One year after Ottawa branded George Galloway a terrorist, effectively barring him from entry into Canada, one of Britain's most controversial public figures touched down in Toronto Saturday.
Dozens of placard-waving supportrers welcomed former British MP George Galloway to Toronto's Pearson International Airport, less than a week after a Canadian judge ruled Ottawa's decision to bar the outspoken firebrand was politically motivated.
In an interview with CTV News shortly after his arrival, Galloway said he was happy to finally be here.
"My presence proves that Canada remains a country governed by laws, not by the whims of 'here today, gone tomorrow' politicians," he said, describing his experience clearing immigration as "unusually thorough".
Galloway was scheduled to travel to Canada early last year to deliver a series of speeches that were expected to focus largely on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the days leading up to his arrival, the federal government and the Canada Border Services Agency accused Galloway of supporting terrorism for providing medical supplies and other aid to Hamas, which Canada considers a terrorist organization.
Galloway denies making contributions directly to Hamas, saying he donated ambulances, medicine, equipment and salaries for nurses and teachers to the residents of Gaza.
Galloway said Saturday the decision to effectively bar him from Canada proves that "the rules of immigration, the laws of Canada, were misused by the government."
"It's (Justice Richard Mosley) who alleges that there was political interference, it had nothing to do with national security," Galloway told CTV in a telephone interview before boarding a plane in London. "In fact the Canadian security service has told the government that there was no national security issue concerning me."
Mosley's ruling came from an investigation into the actions of staffers in Kenney's office, in particular his director of communications, Alykhan Velshi, as well as the decisions of other bureaucrats prior to Galloway's visit. Mosley was mulling a request by Galloway supporters for a judicial review of the government's decision to prevent Galloway from entering Canada.
Mosley denied the request for a review on the grounds that Galloway chose not to attempt to enter Canada after being warned he would be denied entry.
But he did agree with Galloway's supporters that "that the main reason why the respondents (the government) sought to prevent Mr. Galloway from entering Canada was that they disagreed with his political views."
Mosley cited events that began on March 16, 2009, when Velshi conducted online research of open sources about Galloway's activities. Within a few hours of conducting that research, emails circulated among Immigration Department staffers in which Velshi deemed Galloway inadmissible to Canada.
"Apart from the open sources cited by Mr. Velshi in his e-mails, it does not appear from the record what, if any, additional research was conducted. When consulted, CSIS advised CBSA that they had no concerns with Mr. Galloway's visit from a security perspective," Mosley wrote.
In his ruling, Mosley said the government failed to establish sufficient proof that Galloway is a terrorist.
"It is clear that the efforts to keep Mr. Galloway out of the country had more to do with antipathy to his political views than with any real concern that he had engaged in terrorism or was a member of a terrorist organization," Mosley wrote.
On Saturday, Galloway said Canada's decision to bar him entry has hurt him both professionally and personally. Earlier this year, Galloway lost his seat in the British Parliament after nearly 25 years in public office.
"My opponents ruthlessly prosecuted this Canadian ban in the course of the election," Galloway said. "No one can know that it was the sole reason for my defeat. But I was nearly 25 years a member of Parliament, five times elected, and I was defeated in the wake of the Canada ban."
Galloway said he has also had to make adjustments to his schedule and daily routine in order to protect his and his family's security. He now plans to sue the Canadian government.
Galloway will be in Canada for just 24 hours.
With files from CTV News and The Canadian Press
