IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT RE U.S. WAR RESISTERS IN CANADA – AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

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Canadian Bill C-440 would allow U.S. Iraq War Resisters to stay legally in Canada

See below for how you can help.

In June 2008, the Canadian Parliament passed a motion calling on the government to cease deportation proceedings against U.S. war resisters and allow them to stay legally in Canada. All three opposition parties joined together to pass this historic motion, which reflected the wishes of the majority of Canadians.

The motion was non-binding, and shamefully, the Conservative Harper government ignored it. The following month, war resister Robin Long was deported from Canada. Robin was court-martialed and incarcerated in a military prison for 15 months. The lengthy prison sentence meant that Robin – who has a son in Canada – cannot return to the country for up to 10 years.

In February of 2009, war resister Cliff Cornell was deported from Canada. Cliff served nine months in the brig at Fort Lejeune.

In March of the same year, Canada’s Parliament passed a second motion, re-affirming its support for U.S. war resisters. Again, Stephen Harper’s Conservative government ignored the will of Parliament.

Now there is an opportunity to put the weight of law behind these two non-binding motions. Gerard Kennedy, a Liberal Member of Parliament, has put forth a “private member’s bill” – Bill C-440 – calling on the Harper government to stop the deportations and allow U.S. war resisters to stay.

A private member’s bill is legislation coming from an opposition party (i.e., not the government). Such bills face many hurdles and are not easily passed – but C-440 stands a better chance than most.

The War Resisters Support Campaign (WRSC) is working with M.P. Kennedy to demonstrate the wide support for war resisters throughout Canada, and to ensure that a majority of Members of Parliament vote for the bill.

Debate on Bill C-440 begins on May 25, 2010. A vote in the House of Commons will take place some months later, then the bill will go to the Senate. If this bill becomes law, Iraq War resisters will be able to apply for permanent residence in Canada.

Meanwhile, while working on this political campaign, the WRSC must continue to fight each individual war resister’s case in court. This has been a long, arduous battle. The Conservative government has tried to exhaust the Campaign’s resources. Undaunted, the WRSC has won several significant victories: a second Immigration and Refugee Board hearing for war resister Joshua Key, a court-ordered review of a decision in war resister Kimberley Rivera’s case, and many stays of removal. However, many war resisters are still at risk of deportation, including Patrick Hart and Jeremy Hinzman and their families.

Many U.S. supporters have asked what they can do to support the our efforts. As a U.S. citizen, the most important thing you can do to help war resisters in Canada is donate funds. The WRSC is constantly fundraising for legal defense, refugee application fees, work permits for war resisters and other necessary expenses. Our entire effort depends upon the donations of volunteers and supporters.

There are three ways to donate. No amount is too small (or too large!).

1. To mail a donation, please make a check or money order payable to the War Resisters Support Campaign. Mail it to:
Box 13
427 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 1X7 CANADA

2. To give online, follow this link:

http://resisters.chipin.com

3. Regular donations provide stable funding for the Campaign which allows us to plan ahead and deal with emergency situations as they arise. Please consider making a commitment of $5 or more per month to help sustain the ongoing work to win asylum for war resisters. To set up a monthly donation, fill out the form here --

http://letthemstay.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/WRSC-PAD-Agreement.pdf

-- and send it to:

Box 13
427 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 1X7 CANADA

The War Resisters Support Campaign (Canada)
resisters.ca
letthemstay.ca

-Thanks to Laura at We Move To Canada

War Resister, Rodney Watson, in sanctuary and his host, Rev. Ric Matthews speak from Vancouver, Canada.

-thanks again to Laura at We Move to Canada

You Are on Indian Land

I have been trying to find out about what is going on at the border on the Akwesasne land. In addition to all the publications I have started reading, this 1969 film helps with some of the background.

You Are on Indian Land was one of the first films in Canada to give voice to the concerns of Indigenous People.

Produced in 1969, the film documents a protest that was led by Mohawks from the Haudenosaunee community of Akwesasne on December 20, 1968.

