A member of the European Parliament scheduled to speak in Montreal about the free trade deal between Canada and the European Union will be expelled from the country, according to the Council of Canadians.
The lobby group says anti-globalization activist Jose Bove was supposed to speak at a public event on Tuesday, but was instead detained by the Canadian Border Services Agency and kept at Montreal's Trudeau International Airport until 10 p.m.
It says Bove was told he could then leave the airport on the condition he return at 1 p.m. today to be expelled. It said Bove will attend a news conference in Montreal today to discuss the expulsion and the trade deal.
Bove told Radio-Canada's all-news network he had to wait two hours at Montreal's airport on Tuesday before he was told he was persona non grata in Canada because he took part in the dismantling of a restaurant that was being built in France 17 years ago.
Bove said he has been in Canada since then, while a spokesman for the activist said he was travelling with the proper visa.
A spokeswoman with the CBSA said the agency could not speak to individual cases but noted that admissibility to Canada is determined on a case by case basis and is based on the information made available to the border services office at the time of entry.
Jacqueline Roby said a person may be deemed inadmissible to Canada for a number of reasons including criminality and security issues.