Protesters rally to support Egyptians refused asylum by border officers

Toronto Star – Demonstrators gathered at Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino’s constituency office on Saturday to protest what they say is Islamophobia in the Canada Border Services Agency.

“We are protesting because we have a group of CBSA officers who are meant to represent the minister of public safety,” said Mostafa Mahmoud, a Toronto representative of the Egyptian Canadian Coalition for Democracy, noting the group believes CBSA agents wrongly denied refugee status to Egyptians based on Islamophobia.

Among the asylum seekers in question are Attia Elserafy, a former member of Egypt’s Freedom and Justice Party, the country’s short-lived democratically elected government.

After living in exile from Egypt in Turkey, Elserafy came to Canada with his wife and children in 2018. CBSA agents in Vancouver allegedly used his connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, which founded the Freedom and Justice Party, to deny his claim for refugee status.

“The official stance of the Government of Canada as well as CSIS, they don’t consider those parties a terrorist organization,” Mahmoud explained.

However, as reported by the Star’s Nicholas Keung, the Federal Court has made clear that officials have the authority to order a foreign national inadmissible even if the group the person is alleged to belong to is not on the Canadian government’s designated terrorism list, noting that border agents and immigration tribunal adjudicators are independent decision-makers who are given the discretion to rule on admissibility.

As reported earlier this month, the CBSA agents in Vancouver have alleged that the Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist group that promoted violence, and engaged in subversion against a democratic government.

Mendicino’s office did not respond to a request for comment Saturday.

The protest Saturday coincided with the National Day of Remembrance and Action Against Islamophobia, with rallies also taking place in Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa.