canadians call for compassion, justice, democracy - and deporting stephen harper!

From letters to the Midland Mirror:
Sadly, this month, mercy is not reflected in the policies of our government.

For three weeks in December and January, the people of Gaza were pounded by Israeli air strikes and a ground invasion. Over 1,200 people were killed and thousands injured.

Canada justifies this attack as Israeli self-defence. Time was when Canada took on the cause of the underdog. Time was when Canada stood with the nations of the world to advance human rights and a decent standard of living for all.

And then there's the case of the war resisters. This month, four young men and one woman who sought sanctuary in Canada rather than serve with U.S. forces in Iraq have been ordered back to their country, where they face possible jail time.

A majority of MPs in the Commons last June voted that they should be allowed to stay. The present administration continues to deport them. Why?

Finally, to Guantanamo, where a young Canadian has been detained without trial for six-and-a-half years. He was arrested at 15 as a child soldier, but has been treated like a terrorist. Canada has made no request for his repatriation.

Is this how we treat our citizens? Does one have to have white skin and a Christian name to receive the full benefits of citizenship?

Shame on us!

Elizabeth O'Connor
Midland

From letters to the New Westminster Record:
Jason Kenney, the Conservative minister for citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, does not like U.S. war resisters. He thinks that "they are not genuine refugees and do not fall under internationally accepted definitions of people in need of protection." Mr. Kenney is welcome to his private opinions, but when he expresses them publicly in his role as immigration minister (letter to the Toronto Sun, Jan. 2), it gives the strong appearance of political interference. The Immigration and Refugee Board is an independent tribunal, but re-appointments to it are made by cabinet. It is entirely possible board members might fear not being reappointed if they do not follow Mr. Kenney's interpretation of the issues and consequently adjust their judgments in their own interests. The Immigration and Refugee Board should determine who is and who is not a refugee, not Mr. Kenney.

The Iraq war, the occupation of Iraq and the human rights abuses used to force the compliance of the Iraqi population are all against international law. U.S. war resisters have followed their consciences by refusing to participate in these crimes. They deserve our admiration for choosing to leave the armed forces at significant risk to themselves rather than be a party to war crimes. By doing so they are following the judgments of the Nuremberg trials after the Second World War, which found that individuals must refuse to participate in crimes against humanity even if ordered to do so by a superior.

Mr. Kenney also claims that U.S. war resisters are "clogging up" the system. This is not the case because their numbers are far too small to have any appreciable effect on others in the refugee claim process. However, if the Conservative government were to appoint adequate members to the Immigration and Refugee Board, it would go a long way toward relieving the significant backlog of refugees.

Our Parliament, in June 2008, adopted a motion calling upon the government to allow war resisters to stay in Canada and stop deporting them. This government should follow Canadian tradition and support war resisters who refuse to participate in wars that violate international law.

Andrew Phillips, Sapperton

From letters to EyeWeekly.com:
Deport Harper

What a cruel irony: as Americans celebrate the inauguration of a president opposed to the Iraq war, the Canadian government is deporting Iraq war resisters ("War resisters fight to stay," Toronto Notes, Jan. 21). Prime Minister Harper lost the vote on Canada's participation in the Iraq war, and has now lost his close ally in George Bush. Even though he admitted last election campaign that the Iraq war was "absolutely an error," he refuses to support troops who have come to the same conclusion.

Canada resisted the Iraq war, and a majority in the polls and in Parliament support Iraq war resisters. So Harper first ignored Parliament, and then started deportations while Parliament was prorogued. We need to deport Harper, not war resisters.

Jesse McLaren

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