According to the CBSA, between January 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016, Bangladesh became the top country of origin for people inadmissible to Canada under the IRPA . 34. The question concerns membership in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (the “Bangladesh Nationalist Party”).BNP“) or its main political ally, Jamaat-e-Islami (“Jamaat“). Although they have not been designated by Public Safety Canada as terrorist entities, certain members of the BNP and Jamaat have, according to the CBSA, demonstrated that they qualify as members of an organization whose there are reasonable grounds to believe that he or she is engaging in, has engaged in, or will engage in or will engage in forcible subversion of any government or terrorism.
The BNP
According to Wikipedia, BNP is one of the contemporary political parties of Bangladesh. It was founded on September 1, 1978 by former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman after the 1978 presidential election, with the aim of uniting the people around the country’s nationalist ideology. The party considers the ideology of Bangladeshi nationalism as its central concept and has adopted a 19-point program which states that “the sovereignty and independence of Bangladesh, the golden fruits of the historic liberation struggle, are our sacred trust and our inviolable right. The BNP’s founding manifesto states that the people of Bangladesh want to “see that complete faith and trust in Allah Almighty, democracy, nationalism and socialism of social and economic justice are reflected in all spheres of national life “. The BNP and its student wing were the driving force behind the 1990 uprising against the autocratic Ershad regime, which resulted in the fall of the regime and the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh.
In 2012, BNP and Jamaat supporters took to the streets to protest the ruling Awami League’s decision to cancel the caretaker government system, accusing the government of attempting to turn Bangladesh into a one-party state . The same year, the government initiated prosecutions for war crimes committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. The leaders of the BNP and Jamaat were indicted and convicted of war crimes.
In 2014, the BNP boycotted national elections. Violent clashes took place between BNP and Awami League supporters.
IRCC post
The CBSA and IRCC have generally taken the position that certain members of the BNP and Jamaat have “demonstrated that they are admissible” under section 3. 34(1)(f) of the IRPA, which states that a person is inadmissible to Canada for “being a member of an organization of which there are reasonable grounds to believe is engaging, has engaged or will engage in acts or will incite subversion by force” . of a government or terrorism.
The organizations that the CBSA has identified as causing an individual to be inadmissible to Canada are listed below.
Case law
The Federal Court of Canada looked all over the map as to whether membership in the BNP would result in a person being inadmissible. In Rahman v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)2023 FC 1695, Madam Justice Rochester affirmed that each case is decided on its merits and that the decisions of the Court are not, and should not be, characterized by broad proclamations on the status of the BNP which commit future decisions.