Stephen Harper does the right thing by denying asylum to White South African
Robert Peffers
Norma Greenaway, Canwest News Service
Published: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
OTTAWA - The federal government has denounced as "perverse" a refugee
board ruling that granted asylum to white South African Brandon
Huntley on the grounds he could face persecution in his homeland
because of his skin color.
In a written submission to the Federal Court of Canada, the government
said the ruling that Mr. Huntley's claim was "justified" is
unreasonable and based on a "jaundiced assessment", by the one-man
board, of conditions within South Africa.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is asking the Federal Court for
permission to seek a judicial review of the ruling by board member
William Davis.
Mr. Davis' ruling in late August sparked outrage in South Africa
where, among other things, the governing African National Congress
said the reasoning behind the decision "can only serve to perpetuate
racism."
In Ottawa, Abraham Sokhaya Nkomo, South Africa's ambassador to Canada,
told Canwest News Service Mr. Davis's ruling was shocking and could
seriously damage relations between the two countries.
Within days, the federal government announced it was taking the rare
step of appealing a decision by the Immigration and Refugee Board.
The federal submission took Davis to task for effectively accepting
Huntley's argument that he did not seek police protection after
allegedly being attacked six or seven times by black South Africans
because he did not trust a police force dominated by blacks to help
him.
It said Mr. Huntley, who hails from Cape Town, failed to provide
"clear and convincing" evidence of the South African government's
inability to protect him.
Mr. Davis' implicit acceptance of Mr. Huntley's argument represents a
"disturbing view" that "rests largely on the board's jaundiced
assessment of the country conditions," the government said.
It took strong issue with the statement by Mr. Huntley, who is living
in Ottawa, he would stick out like a "sore thumb" because of his
colour if he was forced to live anywhere in South Africa.
Dismissing the statement as "unreasonable and perverse," the
government cited figures from Statistics South Africa that said whites
form a sizeable minority in the country, ranging from 23.9% of the
population of Pretoria, for example, to 16% in both Port Elizabeth and
Johannesburg.
The government said that while it is "indisputable" that crime is
prevalent in South Africa, all South Africans are affected, regardless
of race.