An Indian asylum seeker recovering from heart surgery will be deported from Canada on September 30, a few weeks before being able to obtain follow-up with a cardiologist prescribed by a Montreal hospital center. A situation which, according to some, demonstrates the lack of importance given to the state of health of migrants detained at the Immigration Surveillance Center (CSI) in Laval.
Born in 1966 in Bangladesh, Mr. Roy, who asked not to give his first name due to security risks due to his sexual orientation, migrated to India with the rest of his family at the turn of the 1970s, when a war of liberation threatened the lives of millions in his homeland. Mr. Roy and his relatives later obtained Indian citizenship.
Then, on May 21, 2014, the man arrived in Canada, where he requested asylum since his safety was threatened in India due to his homosexuality. “When his community found out he was homosexual, they threatened to kill him,” explains Rahima Khatun, a volunteer member of Solidarity Across Borders, who acted as translator Monday during an interview with the Duty with Mr. Roy, who speaks in Bengali.
Unable to obtain refugee status in Canada, Mr. Roy worked for several years in Montreal’s underground economy as a janitor or dishwasher before submitting a new application for asylum on humanitarian grounds last year, in vain. The man was then arrested and detained by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) at the CSI in Laval on May 19, nine years after his arrival in the country. The CBSA refused to reveal details surrounding the reasons for Mr. Roy’s detention for confidentiality reasons.
“He was never charged with anything. His only crime was remaining in Canada without status,” says immigration lawyer Dan Bohbot, who represented the asylum seeker last year. The duty found no criminal records in the name of the Indian migrant.
His only crime is to have remained in Canada without status
The man then complained of chest pain to employees of the CSI in Laval, who have since administered two acetaminophen (Tylenol) tablets in the morning and evening, according to the testimonies collected. “He had these pains recurrently for several days at the detention center,” notes Arnold Aberman, a general practitioner and member of the Let’s Take Care of Social Justice collective, who recently met Mr. Roy.
A hearing then took place on August 25 before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, during which Mr. Roy’s deportation was ordered.
Operation and follow-up
It was during this same hearing that Mr. Roy informed the commissioner mandated to make a decision in this case of his chest pains. The commissioner, who has the role of a judge, then demanded that Mr. Roy be taken care of by a Montreal hospital center, where he was admitted on September 6. The man was operated on for coronary artery disease three days later, before being sent back to the walls of the CSI in Laval on September 12.
“He had blockages in several vessels in his heart, so yes, it’s quite severe. He could have died easily if he was not operated on,” specifies the Dr Arnold Aberman. “It was really the judge’s intelligence that saved his life,” adds the doctor, who deplores that the Laval CSI did not take the initiative to have the Indian migrant’s heart problems examined and treated before this court hearing takes place.
Mr. Roy’s deportation to India is now scheduled for September 30. However, the medical report from the surgeon who performed coronary bypass surgery on Mr. Roy mentions that the latter must be seen by a cardiologist for follow-up within a period of four to six weeks following his operation. A follow-up which cannot therefore take place in Quebec if Mr. Roy is deported.
However, it is essential that Mr. Roy be seen by a cardiologist during his convalescence period, in the opinion of Arnold Aberman. “It’s really important to understand what the operation was, if there is still suffering, what the symptoms of his condition are,” he emphasizes. Such monitoring could, for example, make it possible to determine whether or not Mr. Roy is at risk of suffering a heart attack, he explains.
Moreover, notes Dan Bohbot, “removal officers” have “discretionary power” allowing them to suspend the expulsion of a person from the country in certain circumstances, including the state of health of the person concerned. “They can use their good judgment to move forward or stay a referral,” he notes. The lawyer therefore finds it “unusual” that Mr. Roy’s expulsion was not suspended.
By email, the CBSA assures for its part that when a detainee suffers from medical problems, its agents “consult health professionals and rely on their expertise to determine if a person is able to travel. If a person’s medical condition requires special attention, or in the case of a person suffering from an apparent illness, he or she will receive appropriate medical care as prescribed by a physician.” However, the CBSA does not specify whether it ensures that this doctor practices in Quebec.
” I can not sleep “
Arnold Aberman also deplores that Mr. Roy continues to only have access to acetaminophen tablets to relieve pain that remains significant in his chest and legs, which are swollen since the operation he had. suffered. “They don’t give me any other medication. I can’t sleep, I can’t walk,” he also confided to Duty Mr. Roy.
“Unfortunately, the issue of medical negligence is not something new inside the Laval migrant prison », deplores Amy Darwish, who is a member of the Solidarity Without Borders group. “This is not the first time we have heard [parler] cases of people who are not receiving the care they need, who are only receiving Tylenol, even in cases where they have serious health problems,” she adds.
Mr. Roy, for his part, fears finding himself “on the street” if he is deported to India on Saturday. “If they send me back, there is no one for me in India. I’m not married, I have no children, no relatives, nothing. »