Archive for category: Extradition

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Success: Deportation Order Cancelled

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Canadian immigration laws are tough on criminals. A person who has been convicted of a criminal offence may face serious issues on the criminal side. In fact, CIL has an entire side of our practice for “crimmigration” – this is the area that covers criminal law and immigration law. The overlap is significant so that lawyers need to understand many aspects of both areas of practice to give their clients good legal advice.

Our client is a “long term” Permanent Resident of Canada and a citizen of Portugal. This means that he has spent significant time in Canada after he emigrated from Portugal. He has strong family connections to Winnipeg and he has built his life on this side of the Atlantic. He loves Winnipeg and we put together a strong package of more than 100 pages of documents on his behalf that covered the relevant legal tests.

Our client also has a history of addiction. Addiction has been recognized as a condition that may be considered a “disability” in Canada. According to the Canadian Human Rights Commission:

In Canada, people use different terms to describe struggles with alcohol or drugs. The terms substance dependence, addiction, or substance use disorder are often used interchangeably. The Canadian Human Rights Commission (Commission) uses the term “substance dependence” to refer to previous or existing addiction or dependence on alcohol or drugs. Substance dependence is considered a disability under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

For our client, his addiction led to criminal activities and he faced multiple convictions. He was facing deportation from Canada and CBSA was taking steps to separate him from his family and friends in Manitoba.

Our client contacted CIL after he was convicted and sentenced. He served his time in prison. He already paid a heavy price for his mistakes. He came to us for help so that he would not be deported back to Portugal.

After much work and negotiations with CBSA, CIL successfully stopped his deportation. We love winning our cases. We love helping our clients.

Our client got a “warning letter” from CBSA and they closed his file. This means that he will not be deported and he will be able to stay in Winnipeg with his family. The CBSA Officer accepted that he has been sufficiently punished by the Canadian criminal system. Deportation was canceled.

 

Extradition Request: Nygard

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Peter Nygard’s name and image have been plastered all over Winnipeg for many years. Finally, after years of alleged abuse of women, he is facing criminal charges in both Canada and the USA. He is currently behind bars at Headingley Correctional Centre, just outside the city.

I have given interviews on Mr. Nygard’s situation, from an immigration perspective. NygardI have represented clients on extradition matters related to the USA and Ukraine. These cases are rarely straight-forward. I attribute much of my knowledge to my International Criminal Law profession Elaine Krivel who authored “A Practical Guide to Canadian Extradition” and who has represented the Canadian government on many of these matters. As I recall, I actually got the top mark in that class… many years ago.

Currently, Mr. Nygard is only facing a criminal trial in Manitoba. To date, the American authorities have not submitted the extradition request to Canada. As I stated to CBC News, the prosecutors in the case are likely considering the relevant Statues of Limitations.

At the bail hearing on 21 JAN 2021, Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg denied Mr. Nygard’s lawyers request to be released; however, he granted their request to put forth additional arguments on 28 JAN 2021. As I stated to CBC News:

Alastair Clarke, a Winnipeg immigration lawyer who has been following the case, says that while the issue of COVID-19 in jail is a legitimate concern, Nygard shouldn’t get special treatment.

“Not only do we need justice in this type of case, but we also need the perception of justice. And I don’t think Canadians would be very happy if an individual with deep pockets and got special treatment, and I don’t think people who are wealthy should get special treatment,” he said.

“He is subject to the law just like anyone else.”

We will continue to follow these criminal proceedings. We will also pay attention to potential actions by American prosecutors who may seek a concurrent trial, depending on the relevant Statue of Limitation period.

The importance of the perception of justice cannot be overstated. We are talking about the cornerstone principles of the legal system: fairness, equality, and arbitrariness. We live in a time of reconciliation and atoning for past injustice. These are principles that have been under attack for the past 4 years. In the USA, it is not clear to me the justice system is based on fairness. It is not clear to me that black Americans are treated the same as white Americans. And this is a problem that could easily manifest in Canada.

On the other side, it is equally important that Mr Nygard is not scapegoated for his behaviour. He may represent the vile and antiquated male attitudes of women as commodities to be used for their own pleasure, regardless of the law. He may have committed heinous acts to coerce young women to do his bidding. If that is borne out by the evidence, he should be punished according to the law. As anyone else would be punished for the same actions.