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Woman, 83, ordered to return to India, despite protests of her Langford family

An elderly woman’s application to remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds has once again been denied. Surjit Bhandal, 83, lives in Langford with her family and came to Canada as a visitor in 2008.
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Surjit Bhandal, 83, surrounded by family and friends, listens during a December 2012 news conference discussing her deportation.

An elderly woman’s application to remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds has once again been denied.

Surjit Bhandal, 83, lives in Langford with her family and came to Canada as a visitor in 2008. Bhandal’s nephews, whom she raised in India, now live here and want their aunt admitted to the country.

Her latest bid to stay was turned down Wednesday at a “pre-removal” conference held in Victoria. A removal order is now in effect.

“Although I am disappointed [Immigration Minister Jason Kenney] did not intervene on Ms. Bhandal’s behalf, the conclusion of this pre-removal hearing will allow her family to seek other remedies,” said Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca MP Randall Garrison in a statement.

“The family will now pursue all other legal options to avoid seeing Ms. Bhandal sent to India, where she has no family or community support available to her,” said Garrison, who has been speaking out on the family’s behalf.

The family’s lawyer has applied for a judicial review of the decision and will request a delay of deportation hearings, he said.

More than 5,000 letters calling for compassion in the case have been sent to Kenney, Garrison said.

“I remain hopeful that we can convince the government that deporting Surjit Bhandal would not only be an error in law and an injustice, but that it would also fail to reflect the reality of the diversity of families in Canada,” he said.