Here's a link to an archive from Radio Canada International for January 11, 2007. It covers my work for John Anthony Bonnick who was facing removal from Canada. Mr. Bonnick reported for removal to his native Jamaica after his application for a stay of the execution of the removal order was refused by the Federal Court. While Mr. Bonnick was convicted of numerous criminal offenses including living off the avails of prostitution, he will not be automatically eligible to return to Canada in 2013 (requiring the approval of the Minister of CIC). The article also does not mention his 6 children in Canada, or his other family here (or the fact that he was in Canada for more than 20 years). A stay remedy is 'extraordinary' and we were unable to persuade the Federal Court to grant one in this case.
Permanent residents need to understand that criminality exposes them to the removal provisions in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. While the vast majority of people don't plan on criminal behavior (or at least being deported as a result of it), it's important to understand the nature of permanent residency. I'll post the Federal Court record (under representative work) soon as it illustrates the nature of the test involved in such applications.
CALGARY: CONVICTED PIMP FACES DEPORTATION TO JAMAICA
A Jamaican man who lived as a permanent resident in Canada for the past 25 years is scheduled to be deported to his native country on Monday. John Bonnick, 40, was found guilty in 2002 of living off the avails of prostitution and aggravated assault. He had forced a woman to act as a prostitute for seven days a week. He regularly punished her by burning her skin with lit cigarettes. He was released on parole from federal prison last October. Bonnick filed appeals to remain in Canada because his children and family live in Calgary, Alberta. But a federal judge denied his appeals and ordered his deportation. Bonnick's lawyer, Raj Sharma, said that due legal process was served. 'It speaks to the fairness of the system that there are multiple levels of review that every permanent resident goes through,' he said. Bonnick will be eligible to return to Canada in 2013.
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