At the time, community members were being forced to pay duty on purchases they made in the United States, despite the fact that the Jay Treaty of 1794, also known as the “Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation”, affirmed that they were not required to do so.
The issue surrounding the Treaty has yet to be resolved, as a protest earlier this month reminds us.

The recent protestwas quite different from the one that took place 40 years ago. In ‘68 members from the community blocked off the bridge linking Canada to the United states, which literally cuts through Akwesasne. Confrontation ensued.

“While the news media focused on altercations with the police”, says Albert Ohayonas on the NFB website, filmmaker Mort Ransen took a decidedly different approach. “Ransen showed what led to these altercations and let the Mohawks of the Reserve speak for themselves and tell their own story.”

-thanks to Intercontinental Cry

Canadian federal Court hands down negative decision for War Resister, Jeremy Hinzman

I just got back from printing some 'adopt resistance' t-shirts for a meeting in Rochester tomorrow morning. I hopped on the internet to see what happened today. Not good. 

As the US is about to release more photos of our abuse of war prisoners around the world, we continue to imprison our own soldiers who spoke out against the war and occupation. 

Although there are some individual victories, our war resisters remain locked up in our prisons and other continue to face the same eventual fate. 

Jeremy Hinzman and his family lost an important appeal. Jeremy was the first Iraq War Resister to seek sanctuary in Canada and speak out publicly against the war.

This good man faces prison in the states and separation from his beautiful family.  Obama decides not to pursue war criminals and torturers while he locks up the people who refused to kill, torture and illegally occupy other lands. I can't grasp this. What can we do to help this family? We should be writing all the politicians, newspapers and bring it to the attention of the members of our churches and organizations while we figure out how we can fight this injustice. We need to act immediately. 

In the meantime here is a little bit of information about Jeremy Hinzman's situation. When I find more details, I'll post it. This is Laura's post at We Move To Canada:

We've just heard that the federal court has handed down a negative decision in Jeremy Hinzman's case. That is, the judge upheld the negative decision in the Hinzmans' Humanitarian & Compassionate application.

The bad news comes late on a Friday, as usual, locking us out of an immediate media response.

This is a real blow, even more so because the decision was rendered by the same judge who recently granted Kim Rivera leave to appeal, Justice James Russell.

At this time, we don't know what legal options remain for Jeremy and Nga. Our job is to get the word out and keep the pressure on.

Today, Jason Kenney was confronted by mothers and children at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. He was there for some government PR, but he got nailed about the case of a Korean woman who is facing deportation.

Minister agrees to review mother's deportation>

Mothers and children confront Jason Kenney at Sick Kids media conference

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney agreed today to review the deportation of a Korean woman after a dozen determined mothers and children confronted him in a hospital cafeteria.

"The mothers of the community are here to ask if the hearts of mothers can move the mind of a politician," said Marie Foley, holding her daughter Camille.

Camille is the best friend of Eugene, the 8-year-old Canadian born daughter of Kim Suk Yeung, who is scheduled to be deported to Korean Saturday night.

"This is really urgent," Foley told Kenney after an unrelated news conference at the Hospital for Sick Children. "There is a Canadian child in jail. We don't jail Canadian children."

Kim has been in the Immigration holding centre on Rexdale Blvd. since Feb. 18 after losing her refugee appeal. Eugene, a Grade 2 student at Dovercourt junior public school, joined her there Wednesday night.

When Kenney told the Davenport mothers he had no information on the case, they responded his office had received hundreds of letters and emails since March.

Tell it!

Let's tell it, too. Canadians are sick to death of this minority government forcing their will on the rest of us. We need action and we need it now! Parliament has now voted TWICE to let the war resisters stay in Canada and it's high time the government respected the will of Parliament. Is Canada a democracy or isn't it?

Speak out! Speak out loudly! Demand that Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney respect democracy!

There's a lot more you can do, if you are so inclined. There are several ways to get involved: contact me for details. But now, right now, call, write, email. Go to it!

Federal Court gives Kim Rivera and her family several more months in Canada and a new appeal possibility.

