Ottawa Seeking Way to Send Ex-Dictator’s Family Home

Relatives of deposed Tunisian president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali arrived in Montreal last week.

Privacy concerns prohibit the government from revealing which members of Ben Ali’s extended family are now in Canada, but whoever they are Tunisian-Canadians want them out. Canadian groups that support the popular uprising that ousted Ben Ali on Jan. 14 are calling on the government to deport the unnamed relatives so that they can face justice in Tunisia, and Canadian immigration officials have confirmed they’re reviewing whether there are any legal grounds to do so. Some of Ben Ali’s family have permanent residence status in Canada, which can be revoked if residents have not lived in the country for two of the past five years. A 2008 U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks described Ben Ali’s family as a “quasi-mafia.”