War Resisters

[Oscar]

March 27, 2008

Please help spread the word and ensure that the results of this Global TV poll demonstrate a clear opposition in Canada to deporting US war resisters:

http://www.canada.com/globaltv/national/index.html

Vote no, and forward widely.

[Oscar]

May 22, 2008

Stéphane Dion, M.P.
Leader of the Liberal Party

FAX: (613) 996-6562

Dear Mr. Dion,

On May 21, 2008, U.S. Iraq war resister Corey Glass was told that his application to stay in Canada has been rejected and he now faces deportation. Glass would be the first Iraq war resister to be deported from Canada.

The Toronto Star article quotes Lee Zaslofsky, the coordinator of the War Resister Support Campaign, saying, "He's supposed to leave on his own by June 12…After that, he's subject to deportation.” The Star reports that, “The potential consequence is unclear; past deserters who have returned to the U.S. have received punishments ranging from a dishonourable discharge to jail time in a military prison.”

The CNN report quotes Corey Glass saying, "What I saw in Iraq convinced me that the war is illegal and immoral. I could not in good conscience continue to take part in it...I don't think it's fair that I should be punished for doing what I felt morally obligated to do."

Mr. Dion, I ask that the Liberal Party of Canada:

- support the Parliamentary motion to allow Iraq War resisters to remain in Canada,

- oppose the deportation of people of conscience who have resisted an illegal war, and

- support the will of the Canadian people, not Stephen Harper’s decision to deport war resisters, and not the U.S.’s war agenda."

I will be watching the vote on this issue, Mr. Dion.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Elaine Hughes
Archerwill, SK

[Oscar]

July 15, 2008

Stockwell Day, the Minister of Public Safety
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON

Fax: 613.995.1154 (Ottawa); 250.770.4484 (Penticton)

Dear Mr. Day:

Re: Deportation of US war resister Robin Long

FACTS:

1) The House of Commons has voted to allow war resisters to stay in Canada. Bloomberg reported that the vote in the House was 137 to 110.

2) An Angus Reid Strategies survey reveals that three-in-five Canadians (64%) say they would agree to give these U.S. soldiers the opportunity to remain in Canada as permanent residents.

3) And, finally, the Federal Court of Canada has ruled that US war resisters have grounds to claim refugee protection.

How much more support do you need to decide to stop the deportation of Robin Long and all US war resisters who wish to remain in Canada?

Do it now, Mr. Day.

Yours truly,


Elaine Hughes
Archerwill, SK

[Oscar]

STOP THE DEPORTATION OF JEREMY HINZMAN AND HIS FAMILY

Council of Canadians - ACTION ALERT ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2008:

Call Stephen Harper and Diane Finley

IN 8 DAYS, US Iraq war resister Jeremy Hinzman, his wife Nga Nguyen and their two children face deportation from Canada to the United States. If deported, Jeremy faces a court-martial and imprisonment for his refusal to participate in the illegal and immoral Iraq war.

On July 15th, another US war resister – Robin Long – was deported by the Harper government to the US where he was sentenced to 15 months in jail. He also received a dishonourable discharge, the equivalent of a felony conviction.

Canadians have repeatedly expressed their support for Iraq war resisters. On June 3rd, a motion was adopted in the House of Commons in favour of allowing resisters to stay in Canada, and calling on the federal government to cease deportation proceedings. A recent poll by Angus Reid found that two-thirds of Canadians support letting US war resisters stay.

URGENT ACTION REQUEST:

On Wednesday September 17
call Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of Immigration Diane Finley to demand:
• that they stop the deportation of Jeremy Hinzman and his family;
• that they respect the democratic will of Parliament and implement the War Resisters motion.

Stephen Harper:
Campaign office: 1-403-266-4451
Constituency office: 1-403-253-8203

Diane Finley:
Campaign office: 1-519-429-3382
Constituency office: 1-519-426-3400

[Oscar]

December 17, 2008

Dear Minister Kenney -

I am contacting you to remind you that a poll conducted last June by Angus Reid showed that 63% of Canadians agree that the war resisters should be allowed to stay in Canada.

