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October 23, 2019 - 11:58 AM
A convicted drug trafficker with ties to Kelowna's chapter of the Hells Angels lost his fight against deportation, setting the stage for a permanent return to England.
The Federal Court of Appeal this week dismissed David Roger Revell's request for a review of a decision of the Immigration and Refugee Board, which found him "inadmissible to Canada" because of serious criminality.
Revell, who immigrated to Canada in 1974 at the age of 10, has lived in Canada as a permanent resident and has never applied for Canadian citizenship. The 55-year-old argued that leaving Canada could cause him exceptional psychological harm that would be grossly disproportionate to his crimes, ultimately violating his Charter rights.
Judge Yves de Montigny rejected these arguments, however, saying that apart from the fact that he will leave behind his three adult children, his grandchildren and his partner, and that he is a foreigner in England, Revell has not demonstrated any particular circumstances that would go beyond the consequences typical of a dismissal.
Revell was charged in 2008 with possessing cocaine for the purposes of trafficking, committing that offence at the direction of or in association with a criminal group, and trafficking cocaine.
"The charges followed an investigation into the activities of the East End Hells Angels chapter in Kelowna," reads the decision. "The appellant was ultimately found guilty of the drug possession and drug trafficking charges, and was acquitted of the criminal organization charge. The appellant was sentenced to five years in prison, and was released on parole once eligible."
Deportation was then discussed, and on Feb. 16, 2009, it was decided that the inadmissibility hearing could be forgone.
"It appears, however, that due to an oversight, the appellant did not receive a letter warning him that his 2008 conviction could be revisited for the purposes of removal if he were to reoffend," reads the decision.
Revell did reoffend in 2013 and pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm, ultimately received a suspended sentence and two years of probation.
The convictions prompted a review of his permanent resident’s status in Canada, and the Immigration and Refugee Board issued a deportation order, which was upheld by the Federal Court of Canada in a 2017 ruling. The appeal of that ruling failed in January.
Revell lives and works in Alberta.
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