DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
A group of lawyers is racing against the clock to get Canadian children and their foreign-born mothers onto a plane that will soon be dispatched to repatriate detainees from prison camps in northeast Syria.
According to lawyers on the case, the repatriation flight is "imminent" and could arrive within a few short weeks if not days. In November, Global Affairs Canada agreed to bring home 26 Canadian women and children.
But the agreement excludes four women married to Canadian men with ISIS ties who are missing or may have been killed. Between them, the foreign-born mothers have eight children.
The fate of four Canadian men imprisoned in Syria also remain in limbo, as the federal government appeals a court order to repatriate them.
Asiya Hirji, an immigration lawyer with the Downtown Legal Clinic in Toronto says Canada recognized the citizenship claims of the children of Canadian fathers, but not the women they married. It was a decision that would "maroon the mothers in northeast Syria, while the children would be brought to Canada alone."
Hirji has filed applications for urgent temporary resident permits on behalf of the two women; "Asiya" and "Zahra." CTV News is using pseudonyms, because identifying the mothers could put them at risk. The two families are detained at the open air Al-Roj camp where Islamic State members are still capable of exerting violence.
Hirji says her clients have children with high medical needs, and separating them from their mothers would add to their suffering.
"The children are completely innocent and they need their parents - especially the sole parent who has been raising them alone for the past four years," said Hirji.
Asiya, a mother of three, previously told CTV News she was married to a man born in Ottawa. She says her husband, a religious scholar, travelled to Syria to study the Islamic State but was imprisoned by Kurdish forces in 2019, after ISIS fell. Her eldest son has severe autism, is non-verbal, and suffers from epileptic seizures. Her middle child has severe burns to 10% of his body. It is painful for him to put on clothes.
Hirji says her second client Zahra is a victim of human trafficking who was lured to Syria. Her children are undernourished and have intestinal parasites. One child has an eye condition that, if left untreated, could result in blindness.
In a statement through her lawyer, Zahra said Canada wants to take away the only "stable thing" her children have ever known.
"Their repatriation is meant to give them the chance at a real life, not to break their home," she said.
As part of the families' urgent immigration applications, Hirji submitted an analysis of the childrens' medical reports by doctors in Canada.
Dr. Phillip Berger with the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, was one of the physicians who reviewed the reports. In 2020 he was awarded the Order of Canada for his advocacy of disadvantaged communities. In Berger's assessment, separating children from their mothers would be "catastrophic to their physical and mental development."
"You don't have to be a doctor to know that it would be cruel and heartless to separate such young and seriously ill children from their parents. They have shown unyielding fidelity to the care of their kids and have not abandoned them for any cause in the northern Syria area," Berger said.
"What's terrible about this case is the government's failure to act."
While there is widespread support to repatriate the children, some terrorism experts are cautioning against bringing back their non-Canadian mothers.
Kyle Matthews, the executive director for the Montreal Insittute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, says there is nothing in international law that says the government must bring back suspected extremists who are not Canadian.
"The children are innocent victims, but what responsibility does Canada have to non-Canadians," asks Matthews. "I think the answer is - we don't have a responsibility."
Phil Gurksi of Borealis Threat and Risk Analysis is pushing back on a narrative he says is painting Islamic State members as victims.
"We are talking about people who joined a terrorist group that killed and maimed tens of thousands of people… Some are suffering in places like Al-Hol (detention camp) - but they're not suffering randomly. They're suffering because they made a conscious decision to join a terrorist group, " Gurksi said.
While Gurski says it will be difficult for Canadian authorities to find evidence to lay charges for crimes committed in a foreign conflict zone, lawyer Hirji points out her clients haven't been charged with any crime, nor does a legal system exist in Al-Roj camp.
She says the temporary applications that have been submitted for the mothers will enable authorities to investigate the women, if necessary, and allow them to care for their children.
"If there are security concerns, they can be brought here and subjected to strict limitations. Investigations can take place in Canada - they can be placed under house arrest… meanwhile the temporary resident applications we've submitted allows the children time to transition to life in Canada," Hirji said.
Both the foreign affairs minister and immigration minister have deflected when asked why Canada would consider separating women and children in these cases. But what is clear is that the window for repatriation is quickly approaching. If the non-Canadian women aren't on the flight - there is fear another opportunity may not present itself again.
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Senate legal affairs committee has rejected a motion calling for members to take a $50,000 field trip to the African Lion Safari in southern Ontario to see the zoo's elephant exhibit.
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is encouraging veterinarians to keep an eye out for signs of avian influenza in dairy cattle following recent discoveries of cases of the disease in U.S. cow herds.
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.