Five-year detention challenge on hold; Jamaican set to be deported next week
TORONTO — An unusual challenge to the detention of a man held without charge in immigration custody for five years has been put on hold to see if his deportation to Jamaica goes through next week.
If Jamaica fails to issue Alvin Brown a travel document as has happened before, the “habeas corpus” hearing in Ontario Superior Court is expected to resume within hours of his scheduled departure on the morning of Sept. 7.
The hearing before Justice Alfred O’Marra — regardless of whether Brown is put on a plane — will see his lawyers press for damages of $1,500 for each day of his lengthy incarceration, if the court finds any of it to have been unlawful.
The federal government maintains the release hearing cannot give rise to damages and Brown would need to sue in civil court if he believes he deserves compensation. Brown’s law counsel disagree.