Ming Guo, who needs dialysis three times a week, fears he will die if deported to China in the wake of the new coronavirus outbreak there.

As of Monday, there were 17,392 cases globally, with 17,205 in China, and 362 deaths — all but one in China. Although Canada has suspended some deportations to Hubei province, which has the majority of confirmed cases, a lawyer for the Toronto man said all removals to China should be suspended until the global public health emergency is over.

“I am already very afraid not being able to get the dialysis. This is adding to my anxiety,” said Guo, 52, who is slated to be deported on Monday to Liaoning province, in northeast China, which so far has 36 confirmed cases. “A lot of the health-care resources are directed to dealing with the outbreak and I may have great difficulties accessing care.”

On Friday, Canada Border Services Agency announced it was deferring removals to Hubei province until further notice, days after China cut off traffic in and out of its capital city, Wuhan, where the virus originated.

The temporary deferral covers those facing removal for overstaying in Canada, breaking the country’s immigration laws and exhausting appeals after their failed asylum claims. According to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, 777 asylum claims from China were processed in the first nine months of 2019 and half of them were rejected.

Deportees who are deemed inadmissible to Canada for criminality, human rights violations and national security reasons continue to be subject to removal to Hubei province.

“The Canadian government has advised Canadians to cancel all non-essential travels to China and is arranging for voluntary evacuation of Canadians living in the affected zone in China because it realizes it is no longer safe for anyone to go to China in light of the outbreak,” said Avvy Go, director of the Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, which currently has 10 clients facing deportation to China.

“At the same time, we are deporting someone like Mr. Guo with serious health issues back to China without any assurance of their safety. This is simply cruel and inhumane, and represents a complete disregard for human lives.”

At press time on Monday, the Canadian border agency was unable to provide the Star with the number of scheduled deportations to Hubei province that have been deferred or the number of pending removals for China overall.

Guo came to Canada after the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, when Beijing cracked down on the pro-democracy movement in China; he obtained permanent resident status in 1993 under a special program in place for Chinese dissidents.

In 2011, Guo found a credit card at a shopping mall and was arrested when he tried to make a purchase with it. He was convicted of fraud and given a suspended sentence and put on probation for 24 months. As a result of the conviction, he was issued a removal order. An appeal tribunal temporarily stayed his removal with strict terms and conditions, including regularly reporting to the border agency.

On his last reporting date, Guo, who only speaks broken English, said an officer told him he was “finished” with the reporting but did not inform him he would still need to attend a final hearing before the appeal tribunal to complete the restoration of his permanent resident status. He said he moved without giving his new address to the tribunal and the border agency and hence missed the last appointment.

The border agency tracked him down in December and issued a date for his removal.

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Guo, who suffers kidney failure, is the sole caregiver for his aging parents, both 85, in Canada. His father has glaucoma in both eyes and limited mobility while his mother has dementia, diabetes and hypertension. Guo, used to work as a labourer to support his family before his health deteriorated, also has two sons who were born in Canada.

“The guy is just very unlucky. If he had gotten a lawyer to help him (then) and if he had not moved after the last reporting was done, things would have turned out differently,” said his lawyer. “With such a minor criminal offence, he should not have been subject to a removal order.”

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