And, what about this motion adopted on June 3, 2008, Minister Kenney?

The War Resisters Support Campaign continues to call upon the Harper government to implement the will of Parliament, as expressed in a House of Commons motion adopted on June 3, 2008. The motion recommended that "…conscientious objectors to wars not sanctioned by the Security Council of the United Nations," such as the Iraq War, be allowed to remain in Canada and apply for permanent resident status. It was adopted by a vote of 137-110 and also directed the Government of Canada to stop deportation proceedings against all of the war resisters here.

THEREFORE, I request that your Department carry out the will of Canadians.

Please:

• STOP deportation proceedings against U.S. Iraq war resisters, including Cliff Cornell and Kim Rivera and her family; and

• IMPLEMENT the motion adopted by Canada’s Parliament to allow U.S. Iraq war resisters to apply for permanent resident status.

I will continue to watch this issue closely; hopefully there will be some positive action on your part.

Yours truly,

Elaine Hughes
Box 23, Archerwill, SK S0E 0B0

CC:

Liberal party immigration critic Borys Wrzesnewskyj: wrzesnewskyj.b@parl.gc.ca
NDP immigration critic Olivia Chow: chow.o@parl.gc.ca
Bloc Québécois immigration critic Thierry St-Cyr: St-Cyr.T@parl.gc.ca
MP Garry Breitkreuz, Yorkton-Melville
Council of Canadians

[Oscar]

War Resister Cliff Cornell Told to Leave Canada by Christmas Eve

http://www.londonresisters.ca/node/128

December 17, 2008

Rivera Family to Get Decision on January 7

Toronto — In the latest of a series of deportation orders, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has told war resister Cliff Cornell, of Nanaimo, BC, that he must leave Canada by December 24, or face removal by force. Cliff, originally from Arkansas, arrived in Canada in January 2005. He currently works as an Assistant Manager of a retail store near Nanaimo, where he has an excellent work record.

Cliff's deportation order comes after similar orders for war resisters Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman and his family, Patrick Hart and his family, Matt Lowell and Dean Walcott. Like them, Cliff has begun to build a peaceful and productive life in Canada and hopes to stay in his new country.

War resister Kim Rivera will receive a decision on January 7. Kim served in the US Army in Iraq. She came to Canada with her husband, Mario, and their two children, Christian (6) and Rebecca (4) in early 2007. Kim had a new Canadian-born baby, Katie, on November 23, 2008.

The War Resisters Support Campaign continues to call upon the Harper government to implement the will of Parliament, as expressed in a House of Commons motion adopted on June 3, 2008. The motion recommended that "…conscientious objectors to wars not sanctioned by the Security Council of the United Nations," such as the Iraq War, be allowed to remain in Canada and apply for permanent resident status. It was adopted by a vote of 137-110 and also directed the Government of Canada to stop deportation proceedings against all of the war resisters here.

A poll conducted last June by Angus Reid showed that 63% of Canadians agree that the war resisters should be allowed to stay in Canada. The Federal Court will hear an appeal by Jeremy Hinzman against his deportation order on February 10, 2009.

"Minister Jason Kenney should stop all deportations, at least until the Federal Court has completed the Hinzman appeal," said Lee Zaslofsky, Coordinator of the War Resisters Support Campaign. "It would be a travesty if war resisters were deported, especially over the holidays, only to have the Court find that they should be given another chance to apply to stay in Canada."

--------------------------

Contact Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney and ask him to:

• STOP deportation proceedings against U.S. Iraq war resisters, including Cliff Cornell and Kim Rivera and her family; and
• IMPLEMENT the motion adopted by Canada’s Parliament to allow U.S. Iraq war resisters to apply for permanent resident status.

Here are the numbers to call:

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney
Call 613.954.1064

MP Jason Kenney’s Parliamentary office:
613.992.2235

Or email him at:
minister@cic.gc.ca
or
Kenney.j@parl.gc.ca

Please cc the opposition party critics if you email Jason Kenney:
Liberal party immigration critic Borys Wrzesnewskyj: wrzesnewskyj.b@parl.gc.ca
NDP immigration critic Olivia Chow: chow.o@parl.gc.ca
Bloc Québécois immigration critic Thierry St-Cyr: st-cyr.t@parl.gc.ca.

