The Gazette, Montreal – Sunday April 18, 1999 MONTREAL/QUEBEC Cites psychiatric illness of daughter A Bangladeshi man has defied a deportation order on the ground that his daughter is hospitalized with a psychiatric illness in Montreal and would not be able to receive adequate treatment in his south Asian homeland. Muhd Hafizul Alam, 52, and his family were slated for deportation last Thursday after their bid for refugee status was rejected and various appeal mechanisms exhausted. By ignoring the deportation order, Alam, his wife and two children are liable to be arrested and expelled from Canada. On Friday, the Immigration Department told Alam’s lawyer that its medical-services branch in Ottawa would examine a physician’s letter attesting to his daughter’s condition. The letter says that Runa Alam, 16, is hospitalized at the Allan Memorial Institute for a schizophrenic disorder and “has to remain hospitalized for an undetermined period of time.” Max Berger, Alam’s…

The Toronto Star – Tuesday, April 6, 1999 BY TIM HARPER AND VALERIE LAWTON OTTAWA BUREAU Victims of war will arrive in Ontario by next weekend OTTAWA – Canadians are coming forward to offer their homes to Kosovar refugees even as military officials scramble to airlift about 5,000 to this country by the end of the week. The refugees, who are expected to land at CFB Trenton by the weekend, will be arriving in the country on ministerial permits, but will be allowed to claim refugee status. It will be the biggest influx of refugees to this country since 26,000 “boat people” arrived after the Vietnam War ended in 1975. Sources say Immigration Minister Lucienne Robillard is directing her officials who have been dispatched to Macedonia to give preference to those who would meet the criteria for refugee status. Immigration lawyers say they fully expect all those arriving here will immediately…