JEWS AND ARABS ARE UNITED

ISRAEL'S WRONGS MUST BE RIGHTED

A photo report - click on photos to enlarge
See also: A-Channel news video


OTTAWA: On May 20, members of a local coalition of Jews, Arabs and others showed up at the National Arts Centre's "Israel@60" event to let the NAC symphony orchestra and their fans know that there is nothing to celebrate, and to remind them that the birth of the State of Israel was accompanied by the creation of hundreds of thousands of indigenous refugees, none of whom were ever allowed to return to their homes.


The group was joined by a contingent of black frocked orthodox Jews who had travelled from Montreal to express their opposition to Zionism, and their sorrow at what the birth of Israel has done to the Palestinian people.

Many of them wore burlap vests - the Biblical sign of mourning (sackcloth) - and some waved the Palestinian flag. "It's very sad, the suffering of the Palestinians," said one of them in conversation with fellow protesters.


Below: the badge says: "A Jew, not a Zionist":



Here is the whole Montreal contingent of orthodox Jews posing in the shadow of the War Memorial at the top of Elgin Street:


Ben Saifer, organizer for "Not in our Name -Ottawa (NION-Ottawa)" is probably hoarse today after hours of leading those assembled in a variety of chants, such as "Celebrations to the side; condemn Israel Apartheid", and the one used as the title for this report.

Talk about a mosaic! The photo below is of Lia, who had to combine filming the event with her role as "choreographer". But also in the picture are the police, whose job was mostly to protect the NAC should any of the very peaceful protesters suddenly run amok, the "witnesses" in purple shirts whose job is solely to be seen as observers in case of any police action against the protest, to the left a person playing the part of an Israeli soldier and to the right an orthodox Jew carrying a Palestinian flag! And that is just a sample of the diversity of entities involved in this event.


Here are some photos taken from a distance in an attempt to give some idea of the size of the protest:

This is Elgin Street on both sides of the North entrance to the NAC parking garage:

Farther down Elgin Street:

This group is located on the median part way across the street:

At one point a car pulled up and an angry local rabbi reached out to grab the Palestinian flag. When the police milling about the NAC entrance were called into action, the car sped away and the flag was undamaged.

Here's a closeup of the banner displayed to vehicles travelling North on Elgin Street, held by members of the Ottawa Raging Grannies:

and just beyond this banner, a little later on, some of the Montreal orthodox visitors stood and faced the traffic with their own banners:


Seated near the Grannies was this man with his sign: "Light up Gaza", referring to the electricity rationing that further complicates the life of a Palestinian.

Also on the same corner stood an Arab with a sign pointing out Canada's complicity in Israeli Apartheid, with a government that supports Israel right or wrong, and charitable tax status for the Jewish National Fund which sets aside land for Jews-only use (See this webpage for more information).

At one point a Jewish passerby questioned one of the rabbis about his stand against the State of Israel. Patiently, the rabbi explained how the Jews cannot inherit the Holy Land until the sin which caused the Jewish diaspora has been atoned and the Messiah returns. The man countered with "What's the problem. The land was owned by the British and they gave it to the Jews. There never was a Palestine."

To which the Arab man replied: "There never was an Israel either."

"Well, there was a people called Israel," argued the man.

"There was also a people called Palestinians. Look it up in the Bible," said the Arab.

Too many facts. The perplexed Jew went on his way.


Nearby were Abla, also an Arab, who holds a sign that pulls no punches about what Israel has been doing for 60 years, and a man whose sign makes it clear that Judaism does not necessarily mean Zionism:

The demonstration was often greeted with scowls or looks of bewilderment, but some of the people arriving to enjoy the Israel@60 symphony celebration were really upset to have their evening ruined by a prick to the conscience. One woman in particular shouted "Shame" as she drove North on Elgin, and when it was suggested that she herself should feel some shame she laid on her car horn in an attempt to drown out the troubling chants. But since the honking of passing cars is usually a sign of approval, this was not taken in the manner she hoped.

As this woman turned into the North entrance to the parking lot she used some pretty foul language. She was bringing her daughter to enjoy the symphony celebration but now the ambiance had been horribly tainted. She kept yelling, "We are free f*ing Jews!" which must have meant something to her, but only suggested to the crowd that she didn't like being reminded of the Palestinians who are a long ways from being free.

