Bulgarian bounced from orth Shore Immigration Department decision made m spite of wide community support for 33-year-old man TRIFON TRIFONOV had the support of hundreds of North Shore residents and a good job, but a last-minute effort to delay a Canadian immigration department depor- tation order failed Nov. 18. So last Thursday the 33-year- old Bulgarian refugee applicant was on a plane back to the coun- try he left in fear after opposing the former Communist regime. Trifonov, an electrical engineer, had worked for a North Van- couver-based kitchen renovation company since May 1990. He an- swered an ad placed in the North Shore News by Alpine Appliance Installations. His former employer Bruce Johnstone credits the skills of Trifonov as a major factor in the recent success of his company. Johnstone now fears three employees, who were to be trained by Trifonov, may be out of work. Said Jchnstone, ‘‘They were hired under the understanding that an extension of a work permit would help us for at least another year. “Of course the government doesn’t really care about the fact that we are going to lose two or three employees and have a situa- tion of where they’re going to go back on unemployment or whatever,’’ he added. Trifonov, who entered Canada via the United States while there as a tourist, had attempted to secure refugee status in Canada. He left behind a wife and two young daughters in Bulgaria. Said Johnstone, ‘*We’re con- cerned for his welfare when he ar- rives. If you talk to anybody, the situation over there is deplorable. it’s a political basket case. Immigration changes will force refugees onto welfare, lawyer claims By Michael Becker News Reporter “*He was involved with a demo- cratic movemeni. | know from at- tending his hearings and just tatk- ing to him that there were in- stances where they would come to his house late at night. He’d open the door thinking there was somebody there, and they’d beat him over the head with a bat. “They smashed his car, effec- tively had his kids removed from school. He literally was in a posi- tion where he feared for his life, that’s why he left,’’ Johnstone said. Trifonov’s lawyer Catherine Sas had advised her client to attempt to return to the United States on Wednesday and then apply to re- enter Canada, but Canadian of- ficials would not release his pass- port, Said Trifonov Wednesday, ‘1 don’t know how I should be feel- ing right now. Maybe | should have been a musician.”’ Said Sas, ‘‘There are tots af times where there are existing deportation orders or exclusion orders where an agreement is made between Canada and U.S. immigration officials and all they do is run them down to Blaine, put them around the flagpole and bring then back. The deportation order is then respected and deahk with, but due to the work of im- PROPOSED CHANGES to the federal Immigration Act will force more refugee claimants to live on welfare, according to the lawyer representing a Bulgarian refugee claimant who lost a bid last week to remain in Canada and continue working in North Vancouver. Catherine Sas, «& member of the Canadian Bar Association migration they are allowed back in.” She said that Trifonov was con- tributing considerably to ‘‘the Canadian fabric." Added Sas, ‘tHe has gone through the system, and he has failed. They are portrayed as be- ing net takers out of our system rather than net givers. ‘*There are a lot of people who have been through the process who should be leaving: however, when those people have demon- strated an ability to significantly contribute during the course of that time to our country then we have to look at these things through a different light.’’ Don Robertson, minister at Highlands United Church in North Vancouver, said Trifonov became a member of the church congregation about 1% years ago. For the past 10 years the church has actively supported about 60 refugees. But said Robertson, ‘We've been involved in an advocacy program trying to get him that status. We had a petition signed by about 200 members of our congregation to the federal minister and the immigration department. We believe that his claims for refugee status are valid."" Meanwhile, Johnstone and Highlands United Church members will be working to return Trifonov to Canada. Said Johnstone, ‘‘The support of the community is still behind him, and we're cffectively going to be creating a task force to see what we can do about getting him out of this jam." immigration subsection of B.C., said that Bill C-86 contains a provision that makes it impossi- ble for a refugee claimant to work in Canada until the per- son’s claim has been accepted, Presently, refugee claimants are permitted to work after pass- ing the Canada Jmmigration credible basis test, usually within the initial six months of the ref- ugee claim process. An individual may be issued Wednesday, Nov. 25, 1992 - North Shore News — 3 NEWS photo Mike Wakefield BULGARIAN REFUGEE applicant Trifon Tritonov (right, with former employer Bruce Johnstone) lost his bid on Nov. 18 to deiay a Canadian immigration