please do one thing for the war resisters today

If the Liberal-NDP coalition forms the next Government, our fight to keep war resisters safe in Canada will have taken a huge leap forward.

The motion that passed in June 2008 - calling for an immediate end to deportation proceedings and a provision to allow war resisters to live legally in Canada - was passed by all three opposition parties. If two of those parties form the Government and the third props them up, our fortunes will have changed dramatically.

But we can't expect the Government to do the right thing: we must demand they do.

We can't assume our representatives in Parliament will have our interests in mind: we must make sure they do.

Deportation orders loom. Most critically, Patrick and Jill Hart and their six-year-old son Rian have a January 15 deadline hanging over their heads. Dean Walcott was given a January 6 deportation date - the timelines keep shrinking! - but he can appeal. The Harts may be out of appeals.

After that, our calendar reads like a roll call. Court dates and pending deportation dates are coming almost weekly.

If the Harper Government falls on Monday (please please please...), it will still take time to allow war resisters to apply for Permanent Residence status. But at least the deportations can stop. That can happen immediately.

But no matter what happens over the next few days, these deportations must stop now.

Today we are asking supporters of the war resisters to let Jason Kenney, the new Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, know that we haven't gone away - and to remind the immigration critics from all three opposition parties that we are still here.

I know we're all glued to our TVs and computers today. Please, take a few minutes to send an email.

Here's a sample.

TO: Jason Kenney: minister@cic.gc.ca or kenney.j@parl.gc.ca

CC: Borys Wrzesnewskyj: wrzesnewskyj.b@parl.bc.ca
CC: Olivia Chow: chow.o@parl.gc.ca
CC: Thierry St-Cyr: st-cyr.t@parl.gc.ca
CC: War Resisters Support Campaign: resisters@sympatico.ca

I am writing to urge you to STOP deportation proceedings against U.S. Iraq War resisters, including Dean Walcott and Patrick Hart and his family, and to IMPLEMENT the motion adopted by Canada's Parliament on June 3, 2008 to allow war resisters to apply for permanent resident status.

Respect the will of the Canadian people and the will of Parliament. Let them stay!

You can write more if you want, of course, but that's really all we need.

Please do this today. Your support is greatly needed, and deeply appreciated.