Meanwhile, all the way across the street - working alone most of the time, was Marjorie - who had some interesting conversations with passersby, got poked in the shoulder once by an angry Israel supporter, but in general received an enthusiastic response to the pamphlets she handed out and even thanks from people who were glad to see the truth getting out to the public.


I heard later that there was also a group camped at the South entrance to the NAC.

One of the highlights of the event was the mock checkpoint. The humiliation of Palestinians at Israeli checkpoints under the guise of "security" was acted out numerous times during the evening. The people who played the IDF soldier parts were very convincing: "Give me your ID." "Where are going?" "Be quiet or go to jail." "Do you know there is a curfew tonight?"...

If you look closely at the above photo you can see at the far left Diana Ralph, a founder of the Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians, heading toward the checkpoint to lend her support to the people being harassed by soldiers. Below a Palestinian woman, surrounded by barbed wire, makes her plea for an end to the oppression.


The public was also reminded of the hundreds of IDF combat soldiers who are refusing to serve in the occupied territories because they can no longer stomach treating Palestinians as subhuman:

Below are several more of the many sign messages. The first one is pointedly directed at Israeli Ambassador Alan Baker who has been making speeches all over town in which he equates anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism and does his best to turn all Palestinians and their supporters into villains. The other sign in that photo says: "I am a Palestinian born in Jerusalem; Palestine is my home but I cannot return there." It corresponds to another sign that says: "I am a Jew born in Canada. Israel is not my home, but I can return there."


Everyone who came out to this event was glad to have done so. They really felt they had accomplished something. For one thing they showed the public that the common perception of Jews and Arabs being natural enemies is a fallacy, and that justice and peace are possible in the Middle East.

For more information visit the websites shown in the banners above.
To get details of upcoming related events in Ottawa, contact:
nion.ottawa - at - gmail - dot - com
or
admin - at - canpalnet-ottawa - dot - org

Related: The Chapters bookstore boycott is still going strong, and the movement is growing. Contact NION or Canpalnet-Ottawa to get on the mailing list and support these bi-weekly pickets. Note: as funds are always in short supply for printed materials and banners, please also inquire about where you can send a donation.

See also:
Al Nakba Commemorated - May 8th events in Ottawa and Montreal

Al Nakba commemorated

Events in Ottawa and Montreal

UPDATE MAY 15 - Click here to see photos of Ottawans commemorating Al Nakba as Israelis celebrated at Lansdowne Park.

Don't forget: there's the regular Chapters boycott on May 17 at 1 PM, and the Teach-in on May 18 at Ottawa Public Library from 1 to 4 PM (Scroll to bottom of this page for details on the Teach-in)

All over the world this month at the same time that Israel celebrates 60 years of Independence, the resulting Nakba (catastrophe) that created hundreds of thousands of Arab refugees is being commemorated. (See media ad entitled: "We cannot celebrate")

On May 8th, in Ottawa, about 80 people - Jews, Palestinians, and others - stood silently outside the Israel celebrations held at Lansdowne Park, dressed in black, carrying black balloons. A report and a video should be coming out this week.

In the meantime, see Ron Saba's wonderful photos of a Montreal rally and march. The first one speaks volumes. Families thought they were temporarily leaving their homes until the fighting stopped, but they were never allowed to return. All they have left of their family homes are the keys to the front door.

House demolitions are still continuing, both to make way for more Jewish settlement in the West Bank, and as a collective punishment for Palestinian resistance. Read the story of Ottawan Monzer Zimmo's home which was just recently bulldozed, and learn about Jewish/Palestinian hopes for peace.









UPCOMING OTTAWA EVENT:

Palestinian Civil Society organizations issued a statement in March 2008 calling on civil society around the world to Boycott the "Israel at 60" Celebrations, and to instead focus on the Sixty Years of Dispossession and Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.

This May, Israel celebrates the birth of a Jewish state but disavows any responsibility for the destruction of the Palestinian homeland and the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, what Palestinians call the Nakba, or Catastrophe. More than half of the indigenous Palestinian population living in Palestine (an estimated 1.3 million people) was displaced by Zionist militias and the State of Israel between the end of 1947 and early 1949.

