He was deported from Canada. Then he learned border agents never shared an important document that may have swayed the judge
The Toronto Star speaks to Louis Century about a lawsuit brought against the federal government by a Jamaican man who was deported from Canada. The lawsuit alleges that the Canadian Border Services Agency deliberately withheld information from his lawyers and the Federal Court that may have prevented his deportation.
The Star describes the background to the lawsuit as follows:
In deciding whether the deportation of a methadone-addicted Jamaican citizen should be allowed to go ahead, Federal Court judge Michael D. Manson weighed the evidence in front of him.
The man, Twain Anthony Reeves, was being given methadone by Canadian doctors to manage his pain following a workplace injury, and the prescription opioid is illegal in Jamaica. Despite this, Manson concluded, there was “no clear evidence” the man would be unable to find other effective treatment in his home country, so he denied Reeves’ request to delay his deportation.
It appears there was evidence, but it was never shared with the judge.
Two weeks before Manson’s ruling, the Jamaican Ministry of Health had sent a letter to the Canada Border Services Agency clearly stating the treatment Reeves required was “not available.” The letter, signed by Jamaica’s chief medical officer, suggested the man “remain in Canada on humanitarian grounds where appropriate treatment can be provided.”
Reeves, who has two Canadian children, became addicted to methadone after he suffered a serious knee injury in a workplace accident in Leamington, Ontario. Speaking to both Reeves’ immigration lawyer and to Louis Century, the Star describes how the Federal Court was allegedly misled by the CBSA:
[Reeves’ immigration lawyer] obtained internal CBSA emails and officers’ notes detailing the agency’s unsuccessful attempts to find treatment for Reeves in Jamaica. This evidence also was not shared with the court. Instead, CBSA officials suggested treatment would be available.A CBSA officer filed an affidavit stating that Reeves “may be admitted for treatment” at a hospital in Kingston, even though internal documents show the officer had weeks earlier been told by hospital officials that Reeves would be denied treatment. The CBSA officer did not include any of his correspondence with Jamaican authorities in his affidavit.
“This kind of non-disclosure of evidence when the stakes are so high is a grave wrongdoing,” said Louis Century, Reeves’ lawyer for his civil claim against the government. “We think that accountability for these events is long overdue.”
Manson, the federal court judge, wrote in his decision that although the management of Reeves’ withdrawal symptoms was a “serious issue,” he failed to prove it would cause “irreparable harm on a clear, non-speculative basis.”
Relying on CBSA’s evidence, Manson said Reeves “has been given surety that he will have access to care for his addiction in Jamaica.”
Upon return to Jamaica, Reeves went to the hospital that Canadian officials had claimed would treat his addition, but was told “We don’t do that type of treatment here.”