Mohamud's case is a perfect example; her nightmare began when a functionary in the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi agreed with a Kenyan airport official and decided she wasn't the woman whose photograph appears in her passport. We were told, incredibly, that it had something to do with her lips. She was immediately declared an "imposter" and Kenyan authorities were asked to prosecute her.
Although she produced all kinds of identification – including a driver's licence, OHIP card, social insurance card and a Canadian citizenship certificate to boot – her fate was sealed. The poor woman even spent time in a Kenyan jail, the horror of which one can only begin to imagine.
Conclusion? Nothing in Canadian law stops the government from "picking and choosing" which Canadians it will help and who it will abandon, a former senior diplomat warns.
I still find it incredible that: 1) Canadian authorities would hand over a purportedly Canadian passport to the authorities of another country, even after they have stamped it void; 2) Canadian authorities take your finger prints and then "destory" them.
I'm also curious to know what they did with the OHIP card, SIN card and Canadian citizenship certificate. Did they hand them over to Kenyan authorities too or give them back to the supposed Imposter?
Ja, well, no, fine.