"Israel at 60 is a state that continues to deny Palestinian refugees their UN-sanctioned right to return to their homes and receive compensation, simply because they are "non-Jews". It still illegally occupies Palestinian and other Arab lands, in violation of numerous UN resolutions. It persists in its blatant denial of fundamental Palestinian human rights, in contravention of international humanitarian law and human rights conventions. It still subjects its own Palestinian citizens to a system of institutionalized discrimination, strongly reminiscent of the defunct apartheid regime in South Africa. And Israel gets away with all this, thanks to the unprecedented immunity granted to it by the unlimited and munificent US and European economic, diplomatic, political, and academic support".* Canada has also become one of the strongest supporters of Israel's violations of international law, with Prime Minister Harper
infamously calling extensive bombing of civilians a "measured response".

The Ottawa Palestine Solidarity Network is heeding this call from Palestinian civil society and invite you to join us for a teach-in on Sunday May 18th at the Ottawa Public Library (120 Metcalfe), from 1-4pm.


Israel at 60: Something to Celebrate? An interactive teach-in and discussion featuring:


Samah Sabawi, Palestinian Canadian Human Rights Activist; "Al-Nakbah: A Human Tragedy"


Diana Ralph, Coordinator, Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians; "Which side are you on? Jews of Conscience must stand with Palestinians"


Hassan Husseini, CUPE Activist/ PhD Candidate in Political Science at Carleton University; "Heeding the International Solidarity Movement's Call: The Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Campaign in Canada and Beyond"

Organized by the Ottawa Palestine Solidarity Network

*Palestinian Appeal to International Civil Society, Badil Resource Centre for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights; http://www.badil.org/Publications/badil-nakba-60-info-packet/statements/statement03.htm

For further information and resources visit Naqba 60 Packet 2008 www.badil.org

PHOTOS OF OTTAWA COMMEMORATION OF AL NAKBA AS ISRAELI CELEBRATED

APPEAL FOR BASHIR MAKHTAL

Lorne Waldman & Associates
Canadian Immigration and Human Rights Law

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The Case of Bashir Makhtal

Bashir Makhtal is a Canadian citizen. He has been held illegally in Ethiopia without charges or trial since January 2007. He urgently needs the intervention of Canadian officials at the highest levels.

Please send an email to to Prime Minister Stephen Harper - pm@pm.gc.ca - calling on him to intervene immediately to save Bashir Makhtal.

Overview of the Case

Commencing on or about January 22, 2007 Mr. Makhtal has been held illegally first in Kenya and now in Ethiopia at the detention centre in Addis Ababa Ethiopia where he is being held incommunicado and without charge or trial, without access to a lawyer and without access to Canadian consular assistance.

Mr. Makhtal was first arrested at the Kenya Somalia border in December 2006 and was transferred to Nairobi. He was held in Nairobi until January 21, 2007 when he was transferred illegally and without legal authorization on a private plane from Nairobi to Somalia and from there to Ethiopia.

He has been held in detention incommunicado without access to counsel family or consular officials for over one year in a notorious detention centre where torture is known to occur. He has been forced to video tape a false confession. He has been denied medical attention.

Mr. Makhtal is a citizen of Canada. He was born in Ethiopia and left Ethiopia when he was about 11 years old, travelling to Somalia, where he resided. He eventually made his way to Italy, where he applied for refugee protection and was granted status as a Convention Refugee and was ultimately resettled in Canada in 1991 - due to his fear of persecution at the hands of the Ethiopian government.

Despite the change in government since he left Ethiopia many years ago he still fears persecution there due to the ongoing conflict between the Government of Ethiopia and the people of the Ogaden region where Mr. Makhtal was born.

He lived, studied and worked in Canada for about 10 years and became a Canadian citizen in 1994. He decided to return to Kenya in 2001. He began running a business selling used clothing in Kenya. The business required him to travel extensively in the region. In Kenya, he was married to a Kenyan citizen and was residing in Nairobi. His business took him frequently to Somalia.

In December 2006 while on business, he was detained at the Kenya-Somalia border when he attempted to re-enter Kenya. He was detained with a large group of people who had fled Somalia as a result of the intervention by the Ethiopian forces. He was transferred to Nairobi where he was held in detention. He retained a lawyer there, who filed an application for habeas corpus. The application was set to be heard on Monday , January 22 when he was illegally and surreptitiously removed from Kenya without due process on January 21st and transferred on a chartered flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

This transfer contravenes Kenya's international obligations. Mr. Makhtal has been detained in Addis Ababa since January 2007; that is for a period of more than one year. His family members retained a lawyer in Addis Ababa to try to obtain access to him but the lawyer was unable to do so. Indeed, the Ethiopian authorities told the lawyer that they had no record of Mr. Makhtal's detention.

