Candada:Refugee rodent wins two rounds against government(failed deportation of a squirrel)

With ministerial dispensation, Sabrina the flying squirrel gets to stay in Canada

TORONTO -- It's a rare baby squirrel that takes on the government and changes the laws of the land. But Sabrina, the refugee rodent, appears to have done just that.

This morning, Sabrina's handlers will announce in Toronto that they've successfully resisted Ottawa's deportation efforts. The celebrated U.S.-born flying squirrel that was imported as a baby last year can now stay in Canada for good.

The federal government went to great lengths to try to kick out Sabrina. The reasons for its change of heart are as murky as the rules that rendered the animal a sciurus-non-grata in the first place.

But it's understood that the rodent got a little helping hand from Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan and Agriculture Minister Andy Mitchell.

In fact, three weeks after The Globe and Mail reported on Sabrina's case last fall, the two ministers quietly changed the Health of Animals Act.

They signed a regulation allowing squirrels and other recently banned rodents to be imported to Canada for "educational purposes," as long as they arrived in "a regulated fashion that poses a minimal risk to the health of Canadians."

"This was done with a variety of people in mind: researchers, educational people, zoo facilities," Alex Swann, spokesman for Ms. McLellan, said in an interview yesterday.

"I can't comment definitively on whether this benefited this particular squirrel, but clearly we were cognizant of the situation that certain people found themselves in," he said.

Steve Patterson, a Mississauga, Ont., nature-lover who purchased Sabrina to help him give talks to children, had been taken to court by federal officials on the grounds that he illegally imported the squirrel. The lawsuit persisted despite the regulatory change, but has recently been settled.

The ponytailed squirrel expert is to appear with Sabrina at a news conference today, and would not comment on the case yesterday. But his lawyer circulated a statement saying Sabrina "can now remain in Canada permanently."

Mr. Patterson bought Sabrina for $150 (U.S.) in Indiana and declared his purchase at the border last June. He ended up shelling out thousands of dollars in legal costs to keep Sabrina in Canada.

Unknown to him, a monkey pox scare involving imported animals in the United States had caused Canada to ban the importation of rodents.

While Mr. Patterson was initially waved through when he declared Sabrina at the border, federal officials later realized they had made an error and came calling for the banned baby squirrel.

By then, Sabrina had bonded to Mr. Patterson, who had grown fond of the squirrel. He rejected the officials who told him to give up the rodent.

A couple of police officers came to his home to confiscate the animal, but he refused them, too.

Ottawa then took him to Federal Court. Mr. Patterson set up a legal defence fund to hire lawyers Brian Shiller and Clayton Ruby.

The Save Sabrina legal team won its first case, but then the government appealed.

It was at this point that The Globe featured the case of Sabrina in a front-page story -- causing the case to be discussed at the federal cabinet and prompting media in the United States, Germany, Russia and New Zealand to take an interest.

Yes guys we can't even deport a flying squirrel

she is cute though

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1097076620553_92485820

so what hope do we have with Terrorists - by the way this guy lives around the corner

Deportation case delayed yet again: Convicted terrorist has been living in city since 1988

BRANTFORD - A "procedural error" in the attempt to deport Brantford's Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad stopped a final hearing set for October and put the case on the backburner again.

The error was admitted to by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration as the government and Mohammad's lawyer have agreed to another review of the case.

Once a Palestinian terrorist, Mohammad, now 61, has been fighting a deportation order for years. Most recently he has argued that his failing health means he won't get adequate care if he returns to Lebanon.

Canada has been trying to deport him since 1988 -- after he had been here about a year -- after learning he had been sentenced to 18 years in prison after an attack on a Israeli airliner that left one passenger dead.

GROWING FRUSTRATION

Mohammad was released when Palestinian terrorists hijacked a Greek plane and threatened everyone on board unless their ally was pardoned.

He settled in Canada in 1987 and, after years of legal wrangling, was ordered deported in 1999.

Appeals have been heard and judicial reviews undertaken.

"He can't make the claim he hasn't had due process," Eric Vernon, a spokesman for the Canadian Jewish Congress, said last week.

"I've been commenting on this story since 1988."

Vernon said he's been frustrated by the case that has stretched over 16 years, but has been particularly annoyed that in the post-911 world a convicted terrorist is still living in Canada.

"I understand he's sick and nobody wants to persecute an unwell person but he has to be held responsible for his actions."

Vernon added that despite the fact Mohammad's target was an Israeli airliner and an Israeli citizen, his case is not a Jewish issue. "This is an issue of justice and all Canadians should be concerned."

A spokesperson for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration said the procedural error that was discovered during the final decision-making process needed to be addressed, or it could have led to another appeal after a decision was announced. The error hasn't been disclosed by the government.

'DUE PROCESS TAKES TIME'

"Due process takes time," said Maria Iadinardi. "And all individuals in Canada are entitled to due process."

Iadinardi said both parties had consented to have the case re-evaluated by a different decision-maker and both have agreed that a pre-removal risk assessment be done. But a procedural error was noted by Mohammad's lawyer, Barbara Jackman.

"(Mohammad) is still on a removal order, but it's stayed," said Iadinardi.

Mohammad has been living quietly in Brantford with his wife and three children since moving to Canada.

His most recent appeal to remain in the country involves his failing health. Mohammad's illnesses include diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, depression, migraines, prostatitis and hepatitis. [yeah living in Canada can do that to you, LOL]

Jackman argued in federal court that her client would not get adequate medical care in Lebanon if he was forced to leave Canada. But Immigration ruled that Mohammad would still be able to get appropriate treatment, even though he might have to pay for it through private clinics.

But the procedural error was discovered before a final hearing set for Oct. 14 and now the case is on hold.

Mohammad has been unwilling to talk to the media about his case.
http://www.cjc.ca/ptemplate.php?Story=1034&action=itn

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