Hours before José Bové was scheduled to be expelled from Canada, the federal government intervened saying the French anti-globalization activist can remain in Canada after all.
Bové, a former sheep farmer and member of the European Parliament, arrived in Montreal on Tuesday to speak out against a proposed free trade deal between Canada and the European Union.
When he arrived at Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport on Tuesday, he said agents with the Canada Border Services Agency told him that he was not welcome in Canada because he had been jailed for driving his tractor into a McDonald’s restaurant that was under construction in 1999. Bové said he was protesting the importation of beef containing hormones.
“They told me they saw it on Google and Wikipedia,” Bové recalled. “Is Wikipedia now a new tool for immigration and the police? This could be very dangerous.”
However, during a press conference on Wednesday morning to denounce the decision, Bové learned from a reporter that Ottawa would allow him to remain in Canada. “If it’s true, thank you Mr. Trudeau,” Bové said.
Following the press conference, Bové called the immigration office at the airport and was told he could remain in Canada for a week. However, he has to pay $200 to reclaim his passport, said Jean-Marc Desfilles, his press spokesperson.
Bové had been scheduled to speak Tuesday night at a debate about the free trade agreement and then attend the Council of Canadians annual meeting in Newfoundland. However, after keeping him waiting for several house, CBSA agents confiscated his passport and ordered him to return to the airport on Wednesday for a flight back to France.
He said he has visited Canada several times since his arrest in France, including the Summit of the Americas conference in Quebec City in 2000 and to promote a book.
Bové wonders whether his threatened expulsion is linked to a trip to Canada by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who arrived in Canada on Wednesday to promote the trade deal. He will meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard on Thursday.
Bové is a vocal opponent of the agreement, saying it’s “a danger to local citizens, the economy and the environment.”
Canada and the EU are scheduled to implement their hard-fought free trade deal — talks began in 2009 — by early 2017. Full ratification needs the approval of the European Parliament but doubts about whether the deal can be approved surfaced after Britain voted in June to leave the European Union.
The deal, called the Canada-European Comprehensive Trade Agreement (CETA), is scheduled to be signed in Brussels later this month, but there have been many protests against the trade deal in Europe over the past few weeks. The EU is Canada’s second-biggest trading partner, after the United States.
Bové said it was incredible that Ottawa had considered not allowing an elected member of the European Parliament to stay in Canada to discuss the trade deal.
“I am here as representative of the European Parliament, which has to approve this agreement,” he said. “If there had been a plane from Montreal to Paris last night (Tuesday), I am sure I would have been on it.”
The Canadian Press contributed to this report
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Israeli soldiers clash with French anti-globalization campaigner José Bové (2nd R) at Surda checkpoint between the West Bank town of Ramallah and Bir Zeit University June 18, 2001. Bové was on a four-day visit to show support for the Palestinian cause and Israeli fighting for true peace.
