A Chinese immigrant accused of being a spy can remain in Canada after the federal government lost an appeal to strip him of his permanent resident status.

In upholding a lower tribunal’s decision, the Immigration Appeal Division concluded that Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and his officials have failed to establish Yang Wang was a member of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) or Taiwan’s Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) to render him “inadmissible” to Canada.

While the 40-year-old Toronto man had admitted to providing information for both intelligence agencies, the appeal tribunal said the information — including details about the activities of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice banned in China — was obtained through “open source research” and personal knowledge.

“The respondent was a responsive witness. He was not evasive or obfuscatory. He provided thoughtful and complete answers that were largely consistent,” wrote adjudicator Benjamin R. Dolin in a decision issued on April 26.

“The evidence does not support a finding that those actions were ‘against Canada’ or ‘contrary to Canada’s interests.’”

Wang came to Canada from China as an international student in 1998, first at Seneca College and later at York University, before he became a permanent resident here in 2006. In 2014, the Canada Border Services Agency initiated the revocation of Wang’s permanent resident status, alleging he was engaged in espionage activities.

Last year, an Immigration and Refugee Board tribunal dismissed the federal government’s request to revoke Wang’s status, saying that espionage requires the gathering of information by spying, or by acting in a covert way. The government subsequently appealed the decision and lost.

In an interview, Wang said he was pleased with the decision after years of living in limbo in Canada.

“I wish the government could have just released me from these years of nightmare,” said Wang. “I look forward to putting all this behind me and having a fresh start for a normal life.”

Canadian border officials alleged that Wang, while a student at York, was offered money by a Taiwanese student, “Mak,” to provide information on the Chinese government. Over the course of time, he is alleged to have received $3,000 for his services.

When Wang visited China in 2006, Canadian authorities claimed, he was taken to a motel by Chinese agents and kept in touch with the MSS agents until 2010.

In the government’s submission to the appeal tribunal, officials accused Wang of downplaying his involvement in both organizations and argued the Federal Court requires only a broad and loose interpretation of what constitutes “membership” based on “the reasonable grounds to believe” in the person’s alleged involvement.

However, Hadayt Nazami, a lawyer for Wang, argued that the government has failed to establish that his client acted in a “surreptitious manner” in gathering information, to demonstrate that he passed on any secretly obtained information or that anything he did was against Canada’s interests.

Nazami also provided two reports from academics specializing in intelligence and national security that suggested Wang was nothing more than a potential source being groomed by Mak, and that Mak was also the subject of an investigation by Chinese authorities because of their relationship.

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“This is a case of competition between rival spy agencies and has little to do with Canada, except that it partly took place on Canadian soil,” said the appeal tribunal decision.

Dolin agreed that no formal membership in either of the intelligence agencies is required to rule someone inadmissible from living in Canada, but said the government simply failed to establish the facts “on a balance of probabilities.”

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