05) LET THE WAR RESISTERS STAY!

People’s Voice Editorial

    The first week of December is “Let Them Stay Week”, an important occasion to tell federal Minister of Immigration John McCallum to take steps to allow U.S. war resisters to stay in Canada, and to end the vicious legal proceedings against them. For a decade, U.S. Iraq War resisters were the target of political interference in their cases by the previous Conservative government. Despite strong public opposition, some were deported by Canada, and received harsh jail sentences for opposing the illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq.

    Before and during the recent federal campaign, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals made a number of important promises in response to public pressure. The new PM is on record as backing the stand taken by Liberal governments of the 1965-1973 period, when some 50,000 conscientious objectors and other Americans were allowed to enter Canada rather than take part in the Vietnam War. Trudeau has also been a sharp critic of Conservative policies on this issue.

    Now the Liberals must take swift action on their promises. The deportations must end, along with all legal and court proceedings against the war resisters. As the War Resisters Support Campaign says, this must including rescinding Operational Bulletin 202, a directive issued in July 2010 by the Harper Government which instructs Immigration Officers to flag all U.S. war resisters, label them criminals, and define them as potentially inadmissible before even hearing their cases. This draconian regulation must be replaced by a new Operational Bulletin that restores fairness for all war resister cases and reverses the harm done to date.

    Too many war resisters and their families have already suffered for their brave stand. We urge readers to help end this tragedy. For more information on how to support the campaign at this crucial moment, visit www.resisters.ca.

(The above article is from the December 1-31, 2015, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)