By now, practically everyone in the world knows that Canada's refugee determination system is a joke and broken beyond repair, and that when people who fail to even meet its low threshold for acceptance, chances of getting deported are slim. Even when they are in fact deported, it takes years to do so. The end result is that Canada constantly attracts to its shores individuals of questionable backgrounds from around the world, who manage to tangle the Justice system for years, if not decades. In the end, the government gives up in its deportation efforts, as the cases become more complex, people invoke dubious "Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds", marry and have Canadian children, etc.. There are hundreds of cases in the system at any time, dealing with alleged terrorists, convicted and suspected criminals, potential national security threats, etc., and for some strange reason that may have to do with the Canadian psyche, the country never gets around to finally rid itself of those who just do not meet our low threshold for protection. Needless to say, the entire system suffers because those who truly deserve protection do not get it, or must wait for years until their cases are dealt with., as substantial resources need to be devoted to those who manage to stall. We need a new system that is fast, fair and final.
Rwandan refugee allegedly linked to family’s killing in sixth appeal
Adrian Humphreys/National Post
A man fighting to stay in Canada after being found complicit in the Rwandan genocide said yesterday on Tuesday he deserves another chance to convince the government he has been wrongly branded a fiend who murdered a neighbour and her children because she refused to have sex with him.
At least six times, Henri Jean-Claude Seyoboka has been told in judicial and tribunal proceedings that he is ineligible to remain in Canada because of his complicity in crimes against humanity during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
On Tuesday, Mr. Seyoboka, 43, who had driven five hours from his home in Gatineau, Que., was in the Federal Court of Canada in Toronto. Well-dressed in a jacket and tie, and with a leather attaché case resting at his feet, he leaned forward and listened intently, occasionally nodding in support of his lawyers' arguments.
"The finding that he is implicated in crimes against humanity goes beyond the immigration process and affects all aspects of his life. He has been branded as a war criminal in Canada," his lawyer, Lorne Waldman, told Justice James O'Reilly.
"He will always be considered complicit in crimes against humanity as far as Canada is concerned, unless he gets a chance to put his case, again, before the [Immigration and Refugee Board]."
Mr. Waldman says the evidence used to implicate his client in the murders has since been discredited and to ignore this and still deport him would be a breach of natural justice.
Mr. Seyoboka came to Canada in 1996, where he lives with his wife and children, and was granted refugee protection without mentioning his service in the Rwandan army at the time of the genocide. An estimated 800,000 people were killed in 100 days, mainly members of the Tutsi ethnic minority by Hutu soldiers and militia.
Two years later, he came to the attention of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in its investigation of another man. He then admitted his military service, but denied engaging in atrocities.
Ottawa moved to revoke his refugee status in 2005.
In 2006, the IRB found Mr. Seyoboka was complicit, if not directly involved, in the slaughter. Based on gruesome evidence before the ICTR from a witness in Rwanda, he was also found by the IRB to have been personally involved in the killing of a neighbour named Francine and her two children because she refused to have sex with him.
Jamie Todd, lawyer for the government, said that Mr. Seyoboka was now angling for one more "kick at the can" in his fight to remain in Canada and trying to "wriggle out" of his responsibility.
Even if the evidence on the murder of Francine was ignored, it would make no difference to the outcome because Mr. Seyoboka had also been ruled inadmissible to Canada by virtue of being a high-ranking member of the Rwandan regime at the time of the massacre, Mr. Todd said.
Judge O'Reilly reserved his decision on the case.
After court, Mr. Seyoboka denied being the man the government paints him as.
"It is not true," Mr. Seyoboka told the National Post.
He had nothing to do with Francine's death and was not involved in the atrocities of the genocide. He also denies that his father-in-law played any role in promoting extremism prior to the start of the genocide.
Mr. Seyoboka is the son-in-law of Colonel Elie Sagatwa, who was a relative of the former first lady of Rwanda. He was appointed head of presidential security and the president's personal secretary. Reports in Rwanda say Col. Sagatwa was an early advocate of Hutu extremism.
When the an airplane carrying Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down on April 6, 1994 -- seen as the catalyst for the genocide -- Mr. Seyoboka's father-in-law was also on board.
"On the sixth of April, they killed him too, so he could not have been involved [in the genocide]," Mr. Seyoboka said.
As important as the case is to Mr. Seyoboka, it could also have a wide impact on Canada's immigration and refugee law, potentially allowing people ordered out of Canada to have yet another layer of appeal should they proffer fresh evidence to the IRB to overcome an unfavourable decision.
Judge O'Reilly raised that spectre on Tuesday, asking the lawyers about the importance of "finality" in the deportation process, alluding to the multiple challenges Mr. Seyoboka has already mounted.
"I hesitate to create new law that would cause it to happen more often," Judge O'Reilly said on Tuesday.
Mr. Waldman said he did not think such a precedent-setting ruling would "open the floodgates" on new appeals: "I've been practising immigration law for 30 years and this is the first time I've come across this scenario," he said.
Regardless of the decision, Mr. Seyoboka's fight is far from over. Even if Judge O'Reilly turns down his request for a judicial review, Mr. Seyoboka can seek relief on humanitarian and compassionate grounds and also undergo a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment to determine if his deportation would put him in danger in his homeland.
Both of those decisions can be further appealed in court.
National Post
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