some things you can do to help stop deportations of iraq war resisters

Iraq War resister Cliff Cornell has been given a deportation date of December 24, 2008.

War resister Kimberly Rivera will receive a decision on her Humanitarian and Compassionate Application and Pre-Removal Risk Assessment on January 7.

War resister Patrick Hart and his family are scheduled for deportation on January 15.

War resister Dean Walcott is scheduled for deportation on January 30.

Here are some things you can do to raise your voice in protest, and to show solidarity and support for Cliff, Kim, Patrick, Dean and all the other Iraq War resisters in Canada.

1. Everyone:

Send a holiday greeting to Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney!

Tell him to respect the will of Parliament, which passed a motion in June calling on the government to cease all deportation proceedings against war resisters and to allow them to stay legally in Canada. Tell him you want a Canada that respects democracy and welcomes people of peace and conscience!

Copy the Immigration critics and the War Resisters Support Campaign.

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

cc: Borys Wrzesnewskyj: wrzesnewskyj.b@parl.gc.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

2. Everyone, but especially supporters in BC:

Write letters to your local media! Make sure voices of peace are heard.

The 3 main points to cover are:

Prime Minister Harper admitted during the last election that the Iraq war was "absolutely an error". US War resisters should not be deported to be punished for refusing - just like Canada - to participate in this illegal war.

Respect democracy! Our elected representatives have already voted on this. Parliament directed the government to immediately stop the deportations of all war resisters and implement a program to let them apply to for permanent residency. It's been more than six months since the June vote and it's time for the Minister Kenney to act.

All the war resisters want is the fairness they've been promised. Since seems like the federal government apparently has taken the position that conscientious objectors don't deserve due process, Minister Kenney and Prime Minister Harper should at least grant a moratorium on deportations until all of the war resisters' court appeals have been completed.

Letters can be sent to:

- letters@theherald.canwest.com
in response to this article in the Calgary Herald,

- provletters@theprovince.com in response to this article in The Province,

- kreid@stcatharinesstandard.ca and akriluck@stcatharinesstandard.ca in response to this article in the St. Catherine Standard,

- letters@globeandmail.com in response to this story in the Globe and Mail, and

- letters@straight.com in response to this story in the Georgia Straight.

3. Supporters in Toronto:

Here's a letter from the Campaign. If you're in Toronto on December 23, perhaps you'll take a half-hour to stand up for peace.

Dear Friends --

"And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ROOM IN THE INN" -- Luke 2:7

Please join us for a brief Holiday Vigil to protest the imminent deportations of war resisters Cliff Cornell and Kim Rivera, and to show our support for a vigil that will take place that day in San Diego, CA in support of jailed war resister Robin Long.

DATE: Tuesday, December 23

TIME: 4:30 to 5:00 p.m.

PLACE: Across from the US Consulate, corner of Armoury and University, 1 block north of Queen Street West, 1 block south of Dundas Street West

Background:

This holiday season has been clouded by the actions of our government as they try to hound the war resisters out of Canada.

Cliff Cornell and Kim Rivera and her family are the latest of a number of war resisters who have been, or will soon be, ordered out of Canada, so they can be punished in the US. Robin Long was deported in July, and is now serving a 15-month jail sentence.

Cliff Cornell came to Canada in 2005 to avoid serving in a war he never enlisted to fight. He joined the US Army in 2002, attracted by the $6000 bonus offered him by a recruiter. When the US invaded Iraq in 2003, Cliff looked into the reasons for the war. By 2005 he was convinced that it was illegal and immoral. Cliff lives in Gabriola Island, BC. He has been ordered to leave Canada by Christmas Eve, or be forcibly deported face punishment in the US.

Kim Rivera came to Canada with her husband Mario and their two children, Christian and Rebecca, in February 2007. She enlisted to get access to a steady salary, housing and health care for her family. She was told that, as a wife and mother, she would not be in a combat role. But she was sent to Iraq in 2006, and was assigned to a Forward Observation Post exposed to daily rocket attacks. On leave back in the US, she and her husband decided to come to Canada. On November 23, 2008, Kim gave birth to her third child, Katie. The Riveras will learn on January 7 whether they too will face deportation, so Kim can be punished in the US.

The Harper Government keeps trying to deport the war resisters. Cliff and Kim are only the most recent war resisters to be lined up for deportation. Others in the lineup are Jeremy Hinzman and his family, Patrick Hart and his family, Matt Lowell, and Dean Walcott.

Our vigil will call on the Harper government to stop the deportations immediately. We will also call on the government to implement the motion adopted by the House of Commons last June, recommending that the war resisters be allowed to stay in Canada, and that all deportation proceedings against them be stopped.

Please join us in a Holiday Season Vigil to say "THERE MUST ALWAYS BE ROOM IN CANADA FOR THOSE WHO RESIST ILLEGAL WARS, AND COME HERE TO SEEK PEACE"

Thank you to the Vancouver chapter of the War Resisters Support Campaign for the graphic.