[Oscar]

Christmas in Canada for Iraq War Resisters

http://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-relea ... -resisters

December 19, 2008

NANAIMO--The Green Party of Canada is urging Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship & Immigration to stop the deportation proceedings against US Iraq war resister, Cliff Cornell, whose proceedings have been moved to December 19th, and to implement the motion adopted by Canada’s Parliament on June 3rd to allow all U.S. Iraq war resisters the right to apply for permanent resident status.

During the English Leaders’ Debates Prime Minister Stephen Harper actually acknowledged that the Iraq war "was absolutely an error.” He went on to say “It's obviously clear the evaluation of weapons of mass destruction proved not to be correct. That's absolutely true and that's why we're not sending anybody to Iraq."

“The Green Party demands that Canada adopts the United Nations Handbook on Refugees which clearly states that soldiers who refuse to take part in wars condemned by the international community must be considered refugees,” said Elizabeth May.

I find it despicable that this government had not only set Cliff’s deportation hearings for Christmas eve, but has now moved to expedite the process to this week,” decried Ben Hoffman, Peace and Security Shadow Cabinet member, “It just shows the true nature of this government.”

"Both international refugee law and compassion dictate that Canada offer refuge to those who enlisted in an army based on a fraudulent contract. Cliff Cornell should be allowed to celebrate Christmas in Canada secure in the knowledge he is welcome to stay,” said Ms. May

-30-

Contact:

Michael Bernard
Communications Officer
Green Party of Canada
Office : 613 562 4916 ext. 244
Cell : 613 614 4916
Fax : 613 482 4632

[Oscar]

War Resister Kimberley Rivera & Family ordered to leave Canada

http://www.resisters.ca:80/index_en.html

January 07, 2009 2:09 PM

Dear social justice activists,

As reported by CBC.ca today, "A U.S. war deserter (resister) and mother of three young children was ordered to leave Canada when she appeared at a deportation hearing Wednesday in Mississauga, Ont. Kimberly Rivera moved to Toronto from Texas in early 2007 with her husband and two children after refusing redeployment to Iraq. In late November, she gave birth to a third child in Canada...At a deportation hearing, Rivera was told to leave Canada by Jan. 27."

The article adds that, "Rivera's case is one of many involving American war deserters who have fled north of the border. Last month, Cliff Cornell, a former U.S. soldier from Arkansas living in Nanaimo, B.C., was ordered to leave Canada by Dec. 24. Deportation orders were also given to U.S. war deserters: Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Patrick Hart, Matt Lowell and Dean Walcott."

The Council of Canadians urges the federal government to make provision for these and other U.S. war resisters to remain in Canada. In 2004, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow, along with June Callwood, David Suzuki, Naomi Klein, Shirley Douglas, Anne-Marie MacDonald and M.G. Vassanji drafted an open letter to the Canadian government calling on it to demonstrate its commitment to international law and the treaties to which it is a signatory, by making provision for U.S. war objectors to have sanctuary in this country.

On June 3, 2008 the House of Commons passed in a vote of 137 to 110 a resolution calling on the Government of Canada to "immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors and their immediate family members...to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada; and...the government should immediately cease any removal or deportation actions...against such individuals."

A June 2008 Angus-Reid Strategies public opinion survey found that 64 percent of Canadians agreed that US war resisters should be given the opportunity to remain in Canada as permanent residents.

The CBC article can be read at http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/01/ ... aring.html.

For more information and to take action, please go to http://www.resisters.ca/index_en.html.

