Liberals admit convicted child sex abuser allowed into Canada

A Pakistani man, convicted of sexually abusing his underage niece in the United Kingdom, was granted a Canadian visa before ultimately losing his final legal battle to stay in the country.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Liberal government is under fire from Conservatives for negligence after a Pakistani man, convicted of sexually abusing his underage niece in the United Kingdom, was granted a Canadian visa before ultimately losing his final legal battle to stay in the country.

Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner pressed the government in the House of Commons on Thursday, demanding to know why Ottawa admitted the man, who was placed on the U.K. sex offender registry in 2017.

“Can the Liberals explain why they allowed a publicly listed incestuous child sex abuser into Canada?” she asked, calling the case “disgusting” and saying the minister responsible should be fired.

Court documents show that Gulfam Hussain, a Pakistani national, engaged in sexual activity with his underage niece while studying in Britain.

He was convicted in 2017 of sexual activity with a child family member and sentenced to six years in prison.

After serving part of his sentence, he moved to Spain and entered Canada on a visitor visa in 2023 without disclosing his criminal history. Canadian authorities later deemed him inadmissible for serious criminality and misrepresentation.

Hussain sought a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment, arguing he faced the threat of honour-based violence in Pakistan. Immigration officials found his evidence insufficient, and on Sept. 25, the Federal Court dismissed his judicial review application. The court rejected his argument that self-represented status entitled him to a higher standard of review. The ruling clears the way for his removal.

Rempel Garner said the case highlights fundamental failures in Canada’s immigration system.

“Instead of deporting Hussein, right now the Liberals are letting him gum up Canada’s court system,” she told the Commons, adding that Prime Minister Mark Carney had compounded the error by promoting the former immigration minister to justice minister.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree defended the system, saying the Canada Border Services Agency is working to remove record numbers of inadmissible individuals.

“Over 25,000 people [are] targeted to be removed who are inadmissible to Canada and we’re doing it as we speak,” he said.

Concerns about the integrity of the system were further stoked once again a day later, when Immigration Minister Lena Diab sidestepped Conservative questions on whether more than 100,000 new citizens set to benefit from Bill C-3 would face criminal record checks, language requirements, or citizenship tests.