The RCMP have issued an apology and settled a lawsuit with a West Vancouver woman wrongly accused of human trafficking.
Mumtaz Ladha was found not guilty in November 2013 of four charges she faced under the Immigration and Refugee Act.
The RCMP’s E-Division held a press conference in May 2011 at which officers made a number of allegations that Ladha had brought a young woman into Canada from Africa and forced her to work in slave-like conditions.
The trial judge found in her ruling that the complainant’s claims were improbable and that the she was likely abusing Ladha’s generosity, scheming for a way to stay in Canada.
“It was just inappropriate for them to allege that she was brought in without papers, kept as a slave, fed table scraps and, of course, that narrative hit the mark. Globally, Mrs. Ladha was excoriated for being a wealthy woman who almost starved a slave. It was all false,” said David Martin, Ladha’s lawyer.
It was those comments that the RCMP are now apologizing for.
“In the course of the criminal investigation, certain public statements were made by the RCMP that the force now recognizes were improper. On behalf of the RCMP, I would like to unreservedly apologize to you and your family for those statements,” the letter from Supt. Sean Sullivan to Ladha read.
The settlement and apology should send the message that it is “unacceptable for the police, when announcing criminal charges, to make comments about the evidence said to support the charges thereby acting as both investigators and judges,” Martin said.
Ladha released a statement through her lawyer.
“I look to forward resuming my normal life with my reputation, and that of my family, fully restored. The B.C. Supreme Court’s emphatic Nov. 22, 2013 judgment finding that I was completely innocent of all charges and now the RCMP’s unqualified apology for the improper narrative they spread when announcing charges against me concludes this terrible saga. I only hope that something like this never happens to anyone else, ever again,” her statement read.
The province’s civil forfeiture office also sought to seize Ladha’s Bramwell Road mansion. That claim was dropped in 2016 “on terms that were also acceptable,” following a countersuit from Ladha, Martin said.
“For many Canadians, their home is the ultimate refuge and indeed, when they confront challenges, it’s a place they sometimes go to obtain the resources to fight,” he said.
Ladha spent $392,000 in legal fees to fight the criminal case and a further $160,000 fighting the civil forfeiture, her suit stated.
The total compensation Ladha will receive is confidential.
“Unfortunately, that is a term the government almost universally requires,” Martin said.
Martin said he was struck by the way Ladha endured while “going through hell.”
“She’s carried herself against all the odds with a dignity and honour that has been truly remarkable,” he said. “Lesser citizens would have been crushed by the onslaught that she experienced. It’s a tribute to her integrity and her strength as an individual.”
