tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23936998948702505342024-03-13T06:47:49.526-07:00Homes Not BombsAn all-volunteer, Ontario-wide coalition of people who use nonviolent direct action in an attempt to confront institutional and personal violence, seeking a transformative solution which results not in winners versus losers, but in a society which becomes more equal and loving, more just and compassionate.Toronto Action for Social Changehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09740851364765520609noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-39905357023523625742024-03-05T16:47:00.000-08:002024-03-05T17:20:01.005-08:00End Arbitrary Detention of Canadian Muslims in NE Syria; Ontario Speaking and Book Launch Tour<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRVwrnY6Ac1QvMc0cEwHZJIXdsApedsB85ZV4eMstx1wAI8JgkgHQhnB8t_xrLlgQmoZrkybQzck7OSNfNvaqM-8ZS2te5p44KFO-QdwZv37x8bJhGt6WaYobjT0wpSSEPcsFKP5IMknLa3Sycoci3fPZYg9aDDSZdMnCmr-zWPFbZc0snEd_hSfBFXvv/s1348/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%208.18.48%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1348" data-original-width="1044" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRVwrnY6Ac1QvMc0cEwHZJIXdsApedsB85ZV4eMstx1wAI8JgkgHQhnB8t_xrLlgQmoZrkybQzck7OSNfNvaqM-8ZS2te5p44KFO-QdwZv37x8bJhGt6WaYobjT0wpSSEPcsFKP5IMknLa3Sycoci3fPZYg9aDDSZdMnCmr-zWPFbZc0snEd_hSfBFXvv/w496-h640/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%208.18.48%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="496" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;">A Book Launch and Discussion tour on the obstacles preventing the repatriation from Northeast Syria of over two dozen arbitrarily detained Canadian Muslim men, women, and children.</span></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">With:<br />Sally Lane, whose son Jack Letts has been wrongfully defamed by an inflammatory UK media and illegally held almost 7 years under conditions the UN calls “akin to torture”</div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Matthew Behrens of Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture, who has worked closely with the targets of Canadian and U.S. “national security” repression for over 25 years.</div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"> </div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><b>Background</b><br />Guantanamo in the Desert – where 50,000 Muslims are off-shored in NE Syria, beyond reach of law & rights, respect & dignity. Over two dozen Muslim Canadians – men, women & kids – are illegally detained there under conditions the UN calls akin to torture because Ottawa either refuses to repatriate them or has offered to repatriate children only if they are forcibly separated from their mothers. There is no clean water, nutritious food or proper medical care. The men’s prison cells are packed with bone-thin prisoners, many with amputated limbs.</div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">In January, 2023, a Federal Court judge called on Ottawa to repatriate them, noting: “Canadians are dying or at risk of dying every day this matter is adjourned.” Over one year later, Canada still refuses, going all the way to the Supreme Court to block their return, thereby participating in the illegal practice of forced exile. </div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><br /></div><div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">Ottawa, February 21, 7 pm, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">https://www.facebook.com/events/1039243827369411</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">Kingston, February 27, 5:30 pm, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">https://www.facebook.com/events/1537265773722701</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">Toronto, March 16, 7 pm, Friends Meeting House, 60 Lowther, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/922562202528281">https://www.facebook.com/events/922562202528281</a></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">Guelph, March 17, 2 pm, The Bookshelf, 41 Quebec Street <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1049528946144347">https://www.facebook.com/events/1049528946144347</a></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">Kitchener-Waterloo, March 17, 7 pm, Grand River Unitarian Church, 299 Sydney St. South, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/688772343209297">https://www.facebook.com/events/688772343209297</a></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">London, March 18, 6 pm, London Muslim Mosque, 151 Oxford St. West, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">https://www.facebook.com/events/3294474540845662</span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hamilton, March 19, 7 pm, Melrose United Church, 86 Homewood Ave., </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1107865954001538">https://www.facebook.com/events/1107865954001538</a></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Perth, Brockville, Almonte, Arnprior (April dates TBA)</span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJKDKogwXl5wIcmgSAArtfBWAQdTfCdvrRTBU91nZbBoaJVxJ0hGfmXfCOWDbKh79PH7t-RJFdX1TqBGVPOAoA8IWQNyXbNGtBoPO6IxOw58YeqZ2XKRjmlWqMEv2MoFW8cPJF1Gg_0mTj2bwrnDaFfF8a8hHQkzNHmmBNnQMnUmjWAvmROq0xrqA50jW/s1062/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%206.18.27%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="clear: left; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1062" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJKDKogwXl5wIcmgSAArtfBWAQdTfCdvrRTBU91nZbBoaJVxJ0hGfmXfCOWDbKh79PH7t-RJFdX1TqBGVPOAoA8IWQNyXbNGtBoPO6IxOw58YeqZ2XKRjmlWqMEv2MoFW8cPJF1Gg_0mTj2bwrnDaFfF8a8hHQkzNHmmBNnQMnUmjWAvmROq0xrqA50jW/w640-h508/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%206.18.27%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9m2P_UaVtNV4O7yUKMjwGwOHPw7ylGT8hh8uCePwFEGsHutRSJGcwrhQmHL935kf_GKWJtRL6mBeLGGMQqlExJCdw_lYtVlsuvwxDlGwTXkYHVQPnl5yOa7glQfwgWHJKv2SF91wgrzJPBcwq6KXD4idVXymDrUqi5gXsrc4umEkIOnc3X9iAZTCFhEZE/s782/sally%20book.