The Canadian government wants a United States court to throw out a lawsuit that accuses it of ruining the life and multimillion-dollar business of a British Columbia woman after it wrongly branded her a terrorist.
A document filed in a Washington state court says the legal dispute has no place being heard outside Canada because it was filed by the woman against Canadian defendants.
Perienne de Jaray, formerly a Washington-based executive with electronics maker Apex USA, alleges that she endured years of baseless investigation on both sides of the border.
She contends in a court document that the Canadian government was motivated to please the U.S. administration by appearing tough on terrorism in order to gain access to lucrative American defence contracts.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
A complaint for damages filed earlier this year says the subsidiary of parent company Apex Canada was forced to fold after the Canadian government passed along information to the FBI alleging an illegal shipment of weapons-grade electronics from Apex, which later turned out to be false.
De Jaray's lawyer says an American court is the proper venue to hear the grievance because much of the harassment took place on U.S. soil and ultimately resulted in her no longer being allowed to live in the country.
The lawsuit names the Canada Border Services Agency, Foreign Affairs and several bureaucrats.
The federal government declined comment on behalf of all the agencies and the named individuals mentioned in the lawsuit, saying it does not comment on matters before a court.
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