Canadian consular officials have apparently also sought access to him and have also been refused this access. They have been advised that he is detained but have not been given any further information with respect to him.

Mr Makhtal has not been formally charged with any offence. He has not even been officially recognized as a prisoner. He is, in essence, a disappeared person because although he is in Ethiopia, he has not been given consular access or access to a lawyer. This conduct on the part of the Ethiopian authorities is in flagrant violation of international law.

International law requires that Mr. Makhtal not be subjected to arbitrary detention, that he be given consular access and access to a lawyer, that he be allowed to know the reason for his detention and that he have a right to challenge that detention before a fair and impartial tribunal that follows adequate standards of due process. That tribunal should have the power to order Mr. Makhtal's release if there are no grounds consistent with international law for his detention.

Given the documentary evidence that suggests that persons held in incommunicado detention in Ethiopia are at grave risk of torture there is a serious risk of torture in this case. Mr. Makhtal's family has called on the Canadian government to protest the actions of the Ethiopian government at the highest levels. Please send an email to Prime Minister Stephen Harper at pm@pm.gc.ca calling on him to intervene immediately to save Bashir Makhtal.

Best Regards
Friends of Bashir Makhtal

==============

Like Arar, Bashir Makhtal, Huseyin Celil and Omar Khadr are Canadian citizens. If that label means anything, it means Ottawa should do for them what it did not do for Maher Arar. It should move heaven and earth to bring them home.

Thomas Walkom, Toronto Star

=============

Related: Rendered - Bashir Makhtal

Report from Mohawk Barricades

UPDATES: MNN: Watch the Cops: The Mohawks took some of the stuffing out of the OPP cops who have been trying out some of their low level warfare tactics on us which aren’t working. If we have courage and know we are right in what we are doing, then we will stand up to them. This perplexes them. They thought it was going to be over a long time ago. Obviously they haven’t read their history. We’re still here after 400 years. And we ain’t going nowhere. More...

Tyendinaga UPDATE
What happened - How you can help
An email came from the real estate agents, Emile and Theodore Nibourg, enibourg@sutton.com. These are the guys who wanted to build condos on Mohawk land, or at least they wanted to make it look like they were building condos. They knew the Mohawks would object. They even told some of us they were hoping to get a pay out guaranteeing their profits from Canadian taxpayers when the deal fell through...

See video of Tyendinaga solidarity protest at Dalton McGuinty's constituency office in OTTAWA

=====================

By Leigh Thomson
Cramahe Township,Ont.

The fires are burning hot, the wind whipping up, with good laughs and people circulating between barricades and the gravel pit near Deseronto. Women of the community, men, young people, with friends from Ottawa and Toronto, had stayed up all night, some headed out, more came in for the coming night.

News arrived by cell phone and car, the Six Nations in distant solidarity were given a half-hour 'ultimatum' to leave by police, they responded with 600 more joining their stand. Others held the Mercier bridge. Here, the calm message was that everyone was in 'for the long haul', and another night surrounding the OPP, who were attempting to block access to the gravel pit where a number of Mohawks were staying. The OPP were unsuccessful in this endeavour, and members of the community moved back and forth to talk, eat, and grab a nap.

Earlier in the evening I had talked with some of the police, 'Why are you here?"

Their response: "There are fires on public roads."

"But your guns and your presence are the problem. You are not helping the situation, you're making it worse."

"We're under orders."

Driving into town, one passes lawn signs, "Mohawk Land: OPP Not Welcome Here".

At one of the bonfires, a woman described how last night police had pointed guns at the heads of some of the young people. Another took me to see the land of the tract which ought to have been returned to the band, but was sold instead. "We're tired of being 'soft' and believing the promises of government. We have to take a stand"

The gravel pit developer also wants to build a condomium complex on the lake, and apparently had earlier phoned around the community, telling of his plans, to instigate a conflict. The OPP are part of this picture. According to some band members, the developer's goal is to use the situation to extract money from the government in compensation.

