The Supreme Court of Canada last Friday released their decision in Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) v Chhina. This landmark case was an attempt by the government to challenge the ability of provincial courts to decide on the legality of a migrant's detention by way of Habeas Corpus. The government argued that the tribunals in place to review such detentions (Detention Reviews) were adequate and no other remedy is needed. The Supreme Court disagreed (paragraph 71 of the decision):
“The IRPA [Immigration and Refugee Protection Act] has been held to be a complete, comprehensive and expert scheme for immigration matters generally, but it is unable to respond to Mr. Chhina’s challenge in a manner that is as broad and advantageous as habeas corpus and the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench erred in declining to hear Mr. Chhina’s habeas corpus application.”
The End Immigration Detention Network (EIDN) was an intervener in the matter, as set out by EIDN spokesperson Andrew Peters on the day of the hearing:
“The End Immigration Detention Network grew as a coalition in support of the 191 immigrant detainees who went on a historic hunger strike in 2013 in protest of the terrible conditions they were forced to live in and ultimately their indefinite detention by the Canadian government. Organized and executed by the detainees themselves in a maximum security prison, this was the largest hunger strike in Canadian history. Their actions on the inside sparked a national outrage and set off a series of protests across the country.”
This hunger strike led to the first successful Habeas Corpus application on behalf of EIDN detainee members Michael Mvogo and Amina Chaudhary. This decision in the Ontario Court of Appeal was the basis for Mr. Chinna's application in Alberta, which the government tried to uphold in the Supreme Court.
EIDN Lawyer Swathi Sekhar states:
“This is one more tool for migrants to challenge their detentions. An important tool, as in a Habeas Corpus application the onus is on the government to prove the detention is lawful, but in a detention review the onus is usually on the migrant to prove they should be released. This is one more tool, but more importantly this is one more large step on the road to the abolition of immigration detention.”

For more info, contact Macdonald Scott 647 761-3860.
The full decision can be found at https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/17759/index.do

The Doobay Medical & Research Centre (DMRC) held its third Annual Gala on May 3, 2019 at the Toscana Banquet Hall in Vaughan, Ontario. The event was well attended with over 400 guests present which included Volda Lawrence, Guyana Minister of Health; Mayor of Brampton Patrick Brown; Member of Parliament Majid Jowhari who delivered a message from the Prime Minister of Canada; and several doctors from the McMaster Health Network who are active participants and donors of the program.
The Doobay Medical & Research Centre continues to provide its world class dialysis treatment which has been ongoing over the years but plans are now in place to extend its services to include cardiology, pediatrics and endoscopy.
Dr Budhendranath Doobay and Executives of the DMRC express thanks to all sponsors and donors for their significant and sustained support and in particular, the IDRF organization for its commitment to the cause.

On Saturday June 8, 2019 at Wildwood Park (Paul Coffey Park), Area A, 3430 Derry Road East, Mississauga (Derry & Goreway)from 12:00 noon to 8:30pm. For info, call Rai at R&S Cargo Express Inc, 416-738-8078.

One Love Media is continuing its mission in Ramadan by hosting its 4th Annual Interfaith Iftar dinner. This benefit event will raise funds for two development programs in Guyana - the Children Lunch program in Skelton and the distribution of educational material every Juma in Georgetown, and one project in Jamaica - the sponsorship of school books and supplies for underprivileged children (Alabaster Gates Children's Charity). For info, call Habeeb 416-823-1738.

Saturday June 29, 2019 from 10AM to dusk, rain or shine at Thomson Memorial Park, Picnic Area ‘B’. Bring the entire family to meet/greet and eat with old friends. For info: Mike Mangar 647-473-7843; Email: mike1943@msn.com;
Whitee Samaroo 416-508-9515; Jet Ramjit 416-633-4730; Channo 905-420-2433; Azad Khan 647-281-1951; Susan Mangar 416-291-7843.

Lawyers and doctors gathered at Queen's Park on Tuesday of last week to protest against a provincial government funding cut to legal aid that they say will endanger Ontario's vulnerable people.
Speakers told the crowd of about 150 in Toronto that the cuts will cause hardship to low-income groups that rely on legal aid to obtain justice. These groups include refugees, immigrants, domestic violence victims, homeless people and members of the LGBT community.
In its April 11 budget, the Doug Ford government cut funding to Legal Aid Ontario by about 30 per cent, or $133 million in its 2019-2020 fiscal year. The province has also told the agency that it can no longer use provincial funding for refugee and immigration legal services.
"We're here to stand with the community. We're here to protect them and stand up for their rights," Sheau Lih Vong, a Toronto immigration and refugee lawyer, told CBC Toronto as people chanted in the background.
"I'm here to speak up against the cuts because I think they were made recklessly and unilaterally. It's going to affect a lot of my clients, a lot of vulnerable populations."
At the morning rally, some lawyers wore black judicial robes, while some doctors wore white lab coats. Many people brought placards in bright colours. There was a red banner that read: "Dump Thug Ford with a General Strike."

According to the budget, the government is "streamlining the delivery of legal aid to promote long-term sustainability" and the province is expected to reduce Legal Aid Ontario's funding by $164 million in 2021-22.
Dr. Samantha Green, a Toronto family physician at the rally with her baby, said the cut will have an extremely negative impact on refugee claimants.
"It doesn't make sense to me to not allow access to legal aid to refugee claimants. They've already experienced so much hardship when they come to Canada. And we need to grant them access to justice," she said.
"Without access to a lawyer, they won't be able to have access to justice. It's a very difficult system to navigate even with access to a lawyer."
Without legal representation, refugee claimants will be subject to extreme stress, and that will make any existing health conditions, physical or mental, much worse, she added.
Nathalie Des Rosiers, Ontario Liberal justice critic, said the cut could mean that some refugee claimants are not able to stay in Canada. She said both lawyers and doctors are recognizing that the impact of cut is massive.
"I think it has the potential of sending people back to places where they could die. That is what is really at stake here," she said. "A 30 per cent is huge. It's bad policy. It's bad for the justice system. It's being on the wrong side of history on this one."
She said it means people will have to represent themselves in court and it could create a backlog of cases.
When asked about Legal Aid Ontario in question period on the day of the protest, Ontario Attorney General Caroline Mulroney defended the funding cut.
"Legal aid provides vital services and that is why it is essential that we do everything we can to ensure that it has accountability and transparency and that it is sending the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to the front-line services that are so desperately needed," she said.
Mulroney sidestepped the question of whether the cut will deny legal services to people who need it.
"While some lawyers may not welcome this renewed accountability at legal aid, it is essential for legal aid clients and for the taxpayer of Ontario that is spending so much money to ensure that those people in Ontario who cannot afford legal representation are able to get that."
According to the protest organizers, refugees will no longer be able to obtain legal aid funding for services except help with filling out forms to initiate claims. That form represents less than half of the services that used to be available to refugees for their claims before the cut took effect.
For new refugee claimants after April 16, 2019, Legal Aid Ontario will no longer provide such services as appeals when refugee claims are denied, humanitarian applications for people who have established themselves in Canada, and representation at detention proceedings.
The agency is waiting to hear from the federal government about whether it will increase funding to enable the agency to provide the services it did before the province cut funding, according to Graeme Burk, spokesperson for Legal Aid Ontario.
He said the agency's total budget was $487M in 2017-2018.

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