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="758" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9m2P_UaVtNV4O7yUKMjwGwOHPw7ylGT8hh8uCePwFEGsHutRSJGcwrhQmHL935kf_GKWJtRL6mBeLGGMQqlExJCdw_lYtVlsuvwxDlGwTXkYHVQPnl5yOa7glQfwgWHJKv2SF91wgrzJPBcwq6KXD4idVXymDrUqi5gXsrc4umEkIOnc3X9iAZTCFhEZE/w620-h640/sally%20book.png" width="620" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div></div>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-57402507914380853132024-02-06T05:51:00.000-08:002024-02-06T05:51:10.938-08:00Nonviolent Direct Action, Creative Protest and Planning Effective Campaigns Workshop<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQQBhvt9BtDTEX8E8pRBV7JL1uX5xwJ_GfecGUOJczKWPZy4iGDVDRDQRCRlLJEAFparEFOZj5JBdIJhD4psnJlWAsSR-BI1JtnlnkdYKCZMh0IvyZSHko7bhxKBidGBRpCE0h95DnhaMizcrwYx1gabR2qELmqHJYveQ-dD5gAvpjuSYxlGXD7KFJOhYV/s1920/NV%20Training%20Event%20image%201920x1005.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQQBhvt9BtDTEX8E8pRBV7JL1uX5xwJ_GfecGUOJczKWPZy4iGDVDRDQRCRlLJEAFparEFOZj5JBdIJhD4psnJlWAsSR-BI1JtnlnkdYKCZMh0IvyZSHko7bhxKBidGBRpCE0h95DnhaMizcrwYx1gabR2qELmqHJYveQ-dD5gAvpjuSYxlGXD7KFJOhYV/s600/NV%20Training%20Event%20image%201920x1005.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
Space is limited, so register by sending an email to tasc@web.ca
We will send location details (we will be in an accessible space) after you have registered. Please let us know specific issues you would like to have covered in the workshop. We’ll send some video clips to help get you prepared for the day.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We request that participants be masked to protect yourselves amidst the high rates of respiratory viruses and in support of those immunocompromised members of the community who otherwise cannot attend such indoor gatherings. HEPA filters will be running throughout the day. </div><div><br /></div><div> Presented by Homes not Bombs and the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Ottawa Quakers <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>WHY THIS WORKSHOP?</b>
Protests are common in Ottawa – Gaza, climate catastrophe, anti-racism, solidarity with LGBTQ2+, anti-poverty – and while many of us are comfortable showing up as long as someone else is organizing them, we tend to forget that there is an artistry and skills set to them, especially those that may involve some level of confrontation or that turn out unexpectedly. Having those skills to fall back on can ensure your safety and keeping the message focused.
Just as we wouldn't send someone into surgery without training, having training for political protests and nonviolent direct actions is critical to protect you, your message, and your community. </div><div><br /></div><div>The workshop will include discussion, role plays to prepare you for real-life situations, video samples, laughter and, importantly, joy, because to come together to say “NO” to the injustices of the world is an opportunity for us to live in the best of ourselves. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>QUESTIONS CONSIDERED IN THE WORKSHOP</b>
This in-depth interactive workshop, facilitated by a Homes not Bombs trainer with decades of experience conducting trainings in schools, prisons, faith groups, anti-globalization convergences, and other venues, will provide you with the knowledge, skills, and legal/political/theatrical literacy you need to carry out successful, creative nonviolent direct actions that go beyond the “Demonstrations 101" box. </div><div><br /></div><div>Who, What, When, Where, Why and How nonviolence? </div><div><br /></div><div>How has nonviolence worked against dictators and other brutal regimes? </div><div><br /></div><div> How does nonviolent resistance respond to ecological and genocide grief? </div><div><br /></div><div> What is the architecture of building a successful action and campaign? </div><div><br /></div><div> How can we approach effective political action without us/them polarization, by naming and protesting practices which are harmful but refusing to be enemies? </div><div><br /></div><div> How do we make ourselves and our messages accessible to bystanders and opponents? </div><div><br /></div><div> How can we harness the fiercely compassionate power of love, joy, and beloved community even as we face some of the most difficult challenges imaginable? </div><div><br /></div><div> How can humour, theatre, art, and silence be employed as tactics that draw people in and protect the integrity of your gathering? </div><div><br /></div><div>How do we engage those with whom we disagree as opponents and not enemies? </div><div><br /></div><div>How can nonviolent activists show solidarity with a people who feel they have no other choice but to take up arms? </div><div><br /></div><div>How do you de-escalate a tense situation? </div><div><br /></div><div>How have the key ideas of the civil rights, women’s liberation, LGBTQ2+, disabled rights, peace and anti-intervention, and anti-colonial mass movements speak to how we organize in Ottawa? </div><div><br /></div><div>What is nonviolent civil disobedience? How does it work? What are my rights and responsibilities when I take part in one? What happens if I am arrested? What is it like to be held in custody and to go to court if I am charged? </div><div><br /></div><div> "When the appeal and temptation to violence is most powerful; when the suffering and oppression is greatest; when the desire for vengeance is compelling, that is when we most need to stand up and say as loudly as we can that violence is not the answer! War must stop. Occupation must cease. The siege must be lifted. The struggle for freedom, equality and self determination must continue, yes, but with different methods and without violence, destruction, or bloodshed.”– Mubarak Awad and Jonathan Kuttab, Nonviolence International, on the Palestinian liberation struggle.