Brent Patterson,
Director of Campaigns and Communications
Council of Canadians

======================================

----- Original Message -----
From: ernstj@telusplanet.net
To: Elaine Hughes
Cc: minister@cic.gc.ca ; Kenney.j@parl.gc.ca ;
st-cyr.t@parl.gc.ca ; chow.o@parl.gc.ca ;
wrzesnewskyj.b@parl.gc.ca ; Kevin Sorenson ;
Sorenson, Kevin - M.P. ; David Swann ; David Swann ; Duncan.L@parl.gc.ca
Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2009 8:05 PM
Subject: Re: STOP Deportation of Kimberly Rivera

Jessica Ernst
Rosebud, AB

Dear Mr. Kenney, MP

I second every point made so brilliantly by Ms. Elaine Hughes of Saskatchewan as attached below.

Stop the deportation of Kimberly Rivera and her family!

Sincerely,

Jessica Ernst

-----------------------------------------
Elaine Hughes wrote:

January 11, 2009

Hon. Jason Kenney, MP
House of Commons, Ottawa
K1A 0A6
Email: Kenney.j@parl.gc.ca; minister@cic.gc.ca
FAX: (613) 992-1920

Dear Mr. Kenney:

Re: Deportation of US war resister Kimberly Rivera

Kimberly served in Iraq in 2006. Her experience in Iraq was a huge awakening and convinced Kimberley that the war was immoral and that she could not participate in it. So, she sought refuge in Canada.

Now, Kimberly Rivera, along with her husband and three young children, have been told that they must leave Canada by January 27 or face removal to the United States.

Despite a June 2008 Parliamentary motion supporting war resisters, the Harper government continues its policy of deporting them. This is wrong!

FACTS:

1) The House of Commons has voted to allow war resisters to stay in Canada. Bloomberg reported that the vote in the House was 137 to 110.

2) An Angus Reid Strategies survey reveals that three-in-five Canadians (64%) say they would agree to give these U.S. soldiers the opportunity to remain in Canada as permanent residents.

3) And, finally, the Federal Court of Canada has ruled that US war resisters have grounds to claim refugee protection.

How much more support do you need to decide to IMPLEMENT the motion adopted by Canada's Parliament and STOP the deportation of Kimberly Rivera and all US war resisters who wish to remain in Canada?

Please do it now, Mr. Kenney.

Yours truly,

Elaine Hughes
Archerwill, SK

CC:

Liberal party immigration critic Borys Wrzesnewskyj: wrzesnewskyj.b@parl.gc.ca
NDP immigration critic Olivia Chow: chow.o@parl.gc.ca
Bloc Québécois immigration critic
Thierry St-Cyr: st-cyr.t@parl.gc.ca

===========================================

From: Joseph Cross
Date: January 9, 2009 11:37:33 AM MST (CA)
To: Kenney.J@parl.gc.ca, Right Honourable Stephen Harper <Harper.S@parl.gc.ca>
Cc: Breitkreuz.G@parl.gc.ca, Layton.J@parl.gc.ca,
Ignatieff.M@parl.gc.ca, emay@magma.ca, Duceppe.G@parl.gc.ca
Subject: Deportation Order of U.S. War Resisters

The Hon. Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism
Government of Canada
Ottawa, ON

Re: Deportation Order of U.S. War Resisters

Dear Mr. Kenney:

With regard to the matter of Ms. Kimberly Rivera, a U.S. war resister living in Toronto, who came to Canada after refusing redeployment to Iraq, I respectfully ask you to withdraw the order to deport Ms. Rivera and her family by January 27.

There is an overwhelming concurrence of the majority of Canadians (according to polls) that agree to allowing U.S. war resisters to remain in Canada as permanent residents. Therefore, that same consideration of refugee status should be given to other U.S. war resisters who have come, or will come to Canada following their conscience in refusing to be complicit in U.S. militarism.

The government of Canada recognized at the outset that the Iraq war is an illegal act of aggression by the United States under the terms of the Geneva Convention and conscientiously chose not to participate, as did other members of the United Nations.

Canada has previously given refuge to U.S. resisters of the Vietnam war. In Cranbrook there are several people who sought refuge from the Vietnam war, have started businesses here, and make considerable contributions to our community.

According to the decisions reached at the Nuremberg War Crimes trials, soldiers are obligated to refuse illegal orders. Therefore, Ms. Rivera and others of conscience like her deserve the opportunity to remain in Canada.

