In the 11th hour, the deportation order that would have sent a 25-year-old gay man back to Uganda was cancelled Friday.
“The government stepped in, they intervened to cancel the removal, and they’ve offered my client a seven-month temporary resident permit along with an open work permit so he can pursue other options,” the man’s lawyer Michael Battista confirmed.
“The battle isn’t over for him. He hasn’t been given permanent resident status. He’s been given the opportunity to file further applications next year when he becomes eligible for them.”
Global News is not naming the man, who we are referring to as “Sue,” in order to protect his safety.
“I don’t know how best to express myself,” he told Global News on Friday. “I feel relieved and I feel my voice has been heard.
“This is a huge step for me,” Sue said. “I know I’m going to be safe.
“I would never wish anyone to go through what I went through: the emotional trauma, the stress, the uncertainty.”
On Thursday, Sue told Global News he came to Canada as an international student and has been living and working as a nurse in Edmonton since 2018. However, his work visa expired, and when he applied for refugee status, his application — and subsequent appeals — were rejected.
In May 2023, Uganda criminalized same-sex behaviour. The new law received widespread international criticism and has been described as “draconian” by LGBTQ2 advocates. Under Ugandan law, a death sentence is possible for someone convicted of “aggravated homosexuality.”
The Canada Border Services Agency said Ugandan nationals who have had their applications rejected prior to May 2023 can re-apply under a pre-approval risk assessment, but Sue’s lawyer said Thursday his client’s case was not resolved until July 2023, which disqualified him.
“My whole family abandoned me so even if I reach the airport, I don’t know where I’m going to stay,” Sue said Thursday. “I don’t know where I’m going to go. I’ve run out of options.
“I’ll be tortured and taken to jail,” he explained. “There is a very high chance that I’ll be arrested, tortured, just for identifying as a gay man.”
Battista said his client was preparing to fly back to Uganda on Monday night until the decision Friday.
“He was in shock. He literally had his stuff boxed up and ready to take to the airport on Monday,” Battista said.
“There were moments of tears, of tearfulness, but I think it’s going to take a few days for this to set in.”
The lawyer credits the advocacy and awareness work done by the Dignity Network and other LGBTQ organizations across Canada.
“It’s also to the credit of the government,” Battista said, “because a lot of times when these mistakes happen, governments will dig their heels in and pretend that the mistake didn’t happen. Hats off to this government for recognizing that something went wrong here and taking steps to rectify it.”
He says when Sue is eligible to re-apply to Immigration Canada, they’ll be ready with substantial evidence to back his case.
“His previous council didn’t really put forward as much evidence of his sexual orientation that he should have,” Battista said. “We have more than enough evidence of that now and we’ll make sure it gets put forward.”
“Uganda has probably some of the harshest laws internationally that criminalize same-sex activity,” Battista explained on Thursday. “The human rights situation there for the LGBTQ2 community is deteriorating quite dramatically.”
Battista said Canada has moratoriums that block the deportation of members of other communities around the world to places where they’d be in danger.
“I’m not sure why Canada hasn’t put a moratorium in place for the deportation of LGBTQ2 Ugandans, but given the deterioration of the human rights situation in that country, it would be, I think, a very good policy move on the part of the government of Canada.”
Still, Battista feels Friday’s news is certainly worth celebrating.
“This is an amazing Christmas gift for my client but also for justice and human rights generally.”
“This is a huge milestone for me,” Sue added. “I’m thankful to the Canadian government for really considering this because I don’t konw where I would be if I went back as a gay man.”
Sue and his lawyer will be pursuing more permanent residency so that he can stay in Canada long-term.
And, he was happy to report: “I’m going back to work tomorrow.”
With files from Kabi Moulitharan, Global News
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