Jan. 26 is the day that a Pakistani citizen who violated the terms of his student visa faces deportation, according to a Federal Court judge’s decision.
On Jan. 23, Justice Catherine Kane rejected Muhammad Zain Ul Haq’s application to stay his removal from Canada for being criminally inadmissible. Haq had sought leave for a judicial review of a Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) Inland Enforcement Officer’s Jan. 6 decision against deferral.
Muhammad Zain Ul-Haq, a Pakistani national outside the North Fraser Pretrial Centre (Save Old Growth)
Kane heard Haq’s appeal in a Jan. 22 videoconference, but found that he reiterated many of the same arguments from his failed April 2024 application. Haq was spared deportation with a six-month temporary resident permit after intervention by Liberal MP Joyce Murray and immigration minister Marc Miller. That expired in October.
Haq came to Canada to study at Simon Fraser University in 2019, but became a paid organizer of illegal protests in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. He pleaded guilty in January 2023 to five charges of mischief for his role in Extinction Rebellion blockades in 2021 in Vancouver and Richmond. Haq also pleaded guilty in November 2022 for breaching a release order for the August 2022 Stop Fracking Around protest that blocked the Cambie Bridge.
Haq, Kane wrote, “has not provided any clear, convincing and non‑speculative evidence to establish any irreparable harm that amounts to exposing him ‘to the risk of death, extreme sanction or inhumane treatment’; but rather raises speculative risks and other harms that are related to the inherent consequences of removal, including the impact on his spouse, who relies on him for valid reasons and, although this impact may be difficult, it remains an unfortunate yet inherent consequence of removal.”
In April 2023, Haq married fellow protester Sophia Papp in a bid to gain spousal sponsorship status. Haq’s lawyer argued that the application is in the later stages of processing. But a lawyer for the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness argued that the decision is not certain nor necessarily imminent.
“The [Minister] is tasked with ensuring the integrity and confidence in Canada’s immigration system, which includes ensuring that the provisions of the Act are carried out including the statutory duty under section 48 of the Act is to enforce a removal order as soon as possible,” Kane wrote.
Kane’s decision noted that Haq’s offences were non-violent and that he has complied with conditions of his CBSA bail.
“His conduct speaks to an arrogance of his ideals at the expense of the democratic process and pro-social dialogue,” Harris said in his sentencing decision.
Harris mentioned that Haq twice organized protests that blocked emergency routes to St. Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver.
Haq was a director of the January 2022-founded Eco-Mobilization Canada, the federal not-for-profit company behind Extinction Rebellion splinter group Save Old Growth(SOG). Haq had boasted in August 2022 in a New York Times story that SOG received US$170,000 in grants from the California-based Climate Emergency Fund (CEF). Haq later appeared on the non-profit’s website as a member of the CEF advisory board.
More than 70,000 people could be involved in organized crime groups across Canada, according to an estimate from the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada.
A Canada Border Service Agency drug-sniffing dog was involved in major cocaine busts at the Canadian border last fall. (CBSA)
The agency’s 2024 Public Report on Organized Crime in Canada said it has assigned threat ratings to 668, of which seven are deemed high-level threats and 128 medium-level threats. More than 20 street gangs are evolving into higher threats and more than 70 are involved in smuggling firearms from the U.S.
Most are in the cocaine racket, but a whopping 235 are in fentanyl.
The 668 known groups include a combined 12,075 criminal actors, “many of whom interact within more than one group.”
No surprise, the three most-populated provinces, Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, are where three-quarters of the groups are based, because they can access densely populated cities, international airports, ports and major highways necessary to import and transport illicit goods.
The report said organized crime groups in Canada were linked to 48 countries, with U.S., Mexico and Colombia at the top of the list, “all of which are generally source and transit countries for illicit drugs, such as methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. The U.S. also remains the primary source for firearms smuggled into Canada.”
Vancouver, which lacks a dedicated policing agency at its ports, is a key hub for illicit trade with Asian markets.
Most organized crime groups continue to be heavily involved in cocaine, “with pricing at its lowest in 25 years.”
“Fentanyl and methamphetamine activities continue to expand; involvement in fentanyl has increased by 42% since 2019,” the report said. “Organized crime groups continue to be involved in illicit cannabis production and trafficking activities. They have also infiltrated and exploited the legal framework to continue to profit from high consumer demand.”
Vehicle theft remained steady last year, after doubling the previous year. The crackdown in Eastern Canada has increased theft in Western Canada.
