UK firebrand to try again to visit Canada
British Member of Parliament George Galloway gives an interview in London on, Jan. 29, 2010. Galloway is due to arrive in Canada Saturday after the federal government yanked the welcome mat on him last year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Alastair Grant
TORONTO - Outspoken former British M-P George Galloway is due to arrive in Canada today after the federal government yanked the welcome mat on him last year.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney branded him a terrorist because he had provided financial support to Hamas, which Ottawa has declared a terrorist organization.
Galloway decided not to come to Canada for a speaking tour because he would likely be denied entry.
Last month a Federal Court judge dismissed an appeal by Galloway's supporters, but said the Harper government had acted politically to suppress his opinions.
Immigration officials can still deny him entry, but a Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman would only say that a decision will be made "if and when" he arrives in Toronto.
Galloway says the terrorist allegations were extremely damaging to him, costing him his seat in the British House of Commons and putting him in personal danger.