The land itself is beautiful, with a creek flowing through. Frogs sang, wood cocks danced into the sky as the sun set, a rabbit disappeared along the bank. In the distance we could see the fire of the Mohawks on the high ground of the tract. And other bonfires to the west. Somewhere in the middle were a few police cruisers, and behind the movie theatre lots of unmarked vans, with others waiting on backroads.

Family members from the community passed back and forth, bringing coffee, I learned that Tyendinaga means 'two sticks joined together', representing two nations, who were joined by other First Nations in confederacy, and now again in solidarity.

Although sad that a community needs to go to these lengths to protect its own land, I am glad to have met wonderful people, and hope that the police, like occupiers in more distant lands, leave the streets quietly, and quickly.

Image: Mohawk Nation News

REQUESTED ACTION FROM MOHAWK NATION NEWS

CALL Ontario Provicial Police & advise them that the world is watching:
24 hour communications center OPP: 1-888-310-1122
OPP Eastern Headquarters: 613-284-4500

======================

UPCOMING IN OTTAWA and VANCOUVER

Sun. Apr. 27 at 2 p.m. - Dalton McGuinty's constituency office, 1795 Kilborn Ave, OTTAWA
Concerned Canadians Opposed to Heavy-Handed Police Tactics, in Favour of Speedy and Just Resolutions to All Aboriginal Land Claims will be rallying and available to speak to media.


Thursday, May 8 at 12 Noon
Westin Ottawa Hotel (11 Colonel By, Just South of Rideau St) OTTAWA

No New Ipperwash!

Join ACT for the Earth for a rally in solidarity with Robert Lovelace, the KI-6, and the Tyendinaga of the Bay of Quinte, during Premier McGuinty's speech to the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce. Join us in calling on the Premier to put a stop to the persecution of Indigenous peoples for the sake of corporate greed!
www.ACTfortheEarth.org

Monday April 28.- 2:30 pm - China Creek Skate Park, East Broadway and Clark Drive, VANCOUVER
Action on Coast Salish Territory in solidarity with the Tyendinaga Mohawks. Come and be a part of the struggle and action for the freedom for our brothers and sisters in Tyendinaga.
More information: oolindsaylouoo - at - gmail - dot - com

Canadian Student Activists at SPP Summit in New Orleans

PRESS RELEASE

Student activists from Ontario travel to New Orleans to protest the SPP and the ongoing marginalization of Hurricane Katrina survivors.

For Immediate Release

April 22, 2008

Over 30 students from 5 Ontario Universities and Colleges have travelled to attend the New Orleans People's Summit and participate in various actions opposing the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP).

NEW ORLEANS- On April 17th several Canadian organizations have begun the long trek to New Orleans for The People`s Summit which is taking place on April 20th-22nd. Its purpose is to counter the meeting of North American heads-of-state with the North American Competitiveness Council. The meeting is an annual summit as part of the Security and Prosperity Partnership often referred to as the "North American Union" or ``NAFTA on steroids.`` Set to harmonize standards among the three countries, this Partnership also includes such agenda items as continental security, defense, and labour regulations. Initial stages of the Partnership have begun in 2001 and are set to complete in 2010 with a final summit in Canada.

Student representatives from the Ottawa University Student's Federation (SFUO), Anti-War@Laurier, members of Fanshawe College Social Justice Club, University of Guelph, Ryerson University, and the People's Global Action-Block Ottawa (PGA) have united to represent the Ontario Student Movement at this year's SPP summit in New Orleans. Lia Tara of the PGA-Block Ottawa notes that "mobilizing against the SPP has strengthened a number of autonomous organizations in Canada and has produced a movement that has enough skills to asses a situation such as the lack of a local mobilized convergence and compensate for it in a locally minded and unobtrusive way."

Among the more pressing issues arising from this Partnership is the immediate escalation in resource exploitation of the Tar Sands in Alberta, hydroelectricity in Mexico, water privatization, and migration issues. The intent of private enterprises cooperating with national leaders is to ease the flow of trade across borders while limiting the movement of people. Massive highways as well as over 50 oil and gas pipelines are in the process of being built to ease this purpose.

New Orleans has been selected to host this year`s summit due to the devastation wreaked upon it by hurricane Katrina which have led to lucrative business opportunities. Further, internal gentrification of the city has restricted the possibility of dissent making the it a more strategically sound choice for the organizers of the Summit.