department deportation order and was returned to the country he left in fear the next day. an employment visa and can” work while the ful! refugee hear- ing is being completed. Sas said Bill C-86 would block a refugee claimant from working during the one or two years it often takes to resolve a case. Sas and fellow B.C. lawyers are lobbying federal Minister of Employment and Immigration Bernard Valeourt to issue employment visas to refugee claimants upon their initial ref- ugee ciaim at Canada Immigra- tion. Otherwise, said Sas, “These claimants will be impoverished and will place a demand upon already strapped social services. “Through no fault of their own, claimants will be stigmatiz- ed us financial burdens, a situa- tion that has led to predictable and unfortunate social unrest in Germany.” VD councillor removed as acting mayor 4-3 vote ousts Crist after public criticism of monster houses stings council AN UNPRECEDENTED action on Monday night by North Vancouver District Council removed Coun. Ernie Crist from the office of acting mayor and left Crist and Mayor Murray Dykeman exchanging non-confidence ac- cusations on the street at midnight. Reacting to recent comments made by Crist to the media while he filled in for Mayor Dykeman, council voted 4-3 in favor of a motion proposed by Coun. Rick Buchols ‘‘that Coun. Crist be removed from his position as act- ing mayor for the remainder of his current term and that he not be reappointed in the 1992-93 year.”” But Crist Jater told the North Shore News that he stood behind every statement that he had made to the press, and Crist described council’s action as ‘‘absolutely, totally meaningless.”’ Crist had been quoted in the Vancouver Sun and the News last week in stories about view foss in Delbrook and the construction of so-cailed ‘‘monster homes.”* The News story quoted Crist, as acting mayor, arguing against the By Martin Millerchip Contributing Writer district’s policy of selling land to pay for municipal operating ex- penditures. Said Crist in the Nov. 22 News story, ‘‘There is an atmosphere of corruption in the District of North Vancouver. Corruption not mean- ing stealing, but pursuing policies that are bankrupt, immoral and intellectually not acceptable. **As long as we are selling land for road patching, as long as that isn’t changed, there is an element of compulsion on the part of the district. to accommodate the de- velopers because we depend on them.’’ Buchols summed up Crist’s comments in the Sun and the News as ‘“‘flights of fancy (that) NORTH VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL accuse alf individual councillors of: “1) being cowards; ‘*2) being incompetent; ‘*3) being corrupt; “*4) pursuing policies bankrupt; **5) being immoral.”’ Continued Buchols, “AU of these statements were attributed to Crist while serving as acting mayor. “In my opinion we must not let these accusations pass. In my opi- nion this council should consider an action for these statements. “In the meantime, however, we must recognize that Crist has no confidence in this council. Ac- cordingly, we should register our disapproval of his use of his Standing as acting mayor as a platform to attack council.’’ Buchols said he did not dispute Crist’s right to criticize council. But he said that ‘‘when he is Mat are acting mayor he assumes the same duties, authority and respon- sibilities as the mayor. “Tt could not support a mayor who attacked council with such outrageous language, and J cannot be scen to support an acting mayor who behaves in this man- ner.”’ Crist, who was not in the least apologetic for his remarks, sug- gested that council's action could be challenged in a court of law. He told council, ‘‘Quite frankly you can take it or lump it. It’s the absolute truth.”’ Crist later told the News that he expected the monster house issue to be rectified soon. Added Crist, ‘‘When you have weak leadership and you are not prepared to put up with it then you have to provide a strong alternative, and that’s what | have done. I have absolutely no regrets."’ Continued Crist, “What they have done here is the weapon of the weak. It’s a frog squeaking from the swamp. “What is important is that 1 have spoken the truth.” Asked if he saw any difference between statements made as a councillor and statements made as acting mayor, Crist responded, “No, I don't. I’m an elected of- ficial. The people have elected me, and I'm speaking the truth. “Whether I’m mayor or acting mayor or not { couldn’t care less. That's how ! see it, and that’s how 1 call it. There are no apolo- gies on my part.” Mayor Dykeman told the News that it was ‘‘sad”’ to come home to this sort of story and suggested Crist used the position of acting mayor for moral superiority. . ‘“Everybody else is wrong and immoral,’ or whatever it is, im- plies that I’m all right. That’s not the function of the mayo-,” said Dykeman. Dykeman acknowledged that Crist had less than two weeks left fo serve as acting mayor, but he called council’s action ‘a motion of no confidence in the job that’s been done.”’