Standing for something

I had to reach for the Gravol when I heard him say it. In one of the current Conservative t.v. ads, sweater-clad Stephen Harper leans forward from the fireplace to assert that "Canada has to stand for something". The ad is about the military and what Harper means is Canada should stand for aggressive wars like the search and destroy mess in Afghanistan.

Of course, Canada has stood for lots else more honourable and for a long time. Like how we've long stood for providing sanctuary to conscientious objectors and other war resisters from the United States.

Between 1964 and 1977, Canada welcomed as many as 125,000 war resisters fleeing the Vietnam War. Many of those people stayed in Canada to build a life and have made a great contribution to our country.

But now, under the Harper Conservatives, the Canadian government has rejected that tradition. Instead, the Canadian Border Services Agency has been turned loose to harass and hunt down the small and courageous community of resisters who have left the U.S. army and fled to Canada to protest the illegal war on Iraq.

This despite a House of Commons majority vote on June 3rd, urging the government to give sanctuary to resisters and to not deport them.

The Harper government's answer to the majority will of Parliament was to arrest and deport U.S. war resister Robin Long. After he was arrested in July on the specious grounds that he had not let the border services agency know he had stayed at the home of friends, Long was quickly shipped to the U.S. On August 22nd, Robin Long was sentenced to 15 months in a military penitentiary and given a dishonourable discharge. That's a felony offense which will follow him his whole life.

"It sets a very chilling precedent that someone who is brought back gets the book thrown at them" commented Ann Wright, the U.S. army colonel who resigned in protest of the war in Iraq "I hope the Canadian government recognizes that."

The Harper government may recognize that, but clearly doesn't care. Now war resister Jeremy Hinzman, along with his wife and two children, are facing an order to leave Canada on September 23rd. Hinzman likely faces a harsh jail sentence similar to the one Robin Long received. Despite the Angus Reid poll showing 64% of Canadians support letting war resisters stay and despite the vote of Parliament, the deportation order against Hinzman stands.

This upcoming Saturday September 13th, Canadians have a chance to let Harper know where we stand on this issue. Saturday is a Day of Action in support of war resisters with events scheduled in 19 different communities. Join in.

Canadians do want to stand for many things, amongst them a compassionate refugee policy and a peace building role internationally. As long as Stephen Harper and the Conservatives are in government, we will not have either.

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