A Prince George man is facing deportation because of his criminal record even though he's lived in Canada since he was one month old.
Brett Reece Alderman, 37, remains in the country, but his battle with immigration officials is far from over.
Alderman had feared he would be taken into custody and deported to the United Kingdom once his conditional sentence had ended on Christmas Eve.
That has not happened, but Alderman said he was visited by a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) official who delivered a letter stating he must apply for his British birth certificate by Jan. 13 or lose a $1,000 bond and be taken into custody.
Alderman said he had already taken the steps only to see CBSA officials lose the documentation but will go through the process once again.
"I'm going to do what they want me to do."
Alderman was deemed inadmissible to Canada in April 2009 after he was found to not be a Canadian citizen - he had never applied for citizenship in this country - and had served a term greater than six months for a crime.
He was given an 18-month conditional sentence - effectively house arrest - for theft $5,000 or under.
Alderman applied to appeal the verdict but the application was considered abandoned in November 2010 after immigration officials tried three times to set up a date for a hearing with no response from Alderman.
Alderman blames bureaucrats and his former lawyer for the miscommunication, saying he transferred his conditional sentence to Prince George from Terrace but was not told he also had to notify the Immigration and Refugee Board. "All it would've taken is for them to contact the correctional system and they would've said 'Yes, we have a Mr. Alderman on file here, this is his address this is his phone number, everything,'" Alderman said.
He has since launched an effort to revive the appeal. Alderman readily admits to an extensive criminal record but maintains he's turned his life around after meeting his fianc seven months ago.
He noted that if he is deported, he'll leave behind four children and another on the way.
He also contends the offences he's committed are relatively minor and not violent. His record shows convictions for break and enter, theft $5,000 or under, and mischief $5,000 or under.
Alderman is facing charges of assault and assault causing bodily harm from an incident in Terrace but says he's confident he'll be acquitted of the charges.