Once again, let Canada, as a nation with a peace-making history, be the place of refuge for like-minded people. I ask for your consideration of this request.

Yours sincerely,

Sharon Cross
Cranbrook, BC
=======================================

----- Begin Forwarded Message -----
From: Jack Thornburgh
To: kennej@parl.gc.ca ; pm@pm.gc.ca
Cc: letters@tc.canwest.com ; coc-chaps-l@lists.canadians.org ; editor@peninsulanewsreview.com ; jcaranci@avtimes.net
Sent: Friday, January 09, 2009 1:57 AM
Subject: [coc-chaps-l] War resister

Open letter to the Hon. Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

Dear Mr. Kenney:

This is in regard to Ms. Kimberly Rivera, a U.S. war resister living in Toronto who came to Canada after refusing redeployment to Iraq. I ask you to withdraw the order which would deport Ms. Rivera and her family by January 27. Additionally, I request that you allow refugee status to any U.S. war resister who has come to Canada following his/her free conscience in refusing to be complicit in U.S. militarism.

During the Vietnam War, I was a U.S. war resister and immigrated to Canada because of the compassionate policies of the Trudeau administration. I became a Canadian citizen, established a family here, a long career, and 35 years of volunteer service. Canada ultimately welcomed about 50,000 U.S. resisters of the Vietnam War, many of whom have made notable contributions to Canadian life and society.

According to polls, two-thirds of Canadians believe that U.S. war resisters should be allowed to remain in Canada as permanent residents. The Iraq war is an illegal war of aggression by the terms of the Geneva Convention. According to the decisions reached at the Nuremberg War Crimes trials, soldiers are obligated to refuse illegal orders. Therefore, Ms. Rivera and others of conscience like her deserve opportunity to remain in Canada.

Yours truly,

Jack Thornburgh
North Saanich, BC

=====================================

January 11, 2009

Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada

Dear Mr. Harper:

As a resident of Canada, I am writing to ask of our government to work tirelessly on the issue of the unfair attack by the Israeli war machine on the severely repressed people in Gaza. I ask of our government to quickly move to unequivocally denounce the human rights violations in Gaza.

Our government should vigorously pressure Israel to immediately halt military action and Hamas to end rocket fire, support an immediate and indefinite ceasefire resolution at the United Nations, and support the reopening of the borders of Gaza so that humanitarian aid can reach the Palestinian people and that Gaza’s economy can function again.

In the upcoming year I ask that our government support peace negotiations that will create a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders and end all Palestinian attacks on Israeli territory.

Thank you for your timely action to stop the bloodshed in Gaza.

Wanda Laurin,
Peace River, AB

cc: Chris Warkentin (MP Peace River), Micheal Ignatieff, Elizabeth May, Stephane Dion, Jack Layton

======================================

8th January 2009

To the Right Honourable Jason Kenney, MP
Immigration Minister.

Mr. Kenny,

I see in the Times Colonist today on page A9 that you have rejected another plea from a US soldier to stay in Canada rather than go back to Iraq and kill civilians and destroy their homes in an illegal occupation.

In your reasoning you said, according to the Times Colonist report,
"We're not talking about draft dodgers, we're not talking about resisters. We're talking about people who volunteer to serve in the armed forces of a democratic country and simply change their mind to desert"

This is the oath to which all US service men and women, other than the National Guard, must swear to be inducted. I do not see anywhere in this where the killing of civilians and destroying their country in an illegal occupation is defending the US constitution.

I , (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

Firstly Mr. Kenny, please get your facts straight. The USA is neither a democracy nor by definition a democratic country, it is a republic.

Secondly I would like you to apply your words to your own party and in particular to your leader. You are all volunteers to be elected by, to serve and be paid by, the Canadian people. You in your party were elected in the last election on the basis of how your leader misled the country, as opposed to the "democratic and designed " way of each of you being elected on the basis of what you would do to represent the people of your constituency.

An example of this is that I did not hear any candidate from your party answer directly any question put to them other than to parrot your leader who didn't directly answer questions either, unless trapped in which case he lied.

