8.05.2009

urgent call to action: iraq war resister needs your help and support

Rodney Watson, a US war resister living in Vancouver, has been ordered to leave Canada by August 10 or face deportation.

Despite a written request from all three opposition parties' Immigration Critics for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to honour the direction of Parliament and "not to use the Parliamentary recess to disregard the expressed will of the House of Commons with respect to the fair treatment of Iraq War resisters in Canada", the Harper government is moving to deport Rodney Watson.

Rodney is an Iraq War veteran who came to Canada in 2007 after refusing a second deployment to Iraq. After seeing the way the US was treating people in Iraq, he left the army, refusing to risk his own life and the lives of others in a war for oil. He's been living in Vancouver and has an 8-month-old Canadian son.

Supporters of Rodney and of all war resisters rallied in Vancouver today, outside the offices of Alice Wong, Jason Kenney's Parliamentary Secretary, and outside an appearance by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. We can't all get to Vancouver to protest in person, but we can all make our voices heard.

Today, tomorrow and every day you can, please call or email the Immigration Minister, the Parliamentary Secretary to the minister and the Prime Minister.

Ask them to honour the will of Parliament, and stop the deportation of Rodney Watson and the other war resisters.

Remind them that 64% of Canadians want US war resisters to be allowed to stay in Canada.

Remind them that all three opposition party's immigration critics have called on the government to not use the summer recess as a time to disregard the expressed will of Parliament.

The Right Hon. Stephen Harper
613.992.4211
pm@pm.gc.ca

Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
613.954.1064 (Ministry office)
613.992.2235 (Parliamentary Office)
minister@cic.gc.ca
Kenney.j@parl.gc.ca

Alice Wong, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister Kenney
604.775.5790 (riding office)
877.775.5790 (Ottawa office)
WongA1@parl.gc.ca

When you email Jason Kenney or Alice Wong, please copy the opposition party critics:
Liberal party immigration critic Maurizio Bevilacqua: bevilacqua.m@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

You can read the letter from the immigration critics here (pdf English) or here (pdf French).

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