</div></div>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-21227839953287774642023-11-16T07:03:00.000-08:002023-11-16T07:03:59.841-08:00Supreme Court Abandons Dozens of Detained Canadians in Syria<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6pvvg_1VhJXfOklrZ-ZuBbZwQdeK2nQmJ6LCiXMW96lCSU5SJpKGCaTamegBW0DPXT8x33kKcy3eRqjbvzhV912w9uk7isMuts-vCsyGD7QgtaM5ilTjj8F5bbUo3VVCXsmccKVqDJCqGUJJBPGn8Wtppo3EOgSXqxQ4gNl-B-xwfzfB0ofaVgKJ1tNy/s2048/Letts%20Banner%20PMO:Hill.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1922" data-original-width="2048" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6pvvg_1VhJXfOklrZ-ZuBbZwQdeK2nQmJ6LCiXMW96lCSU5SJpKGCaTamegBW0DPXT8x33kKcy3eRqjbvzhV912w9uk7isMuts-vCsyGD7QgtaM5ilTjj8F5bbUo3VVCXsmccKVqDJCqGUJJBPGn8Wtppo3EOgSXqxQ4gNl-B-xwfzfB0ofaVgKJ1tNy/w640-h600/Letts%20Banner%20PMO:Hill.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">OTTAWA –
In a hugely disappointing decision, the Supreme Court of Canada has refused to
hear the critical case of four men who have been arbitrarily detained without
charge under conditions akin to torture – one for almost seven years – in
northeast Syria. Canada’s refusal to assist them has perpetuated their exile.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The mother of one of those men, expressed her profound
frustration.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Global Affairs won’t meet with me,” says Sally Lane, whose son
Jack Letts turned 28 on Tuesday. “My own MP won’t listen to me. And now the
Supreme Court has told me and the other families that we don’t have the same
rights as everyone else. It is supremely contemptuous of me, the other families
of loved ones held there, and the basic rights and freedoms Canada is
supposedly committed to, that in refusing to hear this case, the Court has
essentially said it is acceptable for Canada to engage in the illegal practices
of exile, indefinite arbitrary detention, and torture.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“We’re not giving up, but today it is difficult to maintain hope
when my son, the other men, and the additional women and children who remain
detained have been told their lives do not matter.”</span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimhZToU7Y7V3geW7ikS79uQlXxtTZwFG7puzmquZGwridhEf8_sULBtUb18_BToolf-Sagtexl3hg-OLHy_FpglL1icL1bo8ptHPhDbNfvGEBjR5rUu_d1R4iHaUGMca9Qd9PCjXeRtduV56NAwj1HURmRs9jOWoSnfbh-Cxg2eOfS-FcfSYSgckxc5Fhp/s782/sally%20book.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="758" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimhZToU7Y7V3geW7ikS79uQlXxtTZwFG7puzmquZGwridhEf8_sULBtUb18_BToolf-Sagtexl3hg-OLHy_FpglL1icL1bo8ptHPhDbNfvGEBjR5rUu_d1R4iHaUGMca9Qd9PCjXeRtduV56NAwj1HURmRs9jOWoSnfbh-Cxg2eOfS-FcfSYSgckxc5Fhp/w388-h400/sally%20book.png" width="388" /></a></div><b><i>(Sally Lane, whose book Reasonable Cause to Suspect documents a decade long journey to bring her son Jack home.)</i></b><br /> <p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The case raises critical questions about the government’s
responsibilities towards Canadians abroad facing egregious violations of
fundamental rights, especially when Canada can take positive action to end
those violations. In this instance, the Autonomous Administration of Northeast
Syria (AANES) has repeatedly requested that all countries repatriate foreign
nationals held in their prisons and camps, but Canada has refused to assist any
of the Canadian men. It has only repatriated some two dozen women and children
when it was under threat of legal action, and has tried to forcefully separate
10 detained Canadian children from non-Canadian mothers.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“We see a disturbing trend of two-tiered citizenship in which your
alleged political or religious beliefs determine whether the Canadian
government will assist you in times of trouble,” explains Matthew Behrens of
Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture, which has led a campaign for repatriation
of those detained in northeast Syria. “Canada can and has assisted Canadians in
trouble abroad over the past year, from Sudan to Israel and the occupied
Palestinian territories to Northeast Syria itself, where these men are
illegally held. If Canada can bring home women and kids at the request of their
northeast Syrian captors, why not the men?”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Notably, almost 1,000 Iraqis were repatriated from Syria this past
week, in part due to the assistance of a Global Affairs Canada $2.9 million
grant to facilitate the return of Iraqi detainees. “Canada is funding the
release of Iraqis, a good thing, but spending equal amounts of money to prevent
