Jackie Tran committed serious crimes and has served the jail time imposed by the courts of this province. Unlike a citizen however, he will be punished twice for those crimes if he is deported from Canada and separated, perhaps permanently, from his family here. The comments made with respect to a Herald article detailing Tran’s efforts to remain indicate that there is little or no sympathy to his plight. Much like an unwanted adopted child, we now seek to return him to his birthplace.
Born in Vietnam in 1982 and now 27, Tran came to Canada along with his mother when he was in Grade 5. His father had fled Vietnam in 1983, became a refugee, and after being in a camp in Asia, made his way to Canada. After sponsoring his wife and only child, Tran's father became absent from their lives after their arrival in 1993. Tran studied at Patrick Airlie School for elementary school, then Ernest Morrow for junior high and attended Crescent Heights High School. His mother disabled because of a workplace injury, Tran dropped out during Grade 11 and was convicted of both drug trafficking for an incident in 2000 and an assault involving a fight with a co-worker in 2002. As the family’s sole income earner, Tran was working as a glass cutter, but the family lost their home because they were unable to meet the payments in 2006.
As a result of these convictions, Tran was found to be inadmissible to Canada by a division of the Immigration and Refugee Board. A permanent resident can appeal such a removal order, which Tran did. It would appear that the Criminal court did not share the current and widespread public belief that Tran is a "danger" as it imposed a conditional sentence of two years less a day to be served in the community (after assessing Tran’s risk to the community) for those drug offences (he had received a fine for the assault). Interesting, the Immigration Appeal Division of the IRB also found that Tran "himself, is not a danger to the public as there is no evidence that he has continued his serious criminal activities which are dangerous to the public..." Tran is now seeking judicial review of the decision of the IAD which confirmed Tran’s removal order.
The IAD’s negative decision is pre-occupied with Tran’s alleged connections with organized crime (he has never been convicted or charged of any criminal organization offence under the Criminal Code). It dismissed the humanitarian and compassionate considerations that included the fact that Tran was the de facto parent to his 9 years old step-sister (dealing with her teachers and schools, her medical appointments, driving her to and from school, movies, McDonalds, to the park and zoo). Tran now faces removal to a country that he has not seen since he was 10 years old.
The IAD has allowed more serious criminals than Tran to remain in Canada, including sex offenders. Is Tran not a product of Canadian society? Is he not prejudiced in his efforts to reform and remain here because he has somehow become the embodiment of Calgary’s gang problem? Tran is, for all intents and purposes, a Canadian and should be afforded an opportunity to rehabilitate and reintegrate into the fabric of this society. His lack of a serious criminal record since his offence in 2002 is indicia of his efforts in this regard. He should not be removed because by an accident of birth he happens to be born in a different country than his adopted homeland.
Removing someone from the only home they have known, and depriving two dependent family members of their son and brother and their sole financial and emotional support, merits more sympathy, consideration and less rush to judgment by Calgarians.
Raj Sharma is representing Jackie Tran before the Federal Court of Canada. Mr. Sharma is a former immigration hearings officer and is currently completing his LLM at Osgoode Hall in Administrative Law.
