Tue, 26 Apr 2005  WINNIPEG - A 53-year-old man who has been in Canada since infancy has been deported to England because of a drug conviction. On Monday, Scott Tyler of Winnipeg boarded a plane for England, where he doesn't know anyone. He was born there but hasn't returned since his parents moved to Canada when he was a baby. Brian Pannell, housing co-ordinator for Young United Church, said Tyler deserves a second chance. He said the church has applied to the Department of Immigration, asking that Tyler be allowed to return to Canada on compassionate grounds.
Tyler isn't hopeful. "My personal feelings are that once I'm out of the country, they're going to look at this application and say, 'He's already gone.'" Tyler always knew he was a landed immigrant, but never thought he needed to obtain Canadian citizenship to stay in the country. For years he worked as a truck driver and paid income taxes, just like his neighbours. In 1999, Tyler fell on hard times and became a drug addict. Two years later, he was arrested and convicted of possession of cocaine, as well as trafficking in the drug. He spent three months in jail. He says he has since turned around his life, but under federal regulations, he must be deported. Tyler's friends, family and others have rallied to his cause, lobbying Ottawa to let him stay in the country. The United Church of Canada intervened in a last-ditch attempt to contest the deportation. Some 200 people signed a petition, and several letters were sent to Immigration Minister Joe Volpe. However, the letters have gone unanswered. Immigration Canada could not be reached for comment about the case on Monday, but earlier, a spokesperson said Tyler had broken the law, and there was no recourse. Volpe refuses to comment on current cases. |
Drugism anyone?
Written by ken_sailor on 2005-04-28 20:48:32
I'd like to start using the word drugism to mean prejudice against people who like certain drugs - and particularly prejudices that allow practices that would otherwise be considered outrageous.
Deportation, for example, is supposed to protect us from immigrants who might otherwise hurt us. How might this man hurt us? Is having been dependent on cocaine equivalent in your mind to murder, theft or rape? And if so, how is being dependent on prozac, caffeine, or tobacco any different? Long term studies of cocaine users has found little in the way of lasting side effects, and subtracting the drug war, cocaine users are no more likely to break the law than anyone else.
But drugism allows behavior like this to pass unquestioned, much the way that racism and sexism have allowed for arbitrary.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not arguing for cocaine. I am arguing for legalization since simple legalization would do a great deal to reduce disease, crime and death - and not to mention the suffering this man will have to go through for being evicted from his home - and how is being deported going to help him keep clean. |
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