Organized crime involvement in human trafficking has grown 24% since 2020, with Indigenous and gender and sexual minorities the most-targeted. “Some then groomed into recruiters.” Online platforms like Snapchat are used to approach victims, then criminals use online escort or classified profiles to control and exploit the recruits.
The report summarized activities of five Western Canada-based networks, but did not name them, disclose their geographic base or number of members. One that is connected to North American and Asian countries, “is involved in cocaine, fentanyl, precursor chemicals, cannabis, fraud, money laundering, loansharking, bookmaking, and intimidation/extortion. It uses individuals with specialized skills, using a hierarchy of roles depending on the specific job to optimize the group’s overall proficiency.”
In its 2021 report, CISC said high-level national threat groups had infiltrated the public sector in Canada.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge ordered an Iranian-born permanent resident of Dubai to be extradited to the U.S. to face fraud and money laundering charges.
In a Jan. 10 judgment released Jan. 21, Justice Michael Tammen found there was a “sufficient body of evidence” that a reasonable jury might conclude Seyed Abood Sari, 62, was more than a middle manager for an airline designated a terrorist entity.
(BC Court of Appeal)
Tammen said Sari would not be surrendered until after 30 days elapsed. He has the right to appeal the decision and seek bail. The court order was forwarded to Canada’s Minister of Justice Arif Virani for final approval.
Sari was the general manager in Dubai for Tehran-based Mahan Air, which the U.S. government sanctioned in October 2011 for financially, materially and technologically supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force and Beirut-based Hezbollah.
Sari arrived Jan. 17, 2019 at Vancouver International Airport on a British Airways flight from London and told officers that he planned to celebrate his birthday with his two sons who were studying at universities in Vancouver. Sari was arrested due to an outstanding U.S. warrant for allegedly using front companies and middlemen to disguise financial transactions for Mahan Air and deceive banks in order to get around U.S. sanctions.
“A jury might conclude that Mr. Sari was a participant in a scheme which used fraudulent means to carry out banking transactions on behalf of Mahan Air, knowing that in so doing he was putting the bank’s financial interests at risk,” Tammen wrote. “There is thus sufficient evidence for committal for conduct which corresponds to the Canadian offence of fraud.”
Tammen’s verdict said the entire body of evidence was circumstantial and based on searches of various email accounts, including Sari’s. The U.S. built its case around email that revealed a conspiracy among Mahan Air employees to disguise the corporate identity of those engaging in transactions with U.S. banks to benefit Mahan Air.
Sari claimed there was insufficient evidence to deem him the directing mind or financial authority of any of the 21 front companies. But Tammen disagreed.
Sari “at minimum, acted as a conduit for some of the allegedly fraudulent transactions. An available inference is that Mr. Sari had knowledge of the scheme and was a knowing participant in it,” Tammen wrote.
Despite all that, Tammen called the case record dense and suggested the U.S. may fall short at trial in proving the case against Sari beyond a reasonable doubt.
In May 2020, during the first Trump administration, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned China-based Shanghai Saint Logistics for providing freight booking on Mahan Air flights between China and Iran. The U.S. said Mahan Air was aiding both the Maduro regime in Venezuela and the Assad regime in Syria.
Contractor Canadian Turner Construction was supposed to begin the $8.75 million, early works phase on Jan. 2, but bureaucrats were in talks with the University of B.C. about a plan B.
The Memorial South Park cricket oval, running track, playground and field house are scheduled to be closed to the public and transformed into a temporary FIFA World Cup 26 training site. (Mackin)
Late afternoon on Jan. 20, the city announced it had signed a letter of intent to use the National Soccer Development Centre at the Point Grey campus — home of the Vancouver Whitecaps — as a team base camp and training site for the Canadian men’s national team.
“Construction of the upgrades that were planned for Memorial South Park will no longer proceed, and the park will remain fully accessible to the community in its current condition leading up to, and during the FIFA World Cup 2026 event,” said the city announcement.
Work continues on the $16.25 million early works phase at Killarney Park.
Park board commissioners voted unanimously behind closed doors in October 2023 to turn Memorial South and Killarney parks into FIFA World Cup 26 training sites for $37 million. No public consultation occurred. Civic officials waited until July 16, 2024 to announce large portions of the parks would be closed for almost two years.
Friends of Memorial South Park garnered almost 2,000 supporters to its “Our park, not FIFA’s field” petition on Change.org.
Friends of Memorial South Park’s Cindy Heinrichs was “elated” with the announcement.
