A controversial Montreal-based imam faces deportation Monday after efforts to get the Federal Court to intervene and stop border officials from removing him from Canada failed.

Imam Said Jaziri appears at his Immigration and Refugee Board hearing in Montreal on Oct. 17. Imam Said Jaziri appears at his Immigration and Refugee Board hearing in Montreal on Oct. 17.
(Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)
A lawyer for Muslim cleric Said Jaziri — who fervently supports the creation of faith-based sharia law for Canadian Muslims and has publicly denounced homosexuality as a sin — said the court rejected his application to stay in the country following a teleconference late Sunday afternoon.

Jaziri's last resort was an appeal to Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley, who could have used her discretionary authority under federal law to let him stay on humanitarian grounds. But officials at her office have made it clear that won't happen, the CBC's Rosemary Barton reported.

Jaziri and his supporters, including Muslim organizations and Amnesty International, have said he will likely be tortured or killed if he returns to his native Tunisia. But government lawyers maintain that Jaziri is exaggerating the dangers he faces if he returns there.

The Muslim cleric, who heads the Al-Qods mosque in Montreal, was ordered deported last year when officials revoked his refugee status, which was obtained in 1998.

The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada claimed Tunisian-born Jaziri presented false information to get into Canada, and lied about having a criminal record in France, where he served jail time.

Tunisian Ambassador Abdessalem Hetira has said Jaziri will not be in any danger in Tunisia because his country respects human rights.

Jaziri has been on a hunger strike at an immigration centre in Laval since he was detained last week by authorities. His deportation may be delayed depending on whether officials feel he's healthy enough to travel, Barton reported.

Jaziri's wife, Nancy-Ann Adams, who is pregnant with the couple's first child, says she hopes Finley will intervene in the case.

With files from the Canadian Press