A lawyer for a Vancouver-based climate activist says government plans to deport his client could have a “chilling effect” on international students looking to exercise their right to political speech.
Zain Haq, 23, co-founded the Vancouver-based group Save Old Growth. In 2022, he caught the attention of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) while protesting and speaking to the press about Canada’s climate policy.
That’s when CBSA sought to declare Haq retroactively inadmissible to Canada for failing to make enough progress as a student while attending Simon Fraser University (SFU), said Haq’s lawyer, Randall Cohn.
According to Cohn, the border agency failed to communicate with the university and carry out a full investigation, a procedural shortcut he worries could intimidate other international students looking to speak up for what they think is right.
“We are concerned that there is a chilling effect that will result from his deportation,” said Cohn.
“If they remove him, then what they’re doing is they’re saying they don’t want people like Zain in the conversation.”
A CBSA spokesperson said the agency could not comment or provide details on specific cases.
“The decision to remove someone from Canada is not taken lightly,” said the CBSA’s Maria Ladouceur in an email. “All individuals who are subject to removal have access to due process and procedural fairness.”
“Being engaged in lawful protest activities would not, in and of itself, render an individual inadmissible to Canada.”
On Tuesday, Haq said he bought an airplane ticket in preparation for his scheduled date of removal on April 22, 2024, when he will return to his native Pakistan. That’s despite being a year into a pending permanent resident application for spousal sponsorship with his Canadian wife.
In the meantime, Haq is submitting a formal request to the CBSA asking them to use their discretion to defer his removal on humanitarian grounds that it will only cause personal harm and delay his immigration status in Canada.
Cohn said it’s not unusual that CBSA would remove an international student convicted of crimes, whether it was shoplifting or anything else.
What’s unusual, the lawyer said, is Haq’s place in the youth climate movement, and the border agency's quick action targeting his status as a student long before Haq pled guilty to five mischief counts related to the blocking of several roadways in Metro Vancouver — a non-violent protest against oil pipelines and old-growth logging.
“They tried to use that as a way to expedite his removal,” said Cohn of Haq’s student record. “I believe they jumped the gun in making that recommendation.”
“That was political persecution, I believe.”
Through it all Haq remains eligible to reactivate his student account and enrol in classes, according to a letter from SFU’s registrar dated March 18, 2023, and seen by Glacier Media. But the idea of continuing his studies and remaining with his wife remains a distant prospect.
“That’s how deterrence works. If you see someone being treated in a certain way, you’ll think twice about acting,” said Haq.