“This should never have happened in the first place,” Heinrichs said. “They did hear us — parks board did. City hall did not, Ken Sim’s office did not.”
In late November, Sim dismissed neighbours’ opposition: “I apologize for any disruption that happens. But if we were to make that decision over again, we would make it in a second. But let’s focus on the good.”
All signs point to a trade war between neighbours and that could hit an isolated U.S. community connected to Tsawwassen, B.C. harder than the COVID-19 border restrictions.
Bob Mackin’s guest is Brian Calder, the former president of the Point Roberts, Wash. Chamber of Commerce, who sounds the alarm about Trump’s 25% tariff threat.
Justin Trudeau’s epiphany. The unpopular, 23rd Prime Minister finally realized Jan. 6 that the Liberals cannot be re-elected with him at the helm and he vowed to leave office when his party chooses a new leader.
What does that mean politically and economically for Canada?
Joining host Bob Mackin: Mario Canseco, president of Research Co,, and Timothy Renshaw, publisher of the Substack Shipping News.
The runner-up in the Surrey-Guildford riding said Jan. 9 that he would file a B.C. Supreme Court petition aimed at invalidating the election of Garry Begg as the NDP MLA.
Conservative Honveer Singh Randhawa had a 103-vote edge after the polls closed on the Oct. 19 provincial election night. The seat flipped to Begg by 27 votes after mail-in ballots were tallied, forcing a judicial recount. When that ended Nov. 8, Begg was declared the winner by 22 votes. He was appointed Solicitor General in Premier David Eby’s new cabinet.
John Rustad (left) and Honveer Singh Randhawa (IG)
Begg’s win gave the NDP a bare, 47-seat majority in the new, 93-seat Legislature scheduled to open Feb. 18. That left the Conservatives in opposition with 44 seats.
Randhawa, however, said that the party has found 45 voting irregularities. Of that, 21 were mail-in votes from a Fraser Health-licensed addiction and substance abuse recovery house across the street from the Guildford Park Secondary School polling station.
“Justice must prevail and the democracy must be protected,” said Randhawa, who is a lawyer.
The Conservatives released redacted statutory declarations from two residents of Argyll Lodge who swore that they were unaware the election was occurring, shocked to learn that there was a polling station across the street and given mail-in ballots that they did not order.
“I was rushed into marking the ballot,” said one of the affidavits. “I do not know who I have voted for, I marked the ballot where they pointed it and I was led to believe that I had no choice but to mark the ballot otherwise I feared that I would be kicked out of the house.”
Said the other affidavit: “I did not know which box was for which party. I just marked the box as instructed. I did not believe I had a choice to not mark a box as instructed.”
B.C.’s Election Act states that an individual must not assist more than one voter, except for an election official or for an individual to assist more than one member of the individual’s family. It also states that it is illegal for someone to intimidate another person to cast a ballot.
Randhawa’s investigation found that an Argyll manager, Baljit Kandola, has the same name as someone who donated $1,400 to the NDP in May 2023.
Conservative leader John Rustad originally accepted the election results. He said on Jan. 9 that the new found evidence prompted the complaint to Elections BC and for Randhawa to prepare a petition to court within the 90-day period after a contravention.
“People have the right to be able to vote by mail ballot,” Rustad said. “The issue is whether or not they’re capable of doing that, whether or not there was an individual who participated in many people voting by mail.”
Begg was not immediately available for comment. On X, formerly Twitter, Deputy Premier and Attorney General Niki Sharma downplayed the complaint.
“Our elections are independent with safeguards to ensure they are free and fair. John Rustad is free to raise his concerns with Elections BC. That’s his right,” Sharma wrote. “We are focused on addressing the issues facing the people of our province like the threat of tariffs from the U.S.”
Even if the Conservatives are successful and the NDP loses the seat, the NDP announced a Dec. 13 alliance with the two-member Green caucus. The third party vowed to prop-up the NDP on any confidence and budget votes.
Ending months of speculation as his party plummeted in public opinion polls, Justin Trudeau announced in a hastily called news conference on Jan. 6 that he would prorogue Parliament until March 24 and step down as Prime Minister of Canada once a new Liberal Party leader is chosen.
It began, by the Rideau Cottage porch, after the Ottawa wind swept away some of Trudeau’s speaking notes.
It was not as surprising nor as dramatic as Feb. 29, 1984, when father Pierre Trudeau famously announced his resignation as 15th Prime Minister after a walk in the snow.