the return of Canadians,” Behrens points out. </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPszK08zQXX30IYIHbReuPK_znd2a9QvDKhKsRtWbaqZxLiuhuZRMY3LJD9t7OtDCr8CltUgVZdtPbuqGaJNQlf5klDTgfzTl5x6zw_6HVRBX9IjsydDgcCdiYAGveacdiVIGkTOzPFJBUAktgLLgMm6JzNmCV4EyXOBd4zxUPfK7mPPuHToemqyFAy9py/s1600/Allan%20Rock%20quote.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPszK08zQXX30IYIHbReuPK_znd2a9QvDKhKsRtWbaqZxLiuhuZRMY3LJD9t7OtDCr8CltUgVZdtPbuqGaJNQlf5klDTgfzTl5x6zw_6HVRBX9IjsydDgcCdiYAGveacdiVIGkTOzPFJBUAktgLLgMm6JzNmCV4EyXOBd4zxUPfK7mPPuHToemqyFAy9py/w640-h360/Allan%20Rock%20quote.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A landmark January, 2023 Federal Court decision regarding
repatriation of the Canadians declared that, as soon as reasonably possible,
“Canada must make a formal request for their repatriation,” that the detainees
“must be provided necessary travel documents,” and Canada be required to
“appoint either a delegate or representative to accept their hand over.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>The day
before that decision, Ottawa acknowledged its legal obligation to repatriate by
agreeing to bring back 19 women and children listed in the court case, but
specifically and purposefully excluded the men. Ottawa then appealed the
ruling, producing a dreadful Federal Court of Appeal decision that callously
dismissed Canada’s domestic and international human rights and international
law commitments while firing a vicious broadside at the Supreme Court.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In their joint application to the Supreme Court, lawyers for the
four arbitrarily detained men – Barbara Jackman, Zoe Chong, Paul Champ, Hannah
Drennan, and Lawrence Greenspon – argued that “all Canadians share an interest
in the resolution of the issues in this case because international travel is
common in an increasingly globalized world. When Canadian citizens travel
abroad, are there any circumstances in which Canada may have a special duty to
assist beyond consular inquiries and helping Canadians find a lawyer? What if
the citizen is facing the death penalty or, as here, subjected to torture? Sad
to say, it is an issue which has arisen in the past and will inevitably arise
again.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They also pointed out that while Ottawa concedes the detainees’
jailers will release them if Canada makes the request for and facilitates their
repatriation (as it has repeatedly done for others), in this case, “Canada is
picking and choosing which Canadians to help out of a hellish situation, when
it knows that the cruel conditions will continue indefinitely for anyone left
behind.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the January Federal Court decision, Judge Brown noted:
“Canadians are entitled to have political opinions, no matter how abhorrent
they may be to other Canadians. The limitation is when Canadian opinion holders
take actions, whether inside of [or] outside of Canada, that constitute
offences against Canadian law including the <i>Criminal Code of Canada. However
there is no evidence to that effect before this Court</i> [emphasis added].”</span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVIjouIsjRoNfgI3DXVRxtISx1n5-GtE6qd6XcoLW9XjWoWG8UFi4ZLgLlMG-m_inkLEIWsPNDZg6HfFqQtIL7X1JqidQEx0-EqG1WQ17qnMugKc_4jpSy1w1RsEqvvpq3jn3SC8Gjzo7y89wPwvvqCVM9XeaoqoV5ZvB43Q1KOqlsAsAMfIkl9WWUZo-6/s1600/jasminka_kalajdzic_quote.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVIjouIsjRoNfgI3DXVRxtISx1n5-GtE6qd6XcoLW9XjWoWG8UFi4ZLgLlMG-m_inkLEIWsPNDZg6HfFqQtIL7X1JqidQEx0-EqG1WQ17qnMugKc_4jpSy1w1RsEqvvpq3jn3SC8Gjzo7y89wPwvvqCVM9XeaoqoV5ZvB43Q1KOqlsAsAMfIkl9WWUZo-6/w640-h360/jasminka_kalajdzic_quote.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brown also declared that “from its antiquity I conclude the 808
year old promise to end banishment and exile illustrates how long our
constitutional order has concerned itself with protecting the right to enter
and return to one’s country,” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>referencing the bedrock roots of Section 6(1)
of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Every citizen of Canada has
the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada.”). Indeed, the Supreme Court of
Canada has clearly defined 6(1) as a “foundational” and “fundamental” right
preventing “the exclusion of membership in the national community.” The scope
of this right, Brown noted, is “expansive, generous and powerful” and cannot be
overridden by the Charter’s often abused notwithstanding clause. </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The primacy of the right to return to Canada is reinforced in
Canadian law,” Brown wrote. “This is also a critical factor in this Judgment.
