OTTAWA - Outspoken former British MP George Galloway has made good on his threat to sue Canada's immigration minister over an attempt to ban him from entering the country for a Canadian speaking tour.
A statement of claim filed Tuesday alleges Jason Kenney and his assistant Alykhan Velshi abused the power of their offices by banning Galloway from Canada in March 2009.
The statement of claim, which seeks $1.5 million in damages, also alleges that Kenney and Velshi defamed Galloway in British newspapers.
Galloway, an outspoken supporter of the Palestinian people, was planning to visit Canada to make a series of speeches about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Kenney pulled the welcome mat on him because of Galloway's alleged financial support to the Palestinian group Hamas, which the federal government considers a terrorist organization.
Galloway has said that Kenney's allegations caused him "18 months of hell" and threatened his personal security.
Louis Sokolov, a lawyer representing Galloway, says the government barred Galloway to silence him on the false pretence that he was a threat to national security.
"His reputation was tarnished not just in Great Britain but in fact all over the world by the allegations that were made against him," Sokolov said in an interview.
Sokolov added that Galloway lost his seat in the U.K. House of Commons following the comments.
"He will certainly argue that he lost his job at least in part as a result of the defamation," Sokolov said.
The timing of the lawsuit -- which comes smack in the middle of a federal election campaign -- is pure coincidence, Sokolov said.
"The claim was commenced in order to comply with limitations in Ontario, and it happened to fall within the timing of the election," he said.
"The claim was planned and was in the works well before the election was called."
Galloway was admitted into Canada last fall after a Federal Court ruling said the government's decision to keep him out was in part politically motivated.
When addressing a crowd of 500 in Toronto last October, Galloway donned a pair of red mittens as if they were boxing gloves, challenged Kenney to a public debate and promised to sue him for slander.
The statement of claim says Galloway has "undergone extreme embarrassment and ridicule" as a result of statements made by Kenney and Velshi.
The document also alleges that the defendants were "callous" and "insensitive" and acted with malice in order to portray Galloway in "as unflattering a light as possible."
The allegations contained in the statement of claim have not been proven in court and no statement of defence has been filed.
Kenney and Velshi could not be immediately reached for comment.
