Immigration Crisis

I’ve always felt our immigration system is in a state of disarray and the following story only reaffirms that feeling.

On July 5, 1984 Parminder Singh Saini and four accomplices hijacked an Air India flight 20 minutes after it departed Srinagar. Saini fired a handgun in the direction of a steward narrowly missing him. He then shot two or three times at the aircraft’s cockpit door with one of the rounds hitting the flight engineer in the back.

He ordered the pilot to land in Pakistan and kept everybody hostage as he attempted to negotiate a list of demands over the next 20 hours. After thoroughly terrorizing the passengers he eventually surrendered.

When the case went to trial Saini was convicted and sentenced to hang. The sentence was later reduced to life in prison with Saini being released after 10 years on the condition he leave the country. He chose Canada as his new home.

Carrying a fake Afghan passport, Saini introduced himself to Canadian customs officials as Balbir Singh. The date was Jan. 21, 1995. He stated he did not have a criminal record and had no family here. He then went to live with his mother and brother in Brampton, Ontario. He was discovered by CSIS eight months later and was ordered deported. Saini would spend the next 15 years fighting that deportation order.

In 2001, the Federal Court of Appeal agreed he should be deported overturning an earlier decision by the Federal Court to quash the deportation order. In two separate reviews he was deemed to be a threat. In fact, the immigration department to this day considers him a “danger to the public”.

While the struggle to stay in Canada continued, Saini used his time here to educate himself earning three university degrees. His dream was to practice law. He articled at a Brampton law firm and a Toronto immigration law firm.

A couple of weeks ago Saini lost his bid to practice law with the Law Society of Upper Canada referring to him as “not of good character”.

“While Mr. Saini has shown an ability to obtain (three) university degrees and has impressed a number of people, we are still left with a number of serious concerns,” wrote Ottawa lawyer William Simpson for the panel that heard the application in September.

In his defence Saini blamed youth for his actions in 1984. In fact, he told the Law Society of Upper Canada,

“I had no legitimate right to do that. It’s not legal.”

Indeed.

The struggle finally came to an end a week ago when yet another attempt in Federal Court to delay the deportation order failed and he was promptly arrested.

Escorted by Canadian security agents, Parminder Singh Saini landed in New Delhi where he was arrested by local police under the National Security Act. He is currently in jail there.

I have but one question. Here is an individual that exhibited violent behaviour and was convicted of hijacking. He lied to immigration officials about his identity as well as his past. He presented a phony passport. He was considered a national security threat while he was here. Why did it take 15 years to get rid of him?

Credits:
Photo – Tara Walton/Toronto Star
Quotes – www.thestar.com
www.mississauga.com