Simply put, there is no known offence in Canada that carries with it exile or
banishment as a penal consequence,” yet both by its actions and conscious
inaction, exile or banishment were plainly the result for Canadians stuck in
northeast Syria. Indeed, Brown carefully cited jurisprudence that Section 6(1)
“forbids the executive from frustrating the rights of Canadians to enter and
return whether by executive actions taken in Canada or abroad.” In this
instance, the government’s None is Too Many Policy Framework, which he later
called into question, was exactly the kind of obstacle employed to frustrate
rights of the detainees.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ironically, the Federal Court of Appeal decision was issued mere
weeks after Canada deployed military personnel to assist in the airlift of
Canadian citizens caught in the fighting in Sudan (when Global Affairs Minister
Melanie Joly boasted that “we will make sure that every Canadian is
coming back and is safe”). While engaging in rhetoric more familiar to the
right-wing judges of the U.S. Supreme Court, the appeal court sided with Joly’s
argument that there is no obligation to assist the four men in Syria, even
though the detainees’ captors have long begged Canada to come and repatriate
them.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Last year, then UN Special Rapporteur Fionnuala Ní Aoláin noted in
a special</span><a href="https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27269"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">report</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> on the ongoing detention
of Jack Letts, “the urgent, voluntary and human rights compliant repatriation
of all the [Canadian] citizens…is the only international law-compliant response
to the complex and precarious human rights, humanitarian, and security
situation” of the detainees.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>For more information contact Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture at tasc@web.ca or (613) 300-9536<br /><p style="text-align: left;"><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-7542362404400653622023-10-17T05:29:00.002-07:002023-10-17T05:29:13.591-07:00I Planted a Tree on Stolen Land<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQi_X2LivmoWTbMXArnA7zw9o9qObJ-WiqTtC0fTE7hz7O-Ba0EX21utEfCWwkVp1zYH_UFwLtn2DVWOezOqw10c3-q7UrGk2hHH2PRUjctSupqFXYbEx9KS6h5jiF4n57jJdMxQ6PTGhG5uDB08mE-wmslY1-o3uY9mXn0GURnk7aU-MVMafcL6jDghT/s1080/grandma%20Behrens.%200973_8460083875823177605_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="1080" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQi_X2LivmoWTbMXArnA7zw9o9qObJ-WiqTtC0fTE7hz7O-Ba0EX21utEfCWwkVp1zYH_UFwLtn2DVWOezOqw10c3-q7UrGk2hHH2PRUjctSupqFXYbEx9KS6h5jiF4n57jJdMxQ6PTGhG5uDB08mE-wmslY1-o3uY9mXn0GURnk7aU-MVMafcL6jDghT/w640-h466/grandma%20Behrens.%200973_8460083875823177605_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="" dir="auto"><div class="x1iorvi4 x1pi30zi x1l90r2v x1swvt13" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id=":r31:"><div class="x78zum5 xdt5ytf xz62fqu x16ldp7u"><div class="xu06os2 x1ok221b"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I Planted a Tree on Stolen Land</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I planted a tree on stolen land</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I wish I had known but I didn't</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">A strange contradiction</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">That <span><a tabindex="-1"></a></span>such a thing of beauty contributed to</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">The dispossession of a whole people</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And perpetuated the lie that this was a</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Land without people for a people without land</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Like the Terra Nullius doctrine that justified</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Genocide against Indigenous people</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">On Turtle Island.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">A lie that has for almost a century justified</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Genocide against Palestinian people</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And erased the Nakba and attempted mass dispossession of Palestinian lands</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Whose brutal “end game” appears to be</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Playing out in Gaza</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">My Yiddish heritage sits heavily on my conscience</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">My ancestors uprooted from their homes in Eastern European pogroms</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">My grandparents and mother’s generation living in a land, Canada,</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Where "No Dogs or Jews” signs abounded</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Where their Yiddish summer camp was</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Spied upon by the RCMP</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And my mother had to change her name to get work.</div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And where I was beaten after school</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">As a dirty you-know-what</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Invited to birthday parties</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Only to be turned away at the door</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">As the stupid “rhymes with bike"</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Subjected to a lynch mob when anti-Semitic</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Neighbours accused me of killing a cat for its blood</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And so they came for mine</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I was nine.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">For decades we were sold a pack of lies</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Unthinkingly participated in feel-good ethnic cleansing</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">As we lost loved ones</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Trees were planted by the Jewish National Fund (JNF)</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">In the names of our loved ones on stolen Palestinian lands.