Original author: David McMurran davemcmurran at yahoo dot ca
Date: April 4, 2006
URGENT: Immigration roundups!! Immediate response required! Please phone, fax, and email the Minister of Immigration TODAY!
In a move that broke major headlines last week, Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) closed Dufferin Mall in Toronto last Sunday and demanded shoppers produce status papers as buses waited outside to detain and deport those who could not produce papers. This racist attack targeted primarily Latin Americans and is part of a mass deportation in Toronto carried out by Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) over the past few weeks. Deportees were flown out on two airplanes in the past two weeks.
Last Monday, agents of the CBSA harassed passersby downtown in a primarily Portuguese and Latin American Toronto neighborhood, demanding status documents. A report in the Toronto Star reports that "as many as 100 Portuguese households in the Toronto area will be receiving deportation orders in the coming weeks."
Source: Coalition Justice pour Adil Charkaoui Listserv
URL: [link]
Date: February 28, 2006
Canada Becoming a Haven for Terrorists Due to Lax Immigration and Refugee Policies According to New Study
Contact(s): Martin Collacott, Senior Fellow The Fraser Institute,
Tel (604) 602-1548
Email: [email]
Click here for the complete publication: [link]
Release Date: February 28, 2006
Vancouver, BC - Canada's flawed refugee system and a lack of political will to reform the program has been a major factor in making Canada a prime destination for terrorists, according to a new paper, Canada's Inadequate Response to Terrorism, released today by The Fraser Institute.
While improvements also need to be made to the screening of immigrant applicants and the screening and tracking of visitors, our highly dysfunctional refugee determination system has been the channel most often used by terrorists for gaining entry.
Montreal. The Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) today expressed its continuing concern that the security provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act violate the rights of innocent refugees and immigrants who in no way present a security threat. The lawsuit being filed today by Suleyman Goven addresses a situation experienced by numerous refugees whose rights to due process, freedom of association and expression, equality and security of the person have not been respected by the Canadian Government, despite the guarantees of the Charter.
"The duty of the Canadian government to protect national security is no justification for keeping refugees in indefinite limbo when there is no objective evidence presented that they represent any threat to security," said Janet Dench, CCR Executive Director. "The government also has a duty to protect the rights of non-citizens a duty that seems to be largely forgotten."
Original author: Mac Scott Source: NEFAC.NET URL: [link] Date: October 3, 2005
Recently, a lot of attention has been centered on the issue of security certificates since two men, Mohammad Mahjoub and Hassan Almrei being detained based on these certificates held hunger strikes demanding such radical things as being able to see their families and receive proper medical care.
Though it seemed as if the state was prepared to let them die, both men ended their hunger strikes feeling optimistic, Hassan naming the huge popular support as his main motivation for ending, while Mohammad ended after finally receiving assurances that he would receive proper care for hepatitis C which he contacted in jail.
Orignial author: Brian
Date: June 26, 2005
photo by YayaCanada
Lots of great pics of the arrival in Minto Park in Ottawa courtesy
of YayaCanada
Photos by YayaCanada
[link]
Congratulations to all who organized and/or participated in the march.
Original author: N/A
Source: Email
Date: June 24, 2005
PLEASE CIRCULATE FAR AND WIDE....JOIN US AT 4PM ON PARLIAMENT HILL !!!!
Refugees march arrives in Ottawa to demand status
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TO MEET THE MARCH ON JUNE 25, 2005
- 8:00 am: Ecole secondaire Garneau, 6588 rue de la Carriere, Ottawa (corner of Orleans boulevard and Carriere)
- 12:00 -noon: Marquis Park (corner of Ogilvy and Montreal Road).
- 4:00 pm: Rally on Parliament Hill
- 6:00 pm: Minto Park (corner of Elgin and Gilmour)
CONTACT: 514-568-8283 or 514-298-9974
========================
OTTAWA-- Refugees and their supporters, organized in a coalition called Solidarity Across Borders, are arriving today in Ottawa after a weeklong walk from Montreal to Ottawa that began on June 18th 2005.
"We have been marching to Ottawa since June 18th. Despite this historical march, and despite the fact that this week marked the 5th anniversary of World Refugee Day, inhumane acts are currently being perpetrated against non-status refugees and immigrants . We are marching for justice and dignity for all those who've been victimized by the racist policies of the Canadian government. So far, Volpe has ignored us and our demand to meet with him" says Sarita Ahooja, spokesperson for Solidarity Across Borders.
The No One Is Illegal March on Ottawa is in support of the main demands: the regularization of all non-status persons; an end to the deportation and detention of migrants, immigrants and refugees; and the abolition of security certificates.
