Canada today ordered Eritrea's envoy in Toronto to leave the country by June 5, after he was discovered soliciting a war tax from expatriates living in Canada to support Eritrea's military.
"Canada has taken steps to expel (declare persona non grata) Mr. Semere Ghebremariam O Micael, consul and head of the Eritrean Consulate General in Toronto, effective immediately," Canada's foreign affairs office said.
O Micael, who had been previously warned against collecting funds from Eritrean expatriates living in Canada, was given until noon (2130 IST) next Wednesday to leave Canada.
Such fundraising is a breach of UN sanctions against the African nation, and illegal under Canadian law.
Ottawa asked the consul to stop it in September after it was first revealed. The consul said it would comply.
But Canadian media last week said O Micael had again started soliciting "donations" for the "national defense against Ethiopian invasion."
Public broadcaster CBC quoted an immigrant from Eritrea, who asked not to be named, as saying: "You have to go to the consulate and they arrange how you have to pay the money. They want two per cent (of my income)."
"My family (in Eritrea) would get in trouble if I don't pay," he added.