The recent federal court decision in Kim Rivera's case, granting the Riveras leave to appeal the negative decision in their Pre-Removal Risk Assessment, gives the family several more months in Canada, and a new legal avenue on which to fight.

It also demonstrates - yet again - that the IRB and the Ministry of Immigration are not properly considering all the evidence in the war resister cases. And how could they be expected to, when the head of that agency, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney, has made his animosity towards these cases a matter of public record? Every refugee case is supposed to be decided on its own merits. But how can we expect impartiality, when the Minister of Immigration - the IRB's boss - has declared all the cases "bogus"?

We are still waiting for a decision in Jeremy Hinzman's case, the hearing I blogged about here, appealing the negative decision in the family's Humanitarian and Compassionate application. Patrick Hart and his family are still at imminent risk. Dean Walcott's deferral of removal will expire. And we have another important court case coming up in late May, for war resister Dale Landry.

I am increasingly hopeful about the federal court cases, but each one is time-consuming, nerve-wracking - and expensive. The government is hoping to wear us down by attrition. We won't give up - but there is a better way.

Here's the recent media release from the War Resisters Support Campaign.

On Tuesday afternoon the Federal Court of Canada granted Kimberly Rivera leave to appeal the decision in her Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA). The Federal Court will hear the appeal on July 8.

The War Resisters Support Campaign is renewing its call on the federal government to implement the motion that was passed by Parliament on June 3, 2008 and again on March 30, 2009.

"Regardless of Jason Kenney's personal animosity toward those who've refused to fight George W. Bush's war in Iraq, the majority of Canadians want these war resisters to stay in Canada," said Michelle Robidoux. "Parliament has voted twice to let them stay and if Stephen Harper were committed to fairness and justice like most Canadians, he'd implement the vote of Parliament today."

Kimberly Rivera is the first female Iraq War resister to seek refuge in Canada. Kimberly, along with her partner Mario, son Christian (7 years old) and daughter Rebecca (4 years old), fled to Canada in January 2007 when Kimberly refused redeployment. In late November 2008 Kimberly gave birth to her Canadian daughter Katie (5 months old). She served in Iraq in 2006 and experienced, firsthand, the reality of this illegal war.

"I want to stay in Canada, with my family, because the Iraq War is immoral, illegal and I couldn't in good conscience go back," said Kimberly Rivera. "The amount of support I'm getting from Canadians is amazing. The parents of my kids' friends, MPs and even strangers on the street keep telling me that they can't believe the votes in Parliament aren't being respected."

Last June, a public opinion poll conducted by Angus Reid Strategies found widespread approval for the House of Commons’ vote in support of war resisters. Sixty-four per cent of Canadians, and a majority of voters in every region of the country, agree that the federal government should immediately stop the deportation of Iraq War resisters and establish a program to facilitate their requests for permanent resident status.

-thanks to We Move To Canada 

Special thanks to War Resisters Support Campaign for all the work they have done for our resisters.

Canadian Federal Court Grants Kimberly Rivera Leave to Appeal PRRA Decision

The Federal Court has granted war resister Kimberly Rivera and her family leave to appeal the decision in her Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA). The Federal Court will hear the appeal on July 8.

This is very unexpected, and very welcome news!

We Move To Canada

War Resisters. Why Not Let Them Stay? Current Conservative Arguments Demolished

Laura has supported our War Resisters and written passionately about their struggle for years. An argument the conservatives have made in the past and continue to make is that the resisters volunteered and they need to fulfill their commitment. A newer argument is that Obama will save them. Here Laura destroys these false arguments. 

The Canadians are working hard for our resisters. We need to pick up the pace here in the states. We should be writing and helping our prisoners of conscience, locked up in our jails, stockades, and brigs right here in the states. We have to fight this on two fronts. One is to support our Resisters and their families who are standing up to the military. The other is to bring about an immediate end to the wars. If our soldiers weren't being forced to illegally kill people, destroy their communities and culture, and occupy their homelands we wouldn't need to help the courageous soldiers resist.

Share the soldiers' burden. 

