Barely a week after the Canadian government deported high-profile paralyzed refugee claimant Laiber Singh to India, a fugitive who was ordered deported eight years ago has surfaced in Surrey.
Baljit Ram, also from India, remains at large despite being ordered deported in 2000.
His case highlights discrepancies in Ottawa’s dealings with failed refugees to Canada. On the one hand, critics observe, all official efforts are brought to bear to deport a peaceful, law-abiding wheelchair bound claimant.
On the other, a man who admits to concocting a tale of political hardship in India as well as being charged with drunk driving in Canada is largely ignored by immigration officials.
Laiber Singh — who spent more than a year in sanctuary in an Abbotsford Sikh temple — was forced to leave for his home country on November 4 as the Canadian government remained adamant in its decision not to grant him stay on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Much like Laiber Singh, Baljit Ram came to Canada in 1998 as a political refugee. He claimed to be a member of the Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh terrorist group now banned in Canada.
Though he was ordered deported in 2000, he reportedly went underground and then mysteriously reappeared in Surrey after a stabbing incident September 30 left him injured and exposed to official scrutiny. His story was first reported by the media last week.
Ram claims that robbery was the motive behind the stabbing at the Surrey Central SkyTrain Station that sent him to the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.
When the police subsequently learned about Ram’s deportation order, he was presented before the immigration authorities.
He was released on several conditions, including $5,000 bond to be deposited by a friend, in this case, Ram’s cousin, Rick Toora.
Ram, who lives in a Surrey basement, denied being “underground” these past eight years.
“I have had a drivers’ license and a vehicle and still have a cell phone. How can I be called a fugitive?,” he asked while talking to the South Asian Post.
Ram also said that he was charged with drunk driving long after the deportation orders were issued, and that his license was suspended for a year. He presented documents supporting his claim.
“How come the police did not find out about the Canadian Border Services Agency warrants against me before?,” he said. “My lawyer did not keep me posted about my status. That’s why I never got to learn about the deportation orders.”
Ram admitted that he concocted the Babbar Khalsa tale to get political refugee status in Canada.
“It was a false story. I had no association with the Babbar Khalsa. I made that claim on the advice of the travel agent in India who had arranged for my journey to Canada.”
Ram claimed that he was given a temporary work permit for one year and did tree plantation work at the beginning of his stay in Canada. He says he later worked at various odd jobs, including baby sitting the children of a cousin.
Occasionally, he had to borrow money from people at a local Sikh temple. He denied working presently for cash.
Surrey RCMP spokesman Sgt. Roger Morrow confirmed that the information about the CBSA warrant had popped up during a police check of Ram after the stabbing incident.
He said that he is not aware of the drunk driving charge against Ram and could not comment about Ram’s past involvement with the police until further “researching” the case.
CBSA spokeswoman, Shakila Manzur did not return a call.
Reacting to Ram’s story, a supporter of Laiber Singh, Harjaap Grewal, who is also associated with No One is Illegal, a Vancouver-based advocacy group for refugees and immigrants said: “I do not want to compare the two cases to look as if one is more worthy than the other. We feel that the government should not deport Baljit Ram either.”
No One is Illegal is sympathetic to all undocumented refugees, and feels Canada should give such people a one-time amnesty.
Grewal lamented that people like Laiber Singh become targets of the government when they speak up and challenge the immigration system.
“The government came down heavily on (Laiber Singh) because he became a political figure. This government has no problem with undocumented refugees who quietly work as cheap labour for the black economy of the country.”
Laiber Singh entered Canada in 2003 as a political refugee. His claim was subsequently 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 support of Canadian friends.
The Canadian government decided to deport him in December last year after reviewing his case following protests and petitioning. Following a large rally at the Vancouver International Airport, he returned to sanctuary. Frustrated by the long battle with no solution in sight, he ultimately decided to leave Canada.
He arrived Nov. 6 at Sohal Khalsa village in Punjab, where he was met by his five children.
“My only regret is that even after spending five years in Canada, I could not change the economic status of my family,” Singh, a widower and former army soldier, said at his two-room house in the village.