Canada plans to deport deserter

Former Army Sgt. Patrick Hart has learned that the Canadian government plans to deport him to the United States on Oct. 30.

The decision comes more than two years since Hart deserted the Army in opposition to the Iraq War. It was announced by Canada Border Services, which denied Hart’s requests through the federal government’s Pre-Removal Risk Assessment Office in Niagara Falls, Ont.

Hart, who grew up in Riverside, went to Toronto — a haven for U. S. war resisters during the Vietnam War — and was joined by his wife, Jill, and son, Rian, 6. Hart’s attorney, Alyssa Manning, is preparing an appeal of the decision to Canada’s Federal Court.

Hart, 34, was a soldier for nine years and participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom during his three enlistments before concluding the U. S. presence in Iraq was morally unjustifiable. He went to Toronto in August 2005, before he was to ship out on a second deployment to the Middle East.

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