CC member Basir Bita writes:
Dear friends,
I am writing because I know that many of you care deeply about social change, peace, human rights, and the protection of our environment. One person who has demonstrated that commitment is Zain Haq, a young climate activist who took nonviolent action to protect British Columbia’s remaining old-growth forests.
Zain came to Canada as an international student, helped establish Save Old Growth, and participated in nonviolent demonstrations that included blocking roads. He later pleaded guilty to mischief charges connected to those protests. In January 2025, after his temporary status expired and his effort to remain in Canada was unsuccessful, he was deported to Pakistan and separated from his Canadian wife, Sophia Papp. The Canadian Press reported on his deportation and the couple’s circumstances.
I have been supporting the effort to bring Zain home because I believe Canada should make room for people who act from conscience, openly value democracy, reject extremism, and seek a livable future through nonviolent action. Whatever one may think about a particular protest tactic, separating a person from his spouse and community is a severe and lasting consequence. People who engage in principled, nonviolent activism should not be treated as threats simply because their actions challenge the public and government to confront an urgent issue.
This also connects closely with what I value in the work of Conscience Canada. Conscience Canada encourages people to examine their personal responsibility for the ways public resources are used and advocates for peaceful, constructive alternatives to violence. Its work calls for freedom of conscience, nonviolent conflict prevention, and laws that allow people to direct the military portion of their taxes toward peacebuilding. It reminds us that conscience is not merely something we privately believe; it asks us to take responsibility and act publicly for a more peaceful society.
I see a similar principle in Zain’s case: a healthy democracy should be able to respond to conscientious, nonviolent dissent without destroying a person’s family life or excluding him permanently from the community he calls home. Supporting Zain does not require agreeing with every decision he has made. It asks whether Canada can respond with fairness, compassion, proportionality, and respect for family unity.
The current campaign is asking Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab to use available immigration measures—such as granting a Temporary Resident Permit and expediting or reconsidering the couple’s spousal application—to allow Zain to return. The campaign’s requests and background are described on the Bring Zain Home action page and the Dogwood campaign page.
Any Canadian citizen or permanent resident can participate in this campaign. Please consider writing to your Member of Parliament and the Minister of Immigration:
Write to your MP and the Minister of Immigration
Please also circulate this message widely among friends, relatives, community organizations, environmental groups, faith communities, peace advocates, and anyone concerned about civil liberties and family unity. A personal message to an elected representative can carry more weight than we sometimes imagine.
There is also an upcoming public online event:
Bring Zain Home with Elizabeth May
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
6:30 p.m. Pacific / 9:30 p.m. Eastern
Register for the Zoom event
Anyone may attend to learn more and hear directly from those involved in the campaign.
Zain should be allowed to return home to Canada and reunite with Sophia. Please take a few minutes to write, share, and invite others to act. Conscience becomes meaningful when it moves us from private concern into compassionate action.
With gratitude and love,
Basir
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