Informant loses bid to sue Canada over delay in handling refugee claim

OTTAWA — An Australian who fed information to police about outlaw bikers and later won refugee status in Canada has lost a bid to sue federal officials over delays in processing his asylum application.

The Supreme Court of Canada has declined to hear Stevan Utah’s appeal of a lower-court ruling that dismissed his action because a two-year limitation period had passed. 

Utah, an Australian citizen, witnessed a serious crime by members of the Bandidos gang in his homeland, leading to his role as a police informant.

After gang members got wind that Utah was giving information to police, he was brutally attacked. 

Utah was seriously injured but he escaped, arriving in Canada in June 2006. 

He applied for refugee status in 2007 but 10 years passed before he was successful.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2021.

The Canadian Press