Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney speaks with the media following party caucus meetings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Wednesday May 9, 2012.Adrian Wyld
The following is the full text of the letter sent by more than 80 immigration specialists who challenge Immigration Minister Jason Kenney's insistence he had no role in granting former media baron Conrad Black a permit to live in Canada before he had finished his U.S. jail sentence
Dear Mr. Kenney
We, the undersigned, all members of the Ontario Bar, agree with the statement of Guidy Mamann when he asserted that it was not credible that the decision taken in relation to the Conrad Black Temporary Resident Permit was made without any input from yourself. Given the high degree of control which you exercise over your department, we do not believe that you did not give your consent, either express or tacit, in relation to the request.
The use by an official of your office, of the Law Society of Upper Canada complaint process, in order to try to silence a critic for his opinion was rightly rejected by the Law Society. However, if you believe that our statement violates the Law Society of Upper Canada Rules please feel free to report us to the Law Society.
We find the attempt by you and your officials to muzzle freedom of expression to be reprehensible. We will not succumb.
Yours truly,
LORNE WALDMAN
BARBARA JACKMAN
NASEEM MITHOOWANI
CLIFFORD LUYT
DANIEL RADIN
AADIL MANGALJI
M CHOUDHURY
MEERA BUDOVITCH
CLARISA WALDMAN
CLARE CRUMMEY
JACQUELINE SWAISLAND
TARA MCELROY
KRASSINA KOSTADINOV
ROGER RODRIGUES
AURINA CHATTERJI
LANI GOZLAN
AVIVA BASMAN
JENNIFER ROGGEMANN
ALTAF PATEL
CAITLIN MAXWELL
JACK MARTIN
AISLING BONDY
ROBERT W YOUNG
KUMAR SRISKANDA
CATHERINE BRUCE
JOHN ABRAMS
JOEL SANDALUK
HOWARD P EISENBERG
LESLIE MORLEY
MARY BOYCE
JONATHAN FEDDER
LINA ANANI
LUXMI VASAN
OMAR SHABBIR KHAN
ROGER RODRIGUES
DANIEL RADIN
MONIKA CHOUDHURY
MEERA BUDOVITCH
AURINA CHATTERJI
ANTHONY NAVANEELAN
MORDECAI WASSERMAN
MEHRAN YOUSSEFI
LEE TENENHOUSE
PETER IVANYI
JARED WILL
GERALDINE MACDONALD
SHARRYN J AIKEN
EUGENIA CAPPELLARO ZAVALETA
TONI SCHWEITZER
MICHAEL CRANE
KRISTIN MARSHALL
LESLIE M ANDERSON
RODNEY WOLFE
DAVID YERZY
PRASANNA BALASUNDARAM
JOAN C MANAFA
JOEL HECTER
JAMES GILDINER
SARA ABRAHAM
ARGHAVA GERAMI
JAKI FREEMAN
JONATHON W JURMAIN
JOHN STRUTHERS
AARON B NARNETT
JENNIFER POLLOCK
PREEVANDA KAUK SAPRU
PAMILA BHARDWAJ
TIMOTHY LEACH
MEGHAN WILSON
SAYRAN SULEVANI
RAOUL BOULAKIA
CAROL DAHAN
JOHN W PETRYKANYN
PATRCIA CULLEN