The Conservatives' arguments against letting US war resisters stay in Canada are lame and getting lamer by the minute. Conveniently ignoring that Parliament has now voted twice to let them stay - conveniently ignoring a little thing called democracy - they are currently focusing on two things. 



One, I call "but they volunteered": Vietnam was different, those were conscripts, that's why Canada took them in, these people volunteered.



And two, Obama will save them. Bush is gone, Obama is going to end the war in Iraq, and under an Obama administration, the war resisters won't be punished harshly.



Shine a light on either of these excuses and they melt faster than snow in June. 



Let's look first at "but they volunteered".

Know your history. Not all the Americans who came to Canada during the Vietnam War were avoiding conscription. Many had volunteered for military service. When they saw what was really happening in Vietnam, they decided they could not participate. They deserted the military and came to Canada. And Canada allowed them to stay. 



Here's one man who is testament to these facts, and there are many others. 


More recently, many Americans joined the National Guard in order to help their country in times of national emergency – and were then deployed to Iraq. They never volunteered to fight in Iraq, but had no legal option to refuse deployment. That cannot be considered volunteering.


Many soldiers were promised that they would not see combat because they had families with young children. They were also deployed, and had no legal option to refuse.


Some soldiers volunteered after the September 11th terrorist attacks. After deployment to Iraq, they discovered they had been misled about the purpose of the war. They had no legal option to separate from the military.

Some soldiers served their entire tour of duty and were honourably discharged, then were involuntarily re-enlisted, a practice known as "stop-loss". That cannot be considered volunteering. 


Under international law, a soldier has not only a right to refuse to participate in human rights abuses and war crimes, but a duty. Many former US soldiers seeking refugee in Canada witnessed abuses against prisoners and civilians. It is their right and duty to refuse to participate, irrespective of how they joined military service.

Now that we've demolished that excuse, let's turn to excuse number two: Obama. 

No matter what Obama plans to do in the future, the war in Iraq is going on right now. Is a Commander In Chief of the US armed forces going to absolve deserters during an ongoing war? The idea is preposterous. Progressive people who imagine this are fantasizing. Conservatives who raise this issue are either lying or extremely ignorant. 


Changes in the civilian justice system do not effect the war resisters. If deported back to the US, war resisters will not stand trial in civilian court - they will be court martialed. That is, they will be tried and judged by their accusers, the military. As some southern USians say, it's all over but the shoutin'. During these court martial, the only thing in question is the sentencing: how long the jail time, and what kind of discharge.


Robin Long is now serving a 15-month sentence in a military brig. His original sentence was 30 months, but peace-activist lawyer James Branum managed to have it reduced. Daniel Sandate, who was AWOL in Canada and turned himself in, was sentenced to eight months. James Burmeister, who also turned himself in, was sentenced to 9 months. 



A US soldier who murdered four Iraqi civilians for no reason was sentenced to seven months.



Indeed, there is a large and growing body of evidence showing that AWOL soldiers who speak out against the war are being punished more harshly than the many soldiers who quietly desert and don't voice their political opinions or moral beliefs.



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Those are the only responses necessary to the "Obama will save them" non-argument. But if you are speaking to a Canadian who mistakenly views the Democrats as the party of peace, consider this: Obama has advanced a military budget that is $21 billion larger than the Bush military budget. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates - meet the new boss, same as the old boss - has called for eliminating certain expensive weapons systems, but the overall budget he's asking for and will receive is larger than his previous budget. 



Once upon a time, when the Soviet Union collapsed, we talked about a "peace dividend" - all the money that could now be diverted from the military into the general US budget. Then terrorism replaced communism as the excuse du jour. US military budgets don't get smaller. They only grow.



Bush's DoD budget was $513 billion budget. Obama's is $534 billion. On top of that, Obama will ask Congress for yet more funds - probably $75.5 billion more - to wage war against Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. 



Is this a party of peace?


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Next time you hear Canada should deport war resisters because they volunteered, and can deport them because they won't be harshly punished anyway, you'll know what to say.

-thanks to We Move To Canada