Local activists have arranged The People`s Summit which includes workshops, teach-ins, films, and creative displays but purosefully limits mass covnergences. The Canadian contingent, in coordination with numerous local organizations has thus taken upon itself the orgnization of a parade-like festive march scheduled for the final day of the summit. Planning to take off from Jackson Square Park at 9:15 p.m. on April 22nd, the purpose of this march is to bring together the local and most poverty stricken communities in a spirit of celebration of resistance. It will also focus on spreading information about the Security and Prosperity Partnership.

For this purpose, a number of groups have outreached to various parts of the city to include and invite local residents to join. An overwhelmingly positive support from residents and local organizers has confirmed the need for such a convergence.

-30-

PGA (Ottawa) (http://pga.roadnetwork.org/) –Lia Tarachansky-PGABlock - at - gmail - dot - com

Related:

IndyOttawa: Mobile to New Orleans
Lia Tarachansky reports as Canadian buses approach the site of the SPP summit.

The People's Summit

No Excuse for Dion Now

He can't say he didn't know

Thanks to Ron Saba, Editor, Montreal Planet Magazine

As shown in the following two photos, on Saturday April 19, 2008 Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion was presented with the JNF Tax Fraud Pamphlet which provides documentary evidence concerning the racist nature of the JNF.

Mr. Dion was also told that many Canadians are very concerned by the links between the Liberal Party of Canada and the Racist JNF.

These photos serve as evidence that Mr. Dion has been made aware of the racist nature of the JNF.

Investigate Liberal Party links to the Racist JNF Tax Fraud
Liberal Senator Yoine Goldstein is listed as an executive officer of the JNF.

Liberal MP Bob Rae is listed as a committee member of the JNF.

Racism isn’t charitable! Land theft isn’t charitable!

The Jewish National Fund (JNF)

Video: CBC Documentary on JNF's Illegal Canada Park

Montreal Planet Magazine: Revoke the “charitable” status of the Racist JNF! Complaint filed with Canadian Human Rights Commission
Montreal Planet Video: JNF Toronto admits JNF in possession of stolen property in occupied West Bank

Adalah: Challenging the discriminatory land policies of the Jewish National Fund (JNF)

UriDavis/YYC: "All Canadian Tax Payers are Complicit in Israeli War Crime"

WRMEA: "Canada Park" Built on Ruins of Palestinian Villages

Protesting the JNF in Toronto:
Community Groups Oppose Fundraising for Illegal "Canada Park"

CPNO: Letter from faculty and alumni at University of British Columbia to UBC President regarding the recent UBC corporate sponsorship of the JNF dinner held in April 2006 in Vancouver

Immigration BILL C-50 - CROSS-COUNTRY MOBILIZING

YOUR URGENT SUPPORT NEEDED- CALL, FAX, OR EMAIL LIBERAL AND NDP MPS TO SCRAP BILL C-50!

WED APRIL 9 - FRI APRIL 11, 2008: Flood the offices of Liberal and NDP Members of Parliament with calls, emails and faxes to pressure them to vote AGAINST Bill C-50.

On March 14th 2008, the Conservative government introduced a series of amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act buried in Bill c-50, the 'budget implementation bill'. This fundamentally undemocratic move sneaks in critical changes to Canada's immigration policy without proposing any of those changes before Parliament. These sweeping changes will give enormous and arbitrary powers to the Minister around application processing, while perpetuating a racist and anti-poor agenda of setting immigration agendas based on 'labour market needs'. In respose to an overwhelming negative response to these amendements- including the Canadian Bar Association- the Immigration Minister has recently been forced to attempt to spin these regressive changes as being guided by the principles of 'fairness'!

A full backgrounder and statement on Bill C 50 and its impacts is included below


TAKE 5 MINUTES TO PRESSURE MPS TO VOTE AGAINST BILL C-50


1) Contact your MP

2) Contact key MP's (please contact them all!)