The march to Ottawa has become all the more urgent since members of Solidarity Across Borders have learned that on June 22, five children of a non-status Mexican family living in Montreal were seized by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) from their home. The children (aged 3, 5, 7, 11 and 18) are currently being detained at the Laval Immigration Detention facility. Solidarity Across Borders members are outraged that such an inhumane act would take place. We are marching to Ottawa to denounce the government's role in this case and in all cases where non-status people have faced racism, injustice and oppression at the hands of the Canadian government.
Solidarity Across Borders is a coalition of self-organized refugee groups and their allies. Member organizations include: Action Committee of Non-Status Algerians, Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees...
Original author: Matthew Behrens
of The Campaign To Stop Secret Trials in Canada
Source: TASC Email List
Date: June 15, 2005
The Problem with Torture: No One Will Believe You
A Report Back from 24 Hours Against Torture
In the waning moments of Toronto's 24 Hours Against Torture vigil, a telling incident occurred when an angry constituent went into the office of Deportation Minister Joe Volpe and demanded to know what was going on.
This individual had just read one of our flyers, detailing the cases of the Secret Trial Five, all of whom are at risk of torture or death if deported to Syria, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco. The flyer included quotations from documents released by the immigration and border services agencies which came to the conclusion that, despite the likelihood of such cruel and unusual treatment, the men should be deported anyway.
The response to his concerns, this individual said, was rather blunt. "They're making that up," he was reportedly told by office staff in reference to the group that had spent the previous 23 hours camped outside the office.
Perhaps the alleged comment was the result of a staff that has no clue what takes place in the Canadian deportation bureaucracy, which annually deports more than 10,000 people to an uncertain fate, and which plans to mark World Refugee Day, June 20, with a deportation of Nepalese refugee Subas B.K. to torture in Nepal. Perhaps they were unaware that the United Nations Committee on Torture had just called on Canada a few weeks ago to join the ranks of civilized nations and respect the absolute prohibition on deportation to torture.
Original author: sans frontieres! sansfrontieres at resist dot ca Source: Coalition Justice pour Adil Charkaoui Listserv Date: Mon, 30 May 2005
[Second announcement; Please post and forward widely; Important updates below.]
The NO ONE IS ILLEGAL MARCH ON OTTAWA will begin in less than three short weeks! The march, organized by Solidarity Across Borders in Montreal, will begin on June 18 and walk from Montreal to Ottawa (over 200 kilometres), arriving on June 25.
The four basic demands of the Solidarity Across Borders network are: the regularization of all non-status people in Canada; an end to deportations; an end to detentions; and the abolition of security certificates. Solidarity Across Borders is a Montreal-area campaign initiated by several groups active in defending the rights of migrants, immigrants and refugees. The majority of groups within Solidarity Across Borders are self-organized committees of persons directed affected by repressive anti-immigrant and "anti-terrorist" laws and regulations.
Below you will find some important updates concerning the march. We need your involvement, your solidarity and your support! Please read and get in touch.
Original author: Catherine Cullen Source: The Globe and Mail URL: [link] Date: April 27, 2005
MONTREAL -- Refugee advocates are planning a week-long protest march from Montreal to Ottawa in June to demand changes to Canada's immigration system.
The "No One is Illegal" march will begin on June 18 in downtown Montreal, organizers said.
The procession will pass the Immigration and Refugee Board office and then head through the Parc Extension and Côte-Des-Neiges neighbourhoods, both of which have large immigrant populations.
Participants will stay the night in Montreal and then begin the nearly 200-kilometre trek to Ottawa. They plan to arrive on June 25 to celebrate with a festival near Parliament Hill.
Organizers say they expect thousands to participate.
Original author: Canadian Press (CP) Source: CTV.CA URL: [link] Date: April 14, 2005
TORONTO - Governments that deport suspected terrorists to countries known to torture detainees are either breathtakingly naive or complicit in the abuse if they rely on promises of humane treatment, a new report concludes.
The report, by the non-partisan organization Human Rights Watch, says Western nations, including Canada, are increasingly turning to hollow diplomatic assurances of fair treatment from suspect governments.
"Countries that rely on such assurances are either engaging in wishful thinking or using the assurances as a fig leaf to cover their complicity in torture,'' concludes the report, to be officially released Friday.
"Diplomatic assurances do not and cannot prevent torture.''
Click on the photo of Mohamed to see all items related to him. JUNE 2017: Mohamed Harkat once again faces deportation to his native Algeria after the Supreme Court of Canada declared the federal government’s security certificate regime constitutional.
This fight is not over. The Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee will re-double its efforts to see that justice is done for Mohamed Harkat and that the odious security certificate system of injustice is abolished once and for all.
