Border officials slammed for arresting woman in hospital emergency room

Pakistani grandmother recovering from heart attack was arrested at Montreal hospital by border officers and told she'd be deported next day.

Khurshid Begum Awan, right, and daughter Tahira Malik. Awan, 57, was arrested by border officers at Montreal General Hospital after a heart attack and told she'd be deported the following day.

By: Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter, Published on Fri Jul 26 2013

A Pakistani grandmother recovering from a heart attack was arrested at a Montreal hospital by border officers and told she would be deported from Canada the next day.

Although Khurshid Begum Awan’s removal on Wednesday was eventually cancelled following protest by her cardiologist, refugee advocates criticized the Canada Border Services Agency for its actions.

“There is no reason for this kind of belligerent and intimidating tactics,” said Rosalind Wong of Solidarity Across Borders, who was with the woman at the Montreal General Hospital when the arrest occurred Tuesday.

 “Three officers just showed up at the emergency room and informed her she was under arrest. It’s really disturbing. We call on health-care providers and administrators to ensure people accessing health services are safe from border agents.”

Although officials wouldn’t comment about the specifics of this case, a spokeswoman for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said “a key part of the CBSA’s mandate is to remove those who violate Canada’s immigration laws as soon as possible.

“Everyone ordered removed from Canada is entitled to due process before the law,” Julie Carmichael added. “All removal orders are subject to various levels of appeal.”

Awan, 57, and her husband Mohammad Khalil, 66, arrived in Canada in 2011 and sought asylum claiming their lives were at risk due to violence by the extremist anti-Shia group, Sipah-e-Sahaba, now renamed Ahlesunnat wal Jamaat and banned in Pakistan.

The couple’s refugee claim, federal court appeal and pre-removal risk assessment have subsequently been denied. Awan’s husband was deported in April, while her removal was postponed due to her chronic heart condition.

Awan was admitted to the hospital on July 4 and diagnosed with a heart attack. Upon her release eight days later, border officials visited her, on July 18 and 22, to summon her to the CBSA office to discuss her deportation.

Wong said she accompanied Awan to the meeting Tuesday morning and the elderly woman again reported heart attack symptoms.

Wong said a cardiologist at the hospital warned a heart attack victim should not fly for at least six weeks but border officials insisted on arresting Awan and said they would take her to the Laval detention centre and remove her Wednesday evening.

Awan’s lawyer Stewart Istvanffy said religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Shia, have become the targets of unprecedented levels of violence from extremists and criminals. He says his client’s husband is in hiding after suffering a gunshot on May 7, shortly after his deportation to Pakistan.

Istvanffy said the officials’ “insensitivity . . . is just incredible.”

Istvanffy has filed a complaint to Blaney’s office, but his client still faces imminent deportation.

According to CBSA, 18,762 people were removed from Canada in 2012, up from 16,511 in 2011.