Dear John,

I know you would forgive me, your friend and former colleague for taking the liberty of addressing you by your first name. I write this open letter to you because "A 57-year old man who immigrated to Canada as a baby is on the verge of being deported from the only country he's known because of a string of crimes triggered by severe mental illness." [Tom Blackwell, National Post /Vancouver Sun/Vancouver Province, Monday, December 21, 2015.]

The man's name is Len Van Heest.  He was diagnosed at 16 in British Columbia with a bipolar disorder. He is being deported to the Netherlands. He doesn't speak Dutch. Last time he lived there he was" in diapers". He "neglected to take out Canadian citizenship".  His application to remain in Canada has been rejected by the Federal Court.

The law passed by the previous government has many flaws including there being no right to appeal the original decision of the Immigration and Refugee Board to the Immigration Appeal Division. The law on the deportation of immigrants was toughened by the Harper government. It unfairly provided no exceptions for the long term residents with severe mental disabilities such as Van Heest. Canada had come under severe criticism from the United Nations human rights committee earlier this year for a similar case of deportation.

For Van Heest , you as the Minister of Immigration and Citizenship will now serve as the final court of appeal since he is going to apply to you to permanently stay his deportation. 

I urge you to stay his deportation. You must.

He is a Canadian citizen in every sense of the word except that he never applied for Canadian Citizenship. Anyone severely bipolar as a child mustn't be faulted for perhaps inadvertently neglecting to apply for citizenship. If he is a severely bipolar criminal; he is our criminal - not of the Netherlands. If he was a hero, he would be our hero with or without Canadian citizenship. We would have instantly conferred the citizenship on him. He is now seen as a villain; but he is our villain -not of the Netherlands.

I remember the last election of not long ago was fought and won on the slogan of Real Change. Heartless and thoughtless deportation of Van Heest based on a clearly flawed law and a narrow understanding of what it should mean to be a Canadian - whether immigrant or citizen - would not be Rreal Change. It would be same old, same old.

The government deserves kudos for its efforts in bringing Syrian refugees into our country, opening our borders and hearts for people without a country to call home. Taking Canada, his country, away from him would make a Canadian refugee of Van Heest. While we rightly give shelter and home to the Syrian homeless, let us not render Van Heest homeless and, in all honesty, without a country.

Granted Van Heest doesn't have his citizenship papers to be able to technically claim his place in his home country- Canada, but he has an absolute moral claim on Canada's compassion.  Canada is compassionate and humanitarian; ours is a country of the world. Didn't we just declare to the world: Canada is back? And a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian? If Van Heest, ours and nobody else's Van Heest, is deported many Canadians would be forced to ask: Is Canada really back? If so, what kind of Canada?

Regards

Ujjal

Note to readers: If you agree with me, please write to the minister to stay Van Heest's deportation.

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