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w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 7 13 forming the FMLN — guerrillas fight- ing a dictatorial government. But he was a political activist advocating for change during 1986 to 1995. "Although the PCS had an armed wing, the Fuerza Armada de Liber- acion, Mr. Figueroa was never directly involved in the armed struggle, nor did he direct anyone involved in an armed struggle," said the 2014 judgment grant- ing a review of the ministerial decision. He was involved with the armed fac- tion only after a United Nations peace accord — which ended a bloody civil war from 1980 to 1992 that saw 75,000 El Salvadorans killed — was achieved. In 1992, Figueroa taught former FMLN combatants how to transition back to civilian life. FMLN transformed into a political electoral party and is now a leading political party in El Salvador. Figueroa and his wife left El Sal- vador and arrived in Canada in 1997 and the couple, with three children born in Canada, applied for perma- nent residency and moved to stage one approval, but the residency application sparked a CSIS report on Figueroa. "All the issues started with the CSIS report," he says, as it branded the FMLN as an organization that engaged in terrorism. As he moved toward permanent residency, the CBSA called him in 2009 for an interview. "I thought they wanted to talk to me about my application," says Figueroa, but the talk was about the FMLN. The CBSA, which also used the CSIS report, considered him a national security risk, and a 2010 admissibility hearing denied him residency. A 2010 deportation order was issued but not acted upon until 2013 as Figueroa applied for leave for a judicial review of the decision, which was denied. He then turned to a ministerial review. By 2013, his wife had received her permanent residency status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Figueroa was in limbo. The ministerial review sided with the CSIS and CBSA reports. Called to the CBSA offices to sign travel documents, he realized he was to be arrested and deported. In October 2013, Figueroa sought sanction in the Fraser Valley's Walnut Grove Lutheran Church, stay- ing for two years. In 2014, Figueroa and his lawyer Peter Edelmann were successful in gaining a judicial review of the minister's decision. Federal Court Justice Richard Mos- ley, in reasons ordering a new min- isterial review, said: "The FMLN was never a group for which political terror was a primary tactic. . . . It was a broad based legitimate resistance group." Figueroa was able to leave the church as a result of the rare minis- terial exemption offered in December 2015 by then immigration minister John McCallum. The exemption effect- ively cancelled the deportation order and he obtained permanent residency. — JEAN SORENSEN \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP OSGOODE'S PROFESSIONAL LLM PROGRAM DEVELOP YOUR EXPERTISE Expand your mind and challenge your perspective. Invest in yourself and take the time to delve deeper into legal issues that you currently face, or explore new legal interests to enrich your career. Learn more at osgoodepd.ca/cdnlawyer Specializations Starting in Fall 2017: · Administrative Law · Business Law · Constitutional Law · Dispute Resolution · Energy & Infrastructure Law · General Program · Tax Law Apply by May 10, 2017 Canada's leading Professional LLM for lawyers, executives and experienced professionals Fay A. McFarlane BA, LLB, LLM, LLM Barrister, Solicitor, Notary ntitled-1 1 2017-01-16 9:08 AM

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