Canada's Immigration Minister Jason Kenney speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa December 13, 2011.
The Conservative government's new "most-wanted" list of alleged foreign war criminals has backfired, with a South Asian man's new-found notoriety gumming up Ottawa's attempts to kick him out of the country.
"His life is at risk of torture upon return to Pakistan," lawyer Tamara Morgenthau told an immigration hearing on Friday morning. She explained that a federal official concluded this week that her client was specifically in jeopardy because of "the publicity being placed on him by the most-wanted list."
That assessment raises questions about whether the government is unwittingly undermining its own efforts to remove dangerous immigrants.
Arshad Mohammad was arrested in a Mississauga hardware store in July, a just couple of days after the federal authorities first publicized his mugshot along with those of 29 others. At the Friday hearing, the 42-year-old Pakistani looked on in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs before being ordered returned to jail pending his next hearing.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney held a press conference applauding the arrest, saying the man had ties to terrorism, and solicited the public's help in tracking down more suspects on the government's list.
Refugee advocates predicted that rights-abusing countries would take notice of the allegations, and that any deportees could face abuse. The Tories were more inclined to boast about the busts – so far, tips have led to over a dozen arrests, including some foreigners who have since been deported.
Most of the cases appear to involve failed refugee claimants who went underground in Canada.
Bureaucrats routinely conduct what is known as a "pre-removal risk assessment" to determine whether rights abuses are likely to follow a deportation. Save for the most exceptional cases, Canadian officials are precluded from sending foreigners to places where they would face a substantial risk of torture or other human rights abuses.
On Thursday, Mr. Mohammad's lawyers were informed an Immigration Canada official had concluded in a risk assessment that their client was at risk of torture, specifically because of the way the Canadian government circulated the allegations that he is implicated in war crimes and terrorism.
"It was all over the newspapers in Pakistan … his family started receiving threats," said Lorne Waldman, who also represents Mr. Mohammad. He added that "I think it's going to be extremely difficult for him to be removed now because of the positive risk finding."
While Mr. Mohammad won a reprieve on Friday, the immigration bureaucracy could still deport him if it concludes he poses a significant threat. His next hearing is in January.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Kenney defended the government's right to circulate most-wanted lists. They have been "integral in our efforts to locate and remove these criminals who have repeatedly evaded the law and pose a threat to the safety and security of Canadians," said Candice Malcolm.
Mr. Waldman, a well-known authority on immigration law, disagreed.
Whatever you think of the lists, he said, "this is not good public policy, because people you might have been able to deport, you will no longer be able to deport."
Colin Freeze