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">In 1948 the JNF took control of most land</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Stolen from Palestinians</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And developed a policy to lease land</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Only to Jews on an openly discriminatory basis.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And so a tree grows on stolen land.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Should it be uprooted as a measure of justice</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Or would that be a form of vengeance?</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Palestinian olive trees have been uprooted by the regime</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">By the thousands</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">But it feels wrong to uproot this tree.</div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Instead I wish for this tree to subvert</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And undermine the system of injustice that led to its planting.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">May it and its fellow trees,</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">For there are many,</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Pollinate nonviolent resistance to the</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Violence of an apartheid state.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Unleash on the generals and the bombers and ground soldiers a fever</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">That prevents them from dropping bombs or</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Reporting to missile-launching platforms</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">A fever that prevents planes from taking off</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And warships from sailing the seas</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And guns from shooting</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And hate from being spread</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">A fever that breaks down the prison walls</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And frees all the hostages everywhere</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">A fever of conscience and love and</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Refusal to participate in the crimes of today</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And those planned for tomorrow</div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">A fever that brings people</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">To join hands</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And cry out</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">"Nit mer genotsid in meyn nomen!"</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">No more genocide in my name.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">(My heart breaks for all suffering right now in Palestine and Israel. Both peoples have suffered unspeakable grief and suffering during the explosion of violence this past week. May we add our voices to those, especially inside Israel and Palestine, calling for a ceasefire, for humanitarian aid corridors in Gaza, and for supports for all those who have been traumatized. And may we recognize our common humanity and, in doing so, undo the structures of oppression that have led us to here)</div></div></span></div></div></div></div><p></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-57010142508201798552023-06-26T11:59:00.003-07:002023-06-26T11:59:44.931-07:00 Canada Issues Third Forcible Child Separation Ultimatum to Mothers Detained in NE Syria Prison Camps<div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE5W6CCOatS52Hy2KiuyFcB7MTwUdoiTVdtYiy9KEglSW44Dk0P6a596bYZ6q5iU3lsk7F388g-NpI0zYbeVjE7JRKCWocS8eT1ljCtfz2MQQ75j76bZy5HBKDPI5bl00UjCBIPVTMj3NTyQeHZ_xibg7LpR1lr8IvwueJgE0IxcUm6n0gxacEw_OCi4BZ/s2048/Letts%20Banner%20PMO:Hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1922" data-original-width="2048" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE5W6CCOatS52Hy2KiuyFcB7MTwUdoiTVdtYiy9KEglSW44Dk0P6a596bYZ6q5iU3lsk7F388g-NpI0zYbeVjE7JRKCWocS8eT1ljCtfz2MQQ75j76bZy5HBKDPI5bl00UjCBIPVTMj3NTyQeHZ_xibg7LpR1lr8IvwueJgE0IxcUm6n0gxacEw_OCi4BZ/w640-h600/Letts%20Banner%20PMO:Hill.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;">On June 22, two hours after Senator Kim Pate announced a civil initiative that seeks to open negotiations on the repatriation of Canadians held in NE Syria, Global Affairs Canada issued its third forcible separation ultimatum to a number of mothers who have been illegally detained over four years in Northeast Syrian prison camps.</span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;">In a letter to two of the mothers’ legal counsel, Asiya Hirji, Department of Justice lawyers declared that the children could come to Canada on a flight expected to leave in early July, but only if they left their mothers behind, go into provincial care and possibly never see their mothers again. In late January, Global Affairs officials directly contacted the detained mothers with the ultimatum that if they did not give up their children within 10 days, there would be no more flights for Canadians out of the region, and the families would remain indefinitely detained. A second ultimatum was delivered to lawyers for the mothers in late March.</span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;">“With this third ultimatum, we have been informed that another Canadian repatriation flight is expected to leave in early July. These mothers have until June 26 to make an impossible choice with respect to their children: keep them imprisoned with their mothers, or free in Canada without their moms, and with virtually no prospect of reunification” Hirji says. “It is truly disheartening to witness Canada's unyielding cruelty in its refusal to display any compassion towards these women and children who have endured prolonged suffering. The actions taken by Global Affairs in maintaining their initial ultimatum are particularly distressing for these mothers and their children. The international community has rightfully criticized the extreme cruelty embedded in this approach, as it directly contradicts Global Affairs' own policy framework. This framework explicitly asserts that children should not be separated from their parents unless truly exceptional circumstances arise. Canada, however, has failed to present any such extraordinary circumstances that would justify pressuring these mothers into effectively rendering their children as orphans”</span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"><span class="" lang="EN-US">Hirji filed Temporary Resident Permit applications for two mothers in February, noting that </span>the average processing time for such a permit to come to Canada from Syria is 60 days, and it’s now double that time. As a result, she has filed an emergency <i class="">mandamus</i> court application seeking a positive decision on the permits so that the mothers and children could remain together.