Immigration Minister Judy Sgro

Montreal protesters rally against deportation

Associated Press

MONTREAL — Hundreds of protesters marched downtown Saturday in support of three Palestinian refugee claimants facing deportation.

Nahib Ayoub, 69, his wife, Therese Boulous Haddad, 62, and his brother, Khalil Ayoub, 67, have lived in Lebanese refugee camps for most of their lives.

They have applied for permanent residency in Canada and are fighting their deportation order on humanitarian grounds.

Since January, they have sought sanctuary in the basement of Notre-Dame-de-Grace Church.

Rabie Masri, a member of a coalition that supports such claimants, called for an immediate end to the deportation order and said the immigration system is flawed.

There is no appeal process and some immigration officials don't have enough knowledge of the danger in Palestinian refugee camps to render fair judgements, he said.

"This protest is in solidarity with this family," Masri said. "They can't be out in the streets marching with everybody else."

In July, Immigration Minister Judy Sgro said she wants Canadian churches to abandon the practice of providing sanctuary to people under the threat of deportation.