The Supreme Court judge in Quebec ruled that two people from Akwesasne should face the extradition to the USA, where they face the allegations of human smuggling running through the St. Lawrence, which ended with the death of nine people on March 29, 2023.
Judge Gregory Moore said that the Federal Crown presented sufficient evidence to meet the low evidence at this stage of the extradition process.
“This is a very limited role and intended only to make a decision whether there is a case of Prima Facie or a crime was committed,” said Moore.
“The extradition judge did not consider the process, and the process before the judge is to be fast (deciding) only whether the process should be carried out.”
The Federal Minister of Justice will make the final determination of extradition.
Stephanie Square and Rahsontanohstha Delormier are needed for the US to face the accusation of the US Federal Court in the northern district of New York in connection with the death of a family of four from India and a Romanian family with two small children.
While the alleged Square and Delormier roles in the tragedy are very different, their affairs were heard together during this phase of the extradition process.
Romanian citizens Florian Iordache, Cristina Iordache and their two children born in Canada, Evelin, 2 and Elyen, 16 months, drowned on March 29, 2023, when the boat, which they traveled in stormy weather in the St. Lawrence.
They shared a boat with a family of four from India, father of Pravindbhai Chaudhari, mother of Dakshaben Chaudhari and their two adult children, son of Hitkura and daughter of VidHiben. The boat fired from the island of Cornwall headed to the southern shores of St. Lawrence, but she never made her.
The bodies of two families were pulled out of the river between March 30 and 31.
The body of Casey Oakes, a resident of Akwesasne, who was at Rople Łódź, was found in July.
Akwsanse is the Haudenensaunee community, which is cut off through the border of Canada. He finds about 120 kilometers west of Montreal, and its territory is divided between Ontario, Quebec and New York.
The Chaudhari family, in Canada on visers for visitors, paid $ 100,000, and Iordache, in the face of deportation, paid about $ 15,000 on a human smuggling network allegedly led by a man from Montreal named THSINGSAN RASIAH. Both families wanted to enter the USA
RCMP accused Rasiah, who is in custody, of numerous allegations related to human smuggling in June 2024.
The case goes to the minister
This case is now passing before the Federal Minister of Justice to determine whether they should be subjected to US Square, and Dolormier has 30 days to submit a temporary application and appeal. They can also submit a minister.
The decision on the extradition of the minister may also be questioned at the level of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Square lawyer, Joel Girard, said that he would appeal to the Federal Minister of Justice directly, via the letter that he should reject the application for extradition. Girard asks if the USA has any jurisdiction to implement criminal allegations regarding fatalities on the river because they took place in Canada.
“The alleged crime committed in Canada should be prosecuted in Canada,” said Girard.
The lawyer of Montreal Dolormier, Antonio Cabral, said he was planning to apply for the temporary edition of Dolormier. Cabral also said that he is planning to appeal against Moore's decision and look for a Gladue report for Delormier. Girard said that he would also want to send a Gladue report for Square to the minister.
Gladue reports are basically like reports before the verdict, which include the historical impact of expropriation and colonialism on the lives of native criminals. However, there is a case -law regarding the use of Gladue reports in the extradition process.
Cabral said he was planning to fight Dolormier's extradition “with all power and energy.”
Square will measure eight cases of accusations, including smuggling strangers, a conspiracy aimed at smuggling aliens, smuggling aliens for profit and four cases of smuggling aliens causing death for each of the Romanian-Canadian families who died.
Dolormier is in the face of five cases, including a conspiracy aimed at smuggling aliens, smuggling aliens and smuggling aliens for profit.
A significant part of the American case against Delormier and Square is based on evidence collected by the Canadian authorities, in accordance with the publicly available document. Square was an alleged organizer of the race who allegedly hired Casey Oakes to take two families through the river.
Dolormier was found on the island on March 30 at the edge of hypothermia. The extradition file claims that he was piloting Łódź bought by Square, who broke down on the way to the island of Cornwall, where families were waiting for smuggling.