Canadian immigration grants refugee status to white South African
September 03 2009 by Matt Jones
Canada visa granted to Brandon Huntley
A white South African has been granted refugee status by Canadian immigration after claiming to be the victim of racially motivated attacks. South Africa requested the case be reviewed.
Brandon Huntley, a white South African, claimed he was attacked six or seven times because the colour of his skin. He says he says he was the victim of three stabbings but did not tell the police about it because he did not trust them.
The Canadian tribunal granted his refugee status because Huntley had provided:
“Clear and convincing proof of the state’s inability or unwillingness to protect him.”
Huntley offered information about his case to the press and the story was given lots of coverage in South Africa. South Africa issued a formal complaint to Canada, saying that the decision was very damaging to their efforts to overcome the issue of race.
Surprisingly, Huntley was allowed to remain in Canada despite having spent a year living their illegally in 2006 after his one-year Canada visa expired. Before that he had visited Canada on a six-month working visa while he worked as a carnival attendant. Now he returns for a third time as a refugee.
The leader of the political section at the South African embassy in Ottawa, Anesh Maistry, said: “This is a smack in the face of a country that’s trying to move ahead with racial issues. It’s just really preposterous.”
A spokeswoman for Canada’s Foreign Affairs Department, Laura Markle, said: “The tribunal’s decisions are independent from the views of the Canadian government. Canada recognizes the achievements of the government of South Africa in promoting a tolerant, multiracial society.”
Lawyers for Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Department are reviewing the tribunal’s decision upon South Africa’s request.
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