of Singh, who had been scheduled to be deported to India on Monday.
Protesters surrounded a taxi with Singh in it at 11 a.m. PT.
More than 1,000 protesters at Vancouver International Airport's departure terminal attempted to block the deportation of Laibar Singh on Monday.
(CBC)
At around 3 p.m., the taxi pulled away slowly to the cheers of the crowd, following the CBSA's decision to delay removing Singh from Canada. The plane he was supposed to be on, Cathy Pacific Flight CX839, left at around 2:30 p.m.
No One Is Illegal, a group that advocates on behalf of refugees, which helped Singh get to the airport, said it will take care of Singh while he's in Vancouver.
Singh granted 60-day stay in August
The federal government granted Singh a 60-day stay of his deportation order on Aug. 19, the day before he was expected to be deported. His deportation was later scheduled for 10:30 a.m. PT Monday at Vancouver airport.
Singh came to Canada in 2003 on a forged passport. He suffered a massive stroke three years later that left him a quadriplegic and unable to care for himself.
He has since argued that he will die if he is deported to India because he won't be able to get proper medical treatment.
Singh initially sought refugee status in 2003 on the grounds that he would be persecuted by police in Punjab, where officials have accused him of links to separatist militants, but his refugee claim was denied that year.
Appeals turned down
His appeals to stay in Canada were turned down by immigration officials, who ruled Singh couldn't remain because he doesn't have adequate community ties.
Harsha Walia, of No One Is Illegal, said that finding is outrageous, based on the support the community has already shown for him.
Walia said 40,000 people have signed a petition urging Ottawa to allow Singh to stay in the country on humanitarian grounds.
This is the third time Singh has avoided deportation.
He was first scheduled to be deported on July 8, 2007, but sought sanctuary at the Kalgidhar Darbar Sahib Society temple in Abbotsford instead.
The Canada Border Services Agency then arrested Singh on Aug. 13 at an Abbotsford, B.C., hospital, after he left the Sikh temple to seek medical attention.
With files from the Canadian PressShare Tools
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