Former Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe is asking a judge to lift sanctions Canada imposed on him for alleging he supported gangs that sparked a humanitarian crisis in Haiti.

Lamothe filed a motion in federal court in Montreal on Thursday, arguing that the penalties are an arbitrary decision that doesn’t give him an opportunity to present his side of the story.

The order asks a judge to remove Lamothe from the sanctions list and force Ottawa to turn over the documents it used to make its decision.

In recent months Canada has imposed sanctions on 13 members of Haiti’s political and business elite and froze all Canadian assets they own in an attempt to stem the flow of money and arms to criminal organizations.

Violent and belligerent gangs have seized control of the capital, Port-au-Prince, sexually abusing women and children while restricting access to health care, electricity and clean water.

The Liberals say their sanctions are aimed at isolating the political leaders who created the conditions for the chaos to seek consensus in Haiti on how foreign governments can help.

Haiti’s unelected prime minister has called for an international military intervention to allow humanitarian aid and set the stage for an election. The United States has stated that Canada would be an ideal country to lead such a force.

But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa does not want another failed intervention in Haiti after numerous United Nations operations to stabilize the country.

Secretary of State Mélanie Joly sanctioned Lamothe on Nov. 17, along with two others whom Ottawa accused of “using their status as current or former holders of public office to protect and facilitate the illegal activities of armed criminal gangs, including through money laundering and other dealings”. Corruption.”

Lamothe has publicly denied being disciplined after learning the news on social media and said he worked to curb organized crime in Haiti during his tenure as prime minister from mid-2012 to late 2014.

His lawyer now argues in French-language documents that “the decision to include the applicant’s name in the (penal) scale was taken contrary to the principles of natural justice and procedural justice”.