The Jan. 6 announcement came, coincidentally, the same day that the U.S. Congress certified Donald Trump’s presidential win. Trump, who threatened tariffs on Canadian goods entering the U.S., will return to power in the Oval Office on Jan. 20.
Below is a transcript of what Trudeau said during the news conference, Canada’s first major news milestone of 2025.
Justin Trudeau statement:
Every morning I’ve woken up as Prime Minister, I’ve been inspired by the resilience, the generosity and the determination of Canadians, it is the driving force of every single day I have the privilege of serving in this office. That is why, since 2015 I have fought for this country, for you to strengthen and grow the middle class. Why we rallied to support each other through the pandemic, to advance reconciliation, to defend free trade on this continent, to stand strong with Ukraine and our democracy and to fight climate change and get our economy ready for the future. We are at a critical moment in the world.
My friends, as you all know, I’m a fighter. Every bone in my body has always told me to fight because I care deeply about Canadians. I care deeply about this country, and I will always be motivated by what is in the best interest of Canadians. And the fact is, despite best efforts to work through it, Parliament has been paralyzed for months after what has been the longest session of a minority Parliament in Canadian history. That’s why this morning, I advise the Governor General that we need a new session of parliament. She has granted this request, and the House will now be prorogued until March 24.
Justin Trudeau on Jan. 6, 2025 (CPAC/YouTube)
Over the holidays, I’ve also had a chance to reflect, and have had long talks with my family about our future throughout the course of my career, any success I have personally achieved has been because of their support and with their encouragement. So last night, over dinner, I told my kids about the decision that I’m sharing with you today, I intend to resign as party leader as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process. Last night, I asked the president of the Liberal Party to begin that process. This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I am having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.
The Liberal Party of Canada is an important institution in the history of our great country and democracy. A new prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party will carry its values and ideals into that next election, I’m excited to see the process unfold in the months ahead. We were elected for the third time in 2021 to strengthen the economy post pandemic and advance Canada’s interests in a complicated world, and that is exactly the job that I and we will continue to do for Canadians. Merci beaucoup.
Reporter (translated from French):
You wanted to have an election with Pierre Poilievre as your opponent. There have been internal battles for a while. Why are you giving up now? What made you change your mind?
Justin Trudeau:
As you all know, I am a fighter, and I am not someone who backs away from a fight, particularly in a fight is as important as this one is, but I have always been driven by my love for Canada, by my desire to serve Canadians and by what is in the best interests of Canadians, and Canadians deserve a real choice in the next election, and it has become obvious to me with The internal battles that I cannot be the one to carry the Liberal standard into the next election.
Reporter (translated from French):
You’ve been in power for nearly 10 years, Canada has changed with your government. If there’s one accomplishment that you’re most proud of, I know there are several, but perhaps the thing you are most proud of. And maybe one regret?
Justin Trudeau:
We got elected in 2015 to fight for the middle class, and that’s exactly what we’ve done over the past years. We’ve reduced their taxes, we increased the benefits to families, we made sure the economy was focused on working for everyone, and not just a few. And that has changed. That has dropped poverty rates in Canada that has brought more people into the workforce, that has moved us forward on reconciliation, in a way that has deeply improved the opportunities and success of Canadians despite the incredibly difficult times the world is going through Right now, there’s lots more work to be done, and I know that this party and this country and Canadians will keep doing it. If I have one regret, particularly as we approach this election. Well, there are probably many regrets that I will think of, but I do wish that we’ve been able to change the way we elect our governments in this country, so that people could simply choose a second choice or a third choice on the same ballot, so that parties would spend more time trying to be people’s second or third choices, and people would have been looking for things they have in common, instead of trying to polarize and divide Canadians against each other, I think in this time, figuring out how to pull together and find common ground remains something that is really important for democracies, but I could not change unilaterally without support of other parties our electoral system that wouldn’t have been responsible
Reporter:
Prime Minister, up until three weeks ago, you were intending to stay. And it seems that the event three weeks ago of Ms. Freeland coming out and saying you were firing her as your finance minister was the catalyst that brought us here today. So can you explain your side of what happened there?
Justin Trudeau:
Chrystia has been by my side for close to 10 years now. She has been an incredible political party. Partner through just about everything we have done as a government and as a party over the past decade, I had really hoped that she would agree to continue as my deputy prime minister and take on one of the most important files that not just this government but this country is facing, but she chose otherwise in regards to what actually happened. I am not someone who’s in the habit of sharing private conversations.
Reporter:
You spoke about the Liberal Party as an institution and the internal battles right now, but I’m wondering if you feel that another leader will have more success than you will at beating Pierre Poilievre in the next campaign.
