George Galloway speaks to reporters in London after being suspended from the House of Commons for 18 sitting days on July 17, 2007.Cate Gillon/Getty Images
A senior aide to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney contributed to a premature, politically motivated decision that ultimately kept controversial former British MP George Galloway out of Canada, a Federal Court judge said Monday.
But Mr. Justice Richard Mosley dismissed an appeal by supporters of Mr. Galloway, ruling the court could not grant their request for judicial review of a government decision that barred the outspoken pro-Palestinian politician from giving a series of speeches in Canada last year.
That's because Mr. Galloway never tested the government by actually trying to enter the country after political staffers denounced him as a terrorist and the Canada Border Services Agency said he wouldn't be allowed into Canada.
"In the absence of such evidence, I find that there was no legally reviewable decision to bar Mr. Galloway from Canada and that this application must be dismissed."
Mr. Galloway, a noted rabble-rouser, was told he would not be allowed to enter Canada because he had provided financial support to Hamas. Canada has listed Hamas as a terrorist organization.
The Canada Border Services Agency cited his involvement in an aid convoy that delivered clothing, medical items, relief money and vehicles to the elected Hamas government.
Judge Mosley closely examined the conduct of political staffers in Mr. Kenney's office, particularly his director of communications, Alykhan Velshi, and the response by bureaucrats.
The judge said he agreed with Mr. Galloway's Canadian supporters that "that the main reason why the respondents sought to prevent Mr. Galloway from entering Canada was that they disagreed with his political views."
The judge concluded the government fell short of the standard required to label someone a terrorist.
"It is clear that the efforts to keep Mr. Galloway out of the country had more to do with antipathy to his political views than with any real concern that he had engaged in terrorism or was a member of a terrorist organization," the judge stated.
Opponents of Mr. Galloway's visit said they felt vindicated by the dismissal.
"We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the application for judicial review," Mr. Velshi said Monday in a e-mailed statement.
The ruling allowed Canadian groups on both sides of the Middle East divide to claim victory.
"Had he been really serious, he certainly would have attempted to come to Canada, and do the job he wanted to do. His real job was to actuate a PR stunt, which he was successful at," said Bernie Farber, the chief executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress.
But James Clarke, of the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War, said Judge Mosley's deeper dissection of government conduct vindicates Mr. Galloway's supporters.
"There was political interference at the highest levels of government, which represents an attack on the free speech rights of Canadians," said Mr. Clarke, who along with his group, were among the unsuccessful applicants in the case.
The Harper government has faced repeated accusations that it has unfairly tilted Canada's Middle East policy towards Israel while turning a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.
Mr. Galloway had planned a speaking tour to discuss topics such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In his ruling, Judge Mosley outlined a chain of events that started on March 16, 2009 with Mr. Velshi doing some online research of open sources about Mr. Galloway's activities. Mr. Velshi "expressed the view that Mr. Galloway was inadmissable" in e-mails that circulated through the Immigration Department in the next few hours.
"Apart from the open sources cited by Mr. Velshi in his e-mails, it does not appear from the record what, if any, additional research was conducted. When consulted, CSIS advised CBSA that they had no concerns with Mr. Galloway's visit from a security perspective," Judge Mosley said in the ruling.
Government officials reached a decision that was not reasonable and erred in its application of the law, but the judge noted the "novel" circumstances they faced with their political masters.
"Moreover, they were being asked to provide a rapid assessment in circumstances where Ministers' offices were actively engaged and where political staff and senior officials had already staked out a position . . . the assessment was written after political staff and senior officials had prematurely reached the conclusion that Galloway was inadmissable."
The judge said it was not surprising that bureaucrats reached the same conclusion "albeit in more cautious language."
Mr. Galloway's supporters are already making plans to try to bring him to Canada in the coming weeks, Mr. Clarke said.
Mr. Galloway, who lost his seat in the British Parliament last spring, eventually addressed a Canadian audience via a