Failed paralyzed refugee claimant Laiber Singh — who has spent more than a year in sanctuary in an Abbotsford Sikh temple — is planning to return to his family in India. Frustrated with the Canadian government’s reluctance to allow him to stay here on compassionate grounds, Singh has informed his lawyer that he wants to return and is willing to present himself before the Canada Border Services Agency.
Singh told the South Asian Post that he has lost all hope and finds no reason to stay here. “I don’t want to be a burden on anyone, especially when there is not much hope from the government,” he said.
He denied that pressure from community leaders was behind his decision and has left the timeline for his departure in the hands of his lawyer.
“I know that my situation won’t improve in India, but I am in a no-win situation. I have therefore decided to return to my kids, who need my presence,” added Singh.
Singh’s lawyer Peter Edelmann declined to comment.
“I don’t want to disclose anything about this case without the permission of my client,” he said.
He did however allow that the Canadian Immigration and Citizenship Department has yet to levy its decision on the last application that would allow Singh to stay on humanitarian grounds.
Singh entered Canada in 2003 as a political refugee. His claim was rejected and he was ordered deported. A stroke left him paralyzed in 2006 and landed him in a long-term care facility in Vancouver.
To avoid deportation, he took sanctuary at the Gurdwara Kalgidhar Durbar in Abbotsford with the help of friends.
The Canadian government moved to deport him on December 10 last year after reviewing his case. Over 1,000 people gathered at the Vancouver International Airport to block the deportation. Singh was shuttled to a different Sikh temple after the authorities decided not to wade into the crowd.
Ultimately, Singh came back to the same Sikh temple in Abbotsford after two other temples refused to give him long-term sanctuary.
Temple president, Swarn Singh Gill expressed his helplessness: “We don’t want him to go, but he is insisting too much to leave as the government is adamant to not grant him any legal status.”