Justin Trudeau:
Pierre Poilievre’s vision for this country is not the right one for Canadians. Stopping the fight against climate change doesn’t make sense, backing off on the values and strength and diversity that Canada has always, always worked to pull itself together on, is not the right path for the country, attacking journalists, the CBC, institutions. That’s not what Canadians need in this moment, we need an ambitious, optimistic view of the future, and Pierre Poilievre is not offering that. I look forward to the fight as progressives across this country stand up for the kind of vision for a better country that Canadians have always carried despite the tremendous pressures around the world to think smaller, to veer towards the higher right and to be less ambitious for what we can be and do as a country When the world really needs Canada.
Reporter:
That’s not an answer, though, yes or no. Is there another leader that could beat him?
Justin Trudeau:
Absolutely.
Reporter (translated from French):
In December, 2008 Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament to avoid a vote of non-confidence that he knew that he would lose because the three opposition parties would vote against him. It’s the exact same situation that you find yourself in today, Stephen Dion at the time, had said, and I quote, that this was an affront to democracy. I’d like to know why what was bad for Conservatives of Stephen Harper should be good for the Liberals of Justin Trudeau?
Justin Trudeau:
In 2008, the Governor General correctly concluded that because the very last times in the previous weeks that the confidence of the house had been tested, it had passed that confidence test, Stephen Harper continued to have the confidence of the house, and it actually would bear out, because as soon as they came back from the prorogation, Stephen Harper won a confidence vote once again. So a political document or political speeches doesn’t carry the kind of weight that winning a confidence vote means, but this prorogation will take us only into March, and there will be confidence votes in March, in the passing of supply that will allow parliament to weigh in on confidence in a way that is entirely In keeping with all the principles of democracy and the workings of our strong institutions.
The Parliamentary Press Gallery and anyone who’s been watching politics closely over the past months, will know that Parliament has been entirely seized by obstruction and filibustering and a total lack of productivity over the past few months. We are right now the longest serving minority government in history, and it’s time for a reset. It’s time for the temperature to come down, for the people to have a fresh start in Parliament, to be able to navigate through these complex times, both domestically and internationally, and the reset that we have. Have is actually two parts. One is the prorogation, but the other part is recognizing that removing me from the equation as the leader who will fight the next election for the Liberal Party should also decrease the level of polarization that we’re seeing right now in the house and in Canadian politics, and allow people to actually focus on serving Canadians in this house and work the way Canadians deserve.
Reporter:
As you just said, there’s going to be confidence votes in March, opposition parties have said they are prepared to bring down your government. What kind of chances do you think you are leaving to your successor, given that there will only be mere weeks for them to introduce themselves to Canadians before heading into an election,
Justin Trudeau:
I have a tremendous amount of confidence in both Canadians and in parliamentarians interest in serving Canadians in the right way. There, we’re in a minority government right now, and there hasn’t been an active leadership in a minority government in more than 50 years in this country, and there is always going to be the challenge a leadership race, while a Parliament would face confidence votes in in in the course of delivering supply to the government. So this is something that we’re going to navigate through, but I truly feel that removing the contention around my own continued leadership is an opportunity to bring the temperature down. Have a government that will focus on the complex issues that are coming forward in the coming months, while the party gets to have a full national process that brings from right across the country and makes a determination about the best person to carry the progressive Liberal standard into the next election.
Reporter:
Can you clarify whether ministers who would like to campaign for your job will have to step out of cabinet, and how can the Liberal government be in a position to protect Canadian businesses and Canadians from the threat of tariffs from incoming President Donald Trump, when members of the government are going to be focused on who is going to be taking your job?
Justin Trudeau:
The government will still, and the Cabinet will still be very much focused on doing the job that Canadians elected us to do in 2021 which is fight for their interests, stand up for their well being and make sure that they are good and that Canadians are protected and strong. There will be a leadership process and the rules will unfold over the coming weeks, but I can assure you that the tools and the need to stand up for Canadians, to protect Canadians in their interests, and continue to fight for the economy. Is something that everyone in this government will be singularly focused on.
Resolutions. They’re a New Year’s tradition. Such as eating or drinking less and exercising more.
Kirk LaPointe (KirkLaPointe.ca)
Bob Mackin’s guest is veteran editor Kirk LaPointe, whose latest column for Glacier Media is headlined: “Improving democracy should be a New Year’s resolution for us all.”
Listen to the interview for a five-point plan to empower the people.