</span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;">“I am so tired and drained from this emotional rollercoaster of being asked every two months whether I would be OK to never see my children again as the price of their getting out of this horrible place,” says “Zahra,” a mother of three children in the camps, who issued a statement through Hirji. “What is the Canadian government thinking? Are the Global Affairs officials issuing us this ultimatum parents themselves? What would they do in this situation? It’s an impossible choice. The only adult these children have known all their lives, both in a war zone and in prison camps, is me. All of us will fall apart without each other.”</span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;">Hirji points out that the United Nations, Save the Children, Medicines Sans Frontieres and other international aid organizations report that conditions in the prison camps are akin to torture, and they have been consistently described as one of the worst places in the world for children to endure. She also notes: “Global Affairs is violating domestic and international human rights commitments to these children and their mothers.”</span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"><span class="" lang="EN-US">In another statement released through lawyer Hirji, long-time camp detainee “Asiya,” an engineer and mother of three children who all require medical assistance, said: “In January, I was told I have a week and a half to decide whether I give up my children forever or keep them here where life is like a prolonged death sentence. I was also told I could not change my mind at a later date because, in their words, ‘Canada will not be coming here again.’”</span></span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; text-indent: 35.45pt;"><span class="" style="font-size: large;"><br class="" /></span></span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; text-indent: 35.45pt;"><span class="" style="font-size: large;">“Asiya” asks, “Other countries have taken back mixed-nationality mothers and children, so why not Canada, which everyone knows has a reputation for supporting families? I also question why I am being asked by Global Affairs to not only give up my children, but also to return to my country of birth despite the obvious risk that I would face detention, torture or worse.”</span></span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="font-size: large;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; text-indent: 35.45pt;">Indeed, it is not uncommon for</span><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; text-indent: 35.45pt;"> </span><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; text-indent: 35.45pt;">Immigration, Refugees and </span><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; text-indent: 35.45pt;">Citizenship Canada</span><i class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; text-indent: 35.45pt;"> (</i><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; text-indent: 35.45pt;">IRCC) to issue permits to allow mixed nationality families to remain together. It’s also part of IRCC’s mandate according to its own domestic legislation and its commitments under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.</span></span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 35.45pt;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"> </span></div></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;">A<span class="" lang="EN-US">dvocates for the detainees are calling on Global Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser to immediately issue temporary resident permits so the mothers can come to Canada with their kids.</span></span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; text-indent: 35.45pt;"><span class="" style="font-size: large;"><br class="" /></span></span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; text-indent: 35.45pt;"><span class="" style="font-size: large;">“Canada led a 57-nation effort to denounce and end arbitrary detention, and yet its policy regarding these Muslim women, kids, and men in northeast Syria has perpetuated that very human rights violation,” explains Matthew Behrens of Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture, an organization which has led a campaign for repatriation. “Canada has fought for years to prevent their return, despite knowing the brutality of their conditions as well as the long-standing Syrian Kurdish authorities’ request to come and collect their citizens. This is child abuse and woman abuse all rolled into one, the very crimes this government repeatedly says must be ended."</span></span></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 35.45pt;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"> </span></div></div><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="" style="margin: 0cm;"><span class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: BookAntiqua; font-size: large;"> </span></div></div><p></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-72222842229562566412023-05-31T11:39:00.005-07:002023-05-31T11:55:48.427-07:00 Federal Court of Appeal Perpetuates Torture and Arbitrary Detention of Four Canadians in NE Syria<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTE0IOPQRLxUHDEE5oeXeNxwQkDu-PaqOWs7f5rzzLrCuWavON-Poz3mfYwesRZRJi5PBt0KiNOjBlx8exkT9TmuDL9sMM9pDo7QkmoqafUv2V27XNE8-CSNETDBOsoS9ZtZohyo9-dT-kFJkiVGS-LilzHjsgGvoNseyRS_UXKi6cIm0aXBTsSkOboA/s1292/Bring%20My%20Son%20Home.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="1292" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTE0IOPQRLxUHDEE5oeXeNxwQkDu-PaqOWs7f5rzzLrCuWavON-Poz3mfYwesRZRJi5PBt0KiNOjBlx8exkT9TmuDL9sMM9pDo7QkmoqafUv2V27XNE8-CSNETDBOsoS9ZtZohyo9-dT-kFJkiVGS-LilzHjsgGvoNseyRS_UXKi6cIm0aXBTsSkOboA/w640-h366/Bring%20My%20Son%20Home.png" width="640" /></a></span></p></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">OTTAWA, May
31, 2023 – In a decision that could have been written by the right-wing US