Stephane Dion
Tel: (514) 335-6655. Fax: (514) 335-2712. Email: DionS@parl.gc.ca

Maurizio Bevilacqua
Tel: (905) 303-5000 or (613) 996-4971. Email: Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca

Irwin Cotler
Tel: (514) 283-0171. Fax: (514) 739-9452. Email: cotler.i@parl.gc.ca

Ujjal Dosanjh
Tel: (604) 775-5323. Email: dosanjh.u@parl.gc.ca

Hedy Fry
Tel: (604) 666-0135. Email: Fry.H@parl.gc.ca

Sukh Dhaliwal
Tel: (604) 598-2200. Email: dhalis@parl.gc.ca

Jack Layton
Tel: (613) 947-0867 Fax: (613) 947-0868. Email: laytoj@parl.gc.ca

Olivia Chow
Tel: 416-533-2710. Fax: 416-533-2236. Email: chowo@parl.gc.ca


BACKGROUNDER: Scrap Bill C-50!

On March 14th 2008, the Conservative government introduced a series of amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), buried in Bill c-50, a 136-page "budget implementation bill".

This fundamentally undemocratic move sneaks in critical changes to Canada's immigration policy without proposing any of those changes before Parliament. By making it a matter of confidence, the government forces Opposition parties to either accept them or call an election.

This series of amendments places more arbitrary power in the hands of the Immigration Minister:

Under the existing s. 11 of the IRPA, anyone who meets the already stringent criteria to enter Canada as a worker, student, visitor, or permanent resident, shall be granted that status. However, under the proposed changes, despite meeting the criteria, the Minister will have the discretion to arbitrarily reject an application.

Sec. 25 currently says that the Minister "shall" examine a Humanitarian and Compassionate application - this is changed to "shall" examine the H&C application if the applicant is in Canada, but only "may" examine the application if the applicant is outside Canada. Although the government claims will have no impact on family reunification, in practice it will have a serious impact on family reunification as H&C applications are one of the most frequent avenues for family reunification (for example separated refugee children).

Proposed s. 87.3 of the Act will allow the Minister to issue "instructions" setting quotas on the "category" of person that can enter Canada - including quotas based on country of origin. This unprecedented modification of IRPA would risk putting in place implicit equivalents to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923, the Order in Council of 1911 prohibiting the landing of " any immigrant belonging to the Negro race", that of 1923 excluding "any immigrant of any Asiatic race", or the "None is too many" rule applied to Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi concentration camps in 1945.

Ministerial power in deciding the order in which new applications are processed, regardless of when they were filed. This means prioritizing immigration applicants based on their ability to fulfill the needs of the Canadian job market, "whether it's people to wash dishes and make
sandwiches, or whether it's the highly skilled engineers", as stated by Minister Diane Finley. This is a profoundly dehumanizing and racist conception of immigrants as disposable commodities.

New sections 87.3 (4) and (5) of the IRPA would allow the Minister to simply hold on to, return, or throw out a visa application and deny any opportunity to review that decision in Court. This precedent is truly alarming, especially in the context of a deeply flawed appeals process, including the existing lack of implementation of a Refugee Appeal Division, despite being provided for under IRPA.


The Conservatives argue that these changes are necessary to "modernize" the immigration system and reduce the existing backlog. However, the true objective is clear from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's comments that the government seeks a "competitive immigration system which will quickly process skilled immigrants who can make an immediate contribution to the economy."

The major lobby behind these changes comes from employers' organizations and business lobbies. Indeed, Bill C-50 is being praised primarily by business associations. Philip Hochstein, president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of British Columbia, has stated that the government is moving in the right direction by focusing on Canada's economic needs, "We need strong, young, willing workers to come, much like the people who built this country."

Mr. Hochstein seems to forget the historical exploitation of immigrant workers, the most well-known example of which is the Chinese railway workers. The estimated 17,000 Chinese workers who came to Canada from 1881-1884 were met with dangerous working conditions and discrimination upon their arrival. Chinese workers earned $1 a day, and it is estimated that anywhere from 1500-2500 Chinese migrants died during the construction of the railway. As soon as this dangerous work was completed, the message was clear: Chinese people were no longer welcome.

These proposed legislative changes come in the context of a global capitalist and nationalist reinforcement of labour flexibility as the guiding principle of immigration policy, where migrants are only as valuable as their labour. It is clear that the priorities will be relatively wealthy people applying under the skilled worker program and investor classes, as well as increasingly vulnerable temporary migrant workers. Immigration policy will serve the needs of Canadian industry by regulating migration and providing a flexible labour pool rather than upholding the dignity of migrants.

