Indian man who has lived in northern Ontario for 8 years fears for his life following deportation order
Tarun Godara is gay, but says he will need to be closeted if he returns to India
A man who has lived in Sudbury, Ont., for the last eight years has lost his appeal to stay in Canada, and is due to be deported to his home country of India, where he fears for his life.
Tarun Godara has argued that, as an openly gay man in Canada, he would have to go back to being closeted in India, or risk being disowned from his family and possibly put himself in danger.
"If I was to go back, my family has made it very clear that I cannot present myself as I do," he said.
"For someone who's been closeted for most of my life I struggled to figure out my own identity."
Godara moved to Sudbury in 2017 to study at Cambrian College.
WATCH| Sudbury man faces deportation
He was able to build a life in Sudbury where he made friends, adopted a dog and worked various jobs as a barista, server, cook and artist.
"These are not livable jobs in India. Here, yes, not in India," he said.
In India, he would need to rely on his family. And only his mother knows that he is gay.
"I came out to my mother. She accepted me as long as no one else found out," Godara said.
"I cannot be actively presenting myself as a gay man on social media. My father can never find out that I'm gay. The rest of my family cannot know I'm gay."
Godara said he has struggled with his mental health since he was a child, and now the thought of returning to India has returned him to a dark place.
"I'm back into the place where I'm suicidal again," he said.
A long battle
After graduating from Cambrian College, Godara's work permit was set to expire in August 2022. That same month, a special federal government policy which allowed immigrants to extend those permits was set to come into effect.
Godara sent his application for the program before it was in place, because he had to renew his work permit at least 30 days before it expired.
He had received advice that keeping his application in the system was the right step. But that turned out to be wrong and his work permit application was rejected.
When it became clear he was due for deportation, Godara's friends in Sudbury started a fundraiser and helped him hire 2SLGBTQ+ rights lawyer Douglas Elliott to look at his options.
One of those options was to submit a pre-removal risk assessment application, which involved proving he would experience persecution, torture or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if returned to India.
But the immigration officer who reviewed his case concluded Godara wouldn't face those risks in India because the country's Supreme Court had recently decriminalized same sex unions.
"Homosexuality might have been legalized five or six years ago, but can you say that it is a safe space for Indians when you're still watching news of people being brutalized, queer people being brutalized by police officers, by the state government? It is not safe," Godara said.
As Godara's laweyr, Elliott disagreed with immigration officer's assessment and asked for a federal judge to review it.
"The judge dismissed my appeal saying that the decision made by the officer was correct," Godara said.
Other options
Godara said he does not yet have a deportation date and is waiting to hear from his lawyer about his next steps.
He said he did apply for permanent residency in Canada based on humanitarian and compassionate reasons a year ago, but it takes two years to process those requests.
"I can be deported and I can stay in India and wait to find out if it will be accepted or not," he said.
Last year, an average of 49 people were deported from Canada every day, according to Immigration Canada.
Spokesperson Jacqueline Roby told CBC News the decision to deport a person is not taken lightly, and only happens once all avenues for appeal have been exhausted.
With files from Markus Schwabe and Aya Dufour