SA Man Loses Bid to Stay in Canada
Daily News, October 9, 2011
South African Brandon Huntley has lost his latest bid to stay in Canada, after applying for refugee status, the Sunday Times reported.
On Wednesday Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against the withdrawal last year of his refugee status.
The 33-year-old, who works as a handyman at a carnival, would now take his case to Canada’s Supreme Court. According to his lawyers this would buy him another four years in Canada. He left South Africa in 2004.
In 2009 Huntley successfully argued to the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board that as a white man, he was being targeted by black criminals in South Africa. He claimed he had been robbed at least seven times in racially-motivated attacks.
Canada’s Immigration Minister Jason Kenney took the matter to the federal court for review. The court agreed the board had been wrong.
The federal court described Huntley’s appeal as “totally unmeritorious”. It dismissed his claims that Kenney acted because of “diplomatic pressure”.
His lawyers Rocco Galati and Russell Kaplan said they were not being paid to handle the case.
When asked for comment, Huntley’s father Robert, who lives in Pringle Bay near Cape Town, told the Sunday Times: “No, I was not aware that he’ll be coming back. And no, I don’t care. No comment.”
