Deportation hearing for refugee set aside

HALIFAX — A Federal Court judge has set aside a decision to refer the case of Abdoul Abdi to a deportation hearing, saying the federal government “blatantly” ignored the Somali child refugee’s charter rights and did not consider international law.

In a written decision dated July 13, Justice Ann Marie McDonald said a delegate of the public safety minister failed to consider the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and international law in arriving at her decision, despite being statutorily mandated to render a decision consistent with the charter.

“Most blatantly, the [delegate’s] decision discloses no indication that the [delegate] even considered the charter values,” said McDonald, who does not name the delegate in her decision.

“In fact, the charter is not mentioned anywhere in the [delegate’s] cover letter outlining the issues she considered or in the body of her decision. This is so despite Mr. Abdi’s extensive submissions on the charter.”

Still, the threat of deportation remains for Abdi, who was never granted Canadian citizenship while growing up in foster care in Nova Scotia.

The Canada Border Services Agency had detained the 24-yearold man after he served about five years in prison for multiple offences, including aggravated assault.

Abdi, who has never lived in Somalia and has no ties to the country, had sought a judicial review of the federal government’s decision to refer his case to a deportation hearing. His lawyer, Benjamin Perryman, argued in Federal Court in Halifax that the decision was unreasonable, unfair and contrary to the charter and international law.

McDonald noted the delegate is also required to weigh the statutory objectives of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act with the values of the charter, and that her decision was unreasonable and not “justified, transparent and intelligible.”