FWD: Join Canadians across the country in support of U.S. Iraq War resisters, who are currently threatened with deportation by the Conservative minority government.
This meeting includes the first Toronto speaking appearance by Ashlea Brockway. Ashlea’s husband Jeremy served in Iraq. He was denied a medical discharge despite suffering from severe post-traumatic stress and other combat-related mental health issues.
Ashlea and Jeremy came to Canada seeking refuge; they have two Canadian-born children and live in Port Colborne, Ontario. Ashlea now speaks publicly on behalf of her family and in support of all veterans who lack proper support after serving their countries.
Toronto-area supporters, you will not want to miss this very special opportunity to hear and support the Brockways.
Saturday, January 22, 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
Steelworkers Hall
25 Cecil Street, TORONTO
(near College and Spadina)
With special guests:
- Ashlea Brockway Ashlea and her husband Jeremy sought refuge in Canada with their family after he refused to return to fight in Iraq.
- Alyssa Manning legal counsel
- James Loney member, Christian Peacemaker Teams; former hostage in Iraq
… and video interview with Iraq War resister Jeremy Brockway
- mass letter-writing refreshments
*****
From January 15 to 22 people across Canada will participate in a national “Let Them Stay Week”. From film nights to public forums, from music events to information pickets, events are already being planned in Grand Forks, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Windsor, Sudbury, Toronto, Peterborough, Newmarket, Fredericton, Halifax and St. Johns.
It was seven years ago that Jeremy Hinzman and his family arrived in Toronto, after Jeremy refused to deploy to Iraq. Jeremy was the first US Iraq War resister to seek asylum in Canada.
Since then, Canadians have mobilized by the thousands to ensure that U.S. soldiers who refused to participate in the illegal and immoral war in Iraq be allowed to stay in Canada. The overwhelming majority of Canadians oppose the Iraq War and two-thirds support U.S. Iraq War resisters. The Iraq War Logs released by Wikileaks show that war resisters were right to say no: by the U.S. military’s own estimates, the Iraq War has killed more than 100,000 people, two-thirds of them civilians. Many were victims of massacres and torture.
Canada’s Parliament has voted twice to stop deporting Iraq War resisters and to let them stay-reaffirming Canada’s proud tradition of welcoming conscientious objectors. But the minority Conservative government has refused to respect the traditions and democratic decisions of Canadians, and instead has deported war resisters to be jailed in the U.S..
Canada’s Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney has prejudiced the immigration proceedings of Iraq War resisters by making biased comments in the media and by issuing a directive to immigration officers that singles out war resisters as potential criminals.
The Harper government has been hoping that Canadians will forget about the Iraq War, and lose interest in the plight of the principled individuals who said no to that war. But Canadians have not forgotten — and Wikileaks has brought home the cruel reality of that war once again. We urge all those who support Iraq War resisters to make their voices heard during Let Them Stay Week and remind politicians, as Parliament gets set to resume at the end of January, that Canadians want to Let Them Stay!
Organized by the War Resisters Support Campaign • www.resisters.ca • 416.598.1222 • [email protected]
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