Why is Canada trying to deport a former International Sikh Youth Federation member who has been in Canada for 32 years and was given permanent residency decades ago? Could the reason behind be India’s bullying of Canadian politicians and Canadian government to go after outspoken and former militant Sikhs who have committed no crimes in Canada. This seems to be the case with Ranjit Singh Khalsa, who’s ongoing battle to stay in Canada was given a blow recently by a Canadian court, which dismissed his asylum application even though he has lived in Canada for 32 years after seeking refugee status upon arriving in Canada in 1988. The dismissal could potentially lead to Khalsa’s deportation to India.

By Mr. X – Special to DESIBUZZCanada

TORONTO – Why is Canada trying to deport a former International Sikh Youth Federation member who has been in Canada for 32 years and was given permanent residency decades ago?

Could the reason behind be India’s bullying of Canadian politicians and Canadian government to go after outspoken and former militant Sikhs who have committed no crimes in Canada.

This seems to be the case with Ranjit Singh Khalsa, who’s ongoing battle to stay in Canada was given a blow recently by a Canadian court, which dismissed his asylum application even though he has lived in Canada for 32 years after seeking refugee status upon arriving in Canada in 1988. The dismissal could potentially lead to Khalsa’s deportation to India.

Justice Glennys McVeigh of the federal court in Ottawa ruled against Khalsa in late October. Khalsa, who resides in the Metro Vancouver region, had, through his lawyers, contested a decision by a member of the immigration division (ID) of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), which found him to be “inadmissible to Canada” under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act “for having been a member” of the ISYF, which became a listed terrorist entity in Canada on June 18, 2003.

Khalsa remains an Indian citizen. He came to Canada in 1988 and filed a refugee claim and became a permanent resident in 1992. However, his subsequent application for citizenship finally led to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) finding him inadmissible because of the alleged ties to the ISYF.

The immigration division of the IRB found him inadmissible in a decision dated February 25, 2021, and also issued a deportation order.

In her ruling, delivered on October 28, justice McVeigh noted, “In sum, I find the decision – which is long, detailed, and grapples with the major issues – to be reasonable. The ID member dealt reasonably with the evidence before them, and demonstrated a logical chain of analysis that was justified in light of the facts and law before them.”

Khalsa is represented by Vancouver-based law firm Edelmann & Company and it is not known whether they’re planning to pursue the matter further.

The ruling comes on the heels of the visit of India’s National Investigative Agency (NIA) visit to Canada as part of India’s aggressive stance against a vocal element of Canadian Sikhs, who accuse India of human rights abuses and mass murder by it’s state and national police agencies.