B.C. climate activist's pending deportation cancelled, lawyer says
![Zain Haq Zain Haq (left) and Sophie Papp are seen in a handout image. (Credit: LauraS)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2024/3/19/zain-haq-1-6814401-1710895788981.jpg)
The pending deportation of B.C. climate activist Zain Haq – which was scheduled for this weekend – has been called off, according to the young man's lawyer.
The Canada Border Services Agency contacted Haq to confirm he would not be subject to a removal order this Sunday as planned, lawyer Randall Cohn told CTV News.
"I can't speak with confidence about what the implications are for Zain's immediate or long-term status in Canada," Cohn said Friday. "We're just going to have to wait and see what we hear."
Supporters are expecting to learn more about Haq's case from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada over the coming days.
The update comes days after the Federal Court dismissed an application to stay Haq's deportation so that his permanent residency application – which, if approved, would allow him to remain in the county – could be reviewed.
Cohn suggested Haq's support from the community, both locally and in Ottawa, could have convinced elected officials to intervene in the case.
A petition calling on federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller to use his "discretion" to allow Haq to stay in Canada has been signed more than 2,500 times.
"The best-case scenario is that the minister has been able to move (Haq's) permanent residency application along, and that we'll hear at any moment that it's been approved," Cohn said.
More likely, the lawyer said, the government will offer Haq temporary status, which could at least allow him to find work and return to school while his application – which was sponsored by Haq's Canadian wife, fellow climate activist Sophie Papp – makes its way through the system.
Haq grew up in Pakistan before coming to Canada on a student visa, which was revoked after he was charged in connection with a series of protests that disrupted traffic across B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
The court heard Haq was involved with the groups Extinction Rebellion, Stop Fracking Around and Save Old Growth, the latter of which he co-founded.
He pleaded guilty to five counts of mischief and one count of breaching an undertaking, and was sentenced to seven days in jail and two months of house arrest last year.
Cohn said the decision to cancel his deportation, and to hopefully give him permanent residency, could demonstrate the government understands "the anxiety and hopelessness of young people" facing a future with increasing impacts from climate change.
"That gives me hope, not just for Zain, but that maybe the reality of the global climate situation is penetrating to people's thinking when it comes to politics and policy," Cohn said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6110769.1665857313!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Three dead, two hospitalized, following collision in Fredericton: police
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
Amid climate change warnings, Canadians lukewarm on electric vehicles
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Madonna's biggest-ever concert transforms Rio's Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
1 person killed and 23 injured in a bus crash in northern Maryland, police say
One person was killed and 23 others were injured when a bus crashed early Sunday on Interstate 95 in northern Maryland, police said.
Nylander defends Leafs' core after playoff exit, Toronto again picks up the pieces
The Maple Leafs battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Bruins with consecutive 2-1 victories - including one that required extra time - in their first-round playoff series to push the club's Original Six rival to the limit before suffering a devastating Game 7 overtime loss.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
‘Love has no boundaries’: Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Video shows gaggle of geese stopping traffic on Highway 1 near Vancouver
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.