Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - Oct 2006
Mr. Malcolm Watson, a 35 year old former teacher, was convicted recently in a US court of sexually abusing a 15 year old student. As a sentence, the judge presented him with two options: Jail in the US, or exile to Canada.
Mr. Watson chose the latter, which means that he must stay out of the United States for the next three years. His wife and family is Canadian and he will therefore remain with them.
Lawyers are questioning the legality of this unusual sentence, as there is no precedent for this sort of punishment. Robert Kolken, a Buffalo immigration lawyer, has never seen a similar case. “I don’t see how a judge sitting in a criminal court in the U.S. can lawfully banish a citizen as a condition of sentencing”, he said.
To American officials, however, this was a good solution. Erie county district attorney Frank Clark said that the family of Mr. Watson’s victim was happy that he would not be able to be near her, and one anonymous law enforcement official said “He’s Canada’s problem, not ours”.
It also seemed a good solution to Mr. Watson, who was already working in Canada subsequent to his firing from his school last April, and who simply wanted to “return to Canada to be reunited with his family”.
But will Mr. Watson, a convicted sex offender, be allowed to remain in Canada? The case has drawn the attention of Canadian Immigration Minister Mone Solberg, who could not comment on the specifics of the case but stated: “If non-citizens pose a threat to Canada, we will do everything in our power to have that person removed as quickly as possible”.
As such, Mr. Watson’s future in the country remains uncertain, but his case is already drawing concerned eyes to the south, wondering how many more instances of “Exile to Canada” will arise as a result of this highly unusual situation.
Source: Globe and Mail, 23/10/2006.
