Haitian says Canada used property for helicopter airlift, but wouldn't lift sanctions
The Canadian government used a Haitian executive's property for helicopter evacuations of its citizens as violence escalated there last month, even while refusing to remove him from a sanctions list, a Federal Court application says.
The Canadian government sanctioned Reynold Deeb in December 2022, along with two other "high-profile members of the economic elite in Haiti," Global Affairs Canada said at the time.
In his latest Federal Court application as he seeks removal from the sanctions list, Deeb denies any connections to the gang violence that plagues the country, and says he's "deeply involved in community philanthropy."
Deeb says in the document that his "reputable nature" was on display when the RCMP and Canada's ambassador asked him to allow them to use his property for police training exercises and helicopter evacuations of Canadian citizens early last month.
He claims he was "happy to agree" to provide assistance. But even though the Canadian government had turned to him "in a time of crisis," it refused to lift the sanctions against him, he says.
"Why the Government of Canada was simultaneously asking Mr. Deeb for use of his property and maintaining sanctions against him is not clear," his judicial review application says.
Deeb claims his inclusion on Canada's sanctions list is "erroneous," and those who find themselves sanctioned suffer "severe reputational damage," while being denied financial services and employment opportunities, and being given travel restrictions.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said the sanctions were imposed in 2022 "in response to the egregious conduct of Haitian elites who provide illicit financial and operational support to armed gangs."
The Canadian government accused Deeb, Gilbert Bigio and Sherif Abdallah of protecing and enabling "armed criminal gangs, including through money laundering and other acts of corruption."
Deeb filed an application in the Federal Court of Canada in November to compel the minister to make a decision on his bid to be removed from the sanctions list.
Now, Deeb claims in a second Federal Court application filed last month that the minster denied his removal request in March without disclosing her reasons "in a meaningful manner."
The document says he's a "reputable businessman," working as a purchasing manager for the Deka Group, a collective of companies that are the "leading importers of consumer goods in Haiti."
Canada's ambassador asked for his help on the same day the minister of foreign affairs declined to remove him from the sanctions list, his application says.
The document says the minister's decision was based on "open-source" information about his alleged bribery, tax evasion and gang financing activities.
He's also alleged to have close ties to former president Michel Martelly, and sanctioned politician Gary Bodeau.
Deeb claims the minister wrongfully relied on the information to make the sanctions decision, denying him "procedural fairness."
In an interview, Deeb's lawyers John Boscariol and Geoff Hall said Deeb has email communications with Canadian embassy officials thanking him for use of his property to stage helicopter evacuations and RCMP training exercises for Haitian police officers.
Hall said the emails are "quite remarkable," showing Canadian embassy officials and the RCMP were thankful and "complimentary" toward Deeb for allowing the use of his property, "which is actually contrary to sanctions law for Canadians to be using property of those who are sanctioned," Hall said.
Boscariol and Hall said their client feels unfairly maligned by his inclusion on Canada's sanctions list, claiming Deeb has been an "ally to Canada."
"It appears that what the government seems to have done is to sort of trawl the Internet to find whatever innuendo is out there, and that is problematic," Hall said.
Deeb has not been sanctioned by the U.S., the European Union or the United Kingdom, but being sanctioned by Canada carries "significant reputational impact," Boscariol said.
"These decisions don't seem to be thoroughly thought through by the Canadian government," he said. "The government hasn't undertaken the proper due diligence or provided supporting evidence for some of the allegations that they're making."
Global Affairs Canada did not provide a requested response to Deeb's claims by deadline.
A United Nations Security Council report by a panel of Haiti experts released in September 2023 said it had evidence Deeb was involved in gang financing activities while working as the Deka Group's chief operating officer.
The report said Deeb in 2017 "paid a leader of a gang to facilitate his business" and "had been using gang members to put pressure on some customs officers at the port so that they don't inspect or intercept his containers."
The report said in late 2019, Haiti was paralyzed by economic upheaval as political pressure mounted against then-president Jovenel Moise, which Deeb allegedly capitalized on "by bribing parliamentarians who would then pay gang leaders to unblock the streets by dispersing demonstrators and allow for the transport of his merchandise into the country."
Deeb's lawyers said he denies the report's allegations of gang financing "wholeheartedly."
"Mr. Deeb is very much a victim of a lot of this," Boscariol said. "He's a significant importer of products and distributor of products at the retail level throughout Haiti but he, too, suffers from the activities of the gang."
Deeb is one of 11 Haitians sanctioned by Canada for a "grave breach of international peace and security" under its Special Economic Measures (Haiti) Regulations.
Thirteen others are listed for "acts of significant corruption," and four are on the sanctions list for "gross human rights violations."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2024.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
W5 Investigates Riding Mexico's notorious 'Train of Death': A migrant lifeline and a death trap
In the second part of a five-part series, W5's Avery Haines follows the journeys of migrants who risk life and limb to ride atop Mexican freight trains, desperate to avoid narco territory as they make their way towards the U.S. border.
Minimum wage in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, P.E.I. increases
The minimum wage in four provinces is going up today.
DEVELOPING Israeli military warns several Lebanese communities near the border to evacuate
Hezbollah has denied that Israeli troops have entered Lebanon but says its fighters are ready for a 'direct confrontation' if they cross the border.
School bus catches fire outside Bangkok and more than 20 are feared dead, officials say
A bus carrying young students with their teachers caught fire in suburban Bangkok on Tuesday, with more than 20 of those on board feared dead, officials and rescuers said.
Joly takes shots at Conservative rhetoric during UN speech
Foreign Affairs Minister M茅lanie Joly is asking members of the United Nations to counter growing political polarization abroad while taking shots at Conservative rhetoric at home.
TD Bank to pay more than US$28M in settlement for market manipulation
TD Bank Group has agreed to pay more than US$28 million after an investigation into manipulation of the U.S. Treasuries market by one of its traders.
Canadian MPs join Australian, New Zealand peers in pushing for Palestine statehood
Canadian members of Parliament are working with their colleagues in Australia and New Zealand to try and convince their respective governments to jointly recognize Palestinian statehood.
Trump makes false claims about federal response as he campaigns in area ravaged by Hurricane Helene
Donald Trump repeatedly spread falsehoods Monday about the federal response to Hurricane Helene despite claiming not to be politicizing the disaster as he toured hard-hit areas in south Georgia.
Man hikes 18 kilometres, 670 metres high to reach his parents in North Carolina
It had been 48 hours since the winds and rains from Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina and Sam Perkins still had not heard from his parents.
Local Spotlight
On Saturday night at her parents鈥 home in Delaware, Ont. the Olympic bronze medallist in pole vault welcomed everyone who played a role in getting her to the podium in Paris.
A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.
When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.
A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.
Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.
Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.
A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.
An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.