Be that as it may, no sooner was the election done than 'promises' made during that election by your leader and assurances about our economical state were reversed. The purpose of our government is to govern the country in the best interests of the people of Canada, not, as in your party's case, to favour the corporations over the people.

What has this to do with the rejection of another soldier from the US who would rather live here than kill and destroy in Iraq?

Well it seems that you have taken on the role of moralist for "abiding by commitments" made to others. Therefore I believe you should also expel from your party and parliament Mr. Harper who appears to have no intention of carrying out HIS commitment to the people of Canada as our Prime Minister. He has made this abundantly clear to all of us in his current manipulation of parliament and The Governor General, not to mention his loudly and widely advertised claim that a coalition government is unconstitutional which is obviously totally false. All this is to serve his interest before the interests of the people of Canada.

Further you all took an oath of allegiance before taking your seats in the House of Commons, which although made to the Queen implies Canada, and in attempting to and negotiating to give Canada away to the North American Union, I believe that Mr. Harper has broken his oath of allegiance.

Thus, by your own words, he should be rejected in the same way you have just rejected Kimberly Rivera.

We, the people of Canada, just want leadership that is fair and just to everyone: women, union members and other workers, first nation peoples, farmers, teachers, families, seniors, the homeless and sick, and even other politicians who represent us in our House of Commons.

Is that too much to ask from you, our elected servants?

Jeremy Arney
Victoria BC

[Oscar]

Minister Kenney: "bogus refugee claimants" (emphasis added)

------------------------------

War epic proves Canadian films can hold their own

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/epic+proves+
Canadian+films+hold+their/1165412/story.html

The Edmonton Journal January 11, 2009

Once again, Canadians have proved that when it comes to going to the movies, our tastes are more or less in synch with our southern neighbours.

Recently released box-office figures for 2008 reveal similar top-10 rankings in both countries, with The Dark Knight, Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull sharing the top three theatrical grosses. It was another dismal year for made-in-Canada product, especially on the English side, where only two films cracked the top-10 homemade list dominated by francophone Quebec fare.

In fact, only a paltry six Canuck productions earned more than $1 million at theatres.

If there is a bright spot in all this, it rests with Passchendaele, the First World War epic written, acted and directed by University of Alberta grad Paul Gross.

Filmed here and provided with a generous grant by Ralph Klein's government, it topped the national list last year with a respectable $4.5-million theatrical gross. This, in spite of so-so reviews across the nation and a subject that doesn't instantly scream date flick or pander to younger sensibilities.

What Passchendaele did receive was a decent publicity and promotion campaign, wide theatrical release and a degree of government support. All of which tends to back the cries of many Canadian filmmakers, who contend their work will do just fine here given an even chance.

KENNEY DESERTS WAR RESISTERS (emphasis added)
Everyone knew Calgary MP Jason Kenney, a favourite of the prime minister, would get a promotion in the last cabinet shuffle. A clever, combative voice in the House whose efforts to recruit new Canadians to the Harper cause bore some fruit in the fall election, the social conservative bachelor and classical music fan was indeed rewarded. But even some of his colleagues might have wondered about the prize, the immigration portfolio. While that might have seemed a perfect fit given his previous duties, serving as minister of immigration requires a degree of tact and reserve. Recently retired Medicine Hat MP Monte Solberg, no slouch on his feet either, brought those very qualities to the job as he quietly got down to work on the many sensitive challenges of the brief and made some progress. While that may well be continuing under its new minister's watch, keeping his mouth shut is another matter. Wednesday, Kenney groused that "bogus refugee claimants" (emphasis added) -- that is, U.S. war resisters -- were helping clog the system. Not only is that charge downright silly, considering the tiny handful of resister claims at hand among thousands, it betrays a basic misunderstanding of our history and values. There's no question that the claims of some military deserters seeking refuge here have little merit. On the other hand many resisters of the past have become highly productive, valued Canadian citizens. Entry is for ministry professionals to pass judgment on, case by case, guided by the rules. Canada has long been seen internationally as a safe, sensible and independent harbour, a tradition that should be carefully guarded, not politicized.

More:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/epic+proves+
Canadian+films+hold+their/1165412/story.html