These changes are directly in line with Canada's commitment to the Security and Prosperity Partnership, which lays out the need for a rapid expansion of both "low-skill" temporary guest worker programs and "high-skill" professionals. In Canada today, the number of people admitted each year on temporary worker visas is greater than the number admitted as permanent residents. We must reject temporary migrant worker programs of indentured servitude and call for the unconditional right of migrant workers to permanent residency and labour rights equal to those of citizens.

At the same time, such changes comes at the deliberate expense of refugees, non-status migrants, or those seeking family reunification- who are seen as increasingly 'undesirable' and potential security threats in light of repressive post 9/11 controls. Decisions such as the $101 million arming of Canadian border guards; the establishment of Canadian Border Services Agency as an enforcement division in processing refugee claims that sends the message that refugee claimants are a threat to public safety; the ongoing unjust use of Security Certificates against non-citizens; the implementation of the Safe Third Country Agreement between the Canada and US which has drastically reduced the number of asylum seekers able to make a claim in Canada; and increasing rates of deportation to over 13,000 a year from Canada have all perpetuated a racist, anti-poor, and anti-migrant agenda.

This agenda is normalized due to the heightened racialized national identity of Canada that continuously places racialized immigrants (although not white immigrants) as 'Outsiders' to the Canadian nation. For example, much of the opposition to this Bill has challenged the secretive process behind the bill, while still accepting the norm that "Canada should be able to select its preferred immigrants", thus feeding into the commodification of migrants and the assertion of Canada's sovereign and racist right to select who it allows to remain, as reminiscent through the Chinese Exclusion Act, Japanese-Canadian internment, and Komagatamaru incident. Therefore although nothing new, in the post 9/11 climate, we are witnessing an escalation of attacks against 'immigrants'- the eternally hyphenated citizens- for example through the reasonable accommodation' hearings, the wearing of the hijab and turban, the phenomenon of "nippertipping" against Asian-Canadians, and many more. The constant questioning of immigrants (although most are long-time citizens) "ability to integrate", their "suspicious behaviours", their "overburdening of the system", and their "Third World traditions" reveals an incredibly shallow multiculturalism.

This mutual reinforcement of corporate and state interests - cheap labor and national identity, respectively - evident in the prioritization of labour market needs within the global War on Terror, is legitimized not only by recourse to colonial and racist discourse but also by the constant cultivation of fear in the hearts and minds of citizens. The production of migrants as disposable commodities goes in tandem with their construction as the dangerous "Other" or "The Enemy Within" as the threat they pose can be tamed through a process of commodification and the withholding of citizenship rights as a mechanism of social control. Fear of the "dangerous Other" thus underwrites the production of exclusivist nationalist identity (and therefore support for the state) while fear of the "commodifiable Other" (as "stealing" employment and eroding the social system) produces fearful and disciplined citizens vulnerable to increasing corporate exploitation and state repression.

Therefore, the general message to poor and working people of colour and their families- the overwhelming majority of migrants from the Global South- is that they need not apply as permanent residents unless they are willing to come as temporary workers in exploitative jobs and whose status will be legally reinforced as 'non-Canadians'. This is particularly revolting in a context where the Canadian government and Canadian corporations actively participate in the creation and reinforcement of a system of global displacement of migrants and refugees who are fleeing poverty, persecution, war and corporate exploitation of their lands.

In light of this reality, we call for an end to deportation and detentions and a comprehensive, transparent, inclusive and ongoing regularization program that is equitable and accessible to all persons living without permanent residency in Canada to ensure free migration and full rights for all those who seek them. We also call for the abolition of agreements such as NAFTA and the SPP, which are making Canadian borders increasingly open to capital and those who represent capital, while at the same time restricting the movement of those who have been displaced by these very same neoliberal policies.

At a most basic level, we must also challenge the notion that some migrants are more worthy than others; we believe that freedom of movement is a fundamental human right and we struggle for a world in which no one is forced to migrate against their will and where people can move freely in order to live and flourish in justice and dignity.

NO ONE IS ILLEGAL!

For more information, contact No One Is Illegal-Vancouver
www.nooneisillegal.org
email: noii-van@resist.ca

YYC: Note: You can also find MPs here, along with emails addresses for batch mailing to all MPs.