Supreme Court majority, Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal today overturned a
repatriation order for 4 Canadian men who have been arbitrarily detained
without charges for as long as 6 years under conditions akin to torture in
Northeast Syria. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In addition to today's reactionary decision, it was revealed in an Orwellian statement that Canada is refusing to take any further steps towards repatriation because – without providing any evidence for this proposition – Ottawa has determined that "to request the voluntary repatriation of the [detainees] would be detrimental to them." <br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Mere weeks
after Canada deployed military personnel to assist in the airlift of Canadian
citizens caught in the fighting in Sudan (when Global Affairs Minister Melanie
Joly boasted that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“we will make sure
that every Canadian is coming back and is safe”), the appeal court sided with
Joly’s argument that there is no obligation to assist the four men, even though
the detainees’ captors have long begged Canada to come and repatriate them from
a region that is far safer than the streets of Khartoum.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"The
Federal Court of Appeal made a clear choice to perpetuate the arbitrary
detention and torture of my son and the other Canadian detainees,” said Sally
Lane, whose son Jack Letts is the longest held detainee in Kurdish custody
(over six years). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“The
decision is nothing but victim blaming and narrow legalese that stands in utter
contempt of human rights law and fails to rise to the challenge of the moment.
The Canadian government was able to deploy massive resources to repatriate
hundreds of citizens from the middle of the street fighting in Sudan. It makes
no sense whatsoever that they cannot bring home four Canadian men who are
detained in Northeast Syria a short ten minute walk from the very safe handover
location that they have visited repeatedly in prior repatriations of Canadians.
From the very start, Canada has held the key to their release, and it refuses
to unlock the prison doors that the Kurds are willing to hold open for
them."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In a bizarre
postscript to the decision, “Justice” Dave Stratas noted that “In<span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>number<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5pt;"> </span>other<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> </span>cases, the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span>Government of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5pt;"> </span>Canada
has<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>surmounted<span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>practical<span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;"> </span>and legal obstacles and has successfully
repatriated Canadian citizens from camps in northeastern <span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Syria. </span>As<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">
</span>mentioned,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span>these<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> </span>reasons<span style="letter-spacing: -0.25pt;">
</span>stand for<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>proposition<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6pt;"> </span>that<span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>Government<span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.55pt;"> </span>Canada is not
constitutionally obligated or otherwise obligated at law to repatriate the
respondents. However, these reasons should not be taken<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span>to discourage the Government of Canada from making efforts on
its own to bring about that result.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The problem
with Stratas’ “reasoning” is that it actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">will</i> discourage a government that has already fought tooth and nail
against repatriation of Canadians detained under appalling conditions. Ottawa
has only brought women and children home because of legal action undertaken by
families and advocates.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sounding for
all the world like a backwoods 1950s Alabama judge about to sentence Rosa Parks for sitting in the whites-only section of the segregated bus, Stratas – the
apotheosis of today’s angry white man in a robe – seeks to undermine the value
of international treaty bodies and United Nations special rapporteurs, and
bemoans what he believes was an allegedly sorry state of the law in which judges
were apparently too liberal in upholding the Charter rights of Canadian
citizens.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Indeed, much of the decision involves Stratas’s fire and brimstone
disapproval of what he calls the Supreme Court of Canada’s reference to “sometimes
new unwritten constitutional rights,” which he claims are based on “some vague
feel, spirit or vibe,” almost but not exactly accusing judges at the higher
court of being “woke.” </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Yet as former Chief Justice </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Beverley McLachlin noted in a considered and
thoughtful 2005 <a href="mailto:https://www.scc-csc.ca/judges-juges/spe-dis/bm-2005-12-01-eng.aspx">discussion</a>
from which Stratas obviously failed to benefit, “</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">a judge, if he or she
is to take seriously the duties of the office, must apply his or her judicial
conscience and reason, and that this may at times mean making decisions that
are difficult or unpopular….let me say again that the principles that guide
these difficult decisions are not those of individual judges, but those
implicit in the very system that gives the judges their authority. Ignoring
one’s judicial conscience is not about staying within one’s role, but instead
about abdicating one’s responsibility to the law. There do indeed exist
unwritten principles without which the law would become contradictory and
self-defeating, and it is the duty of judges not only to discover them, but
also to apply them. To forsake them, in Robert Bolt’s phrase, is indeed to take
the short route to chaos.”</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Instead, Stratas chose the short route to the chaos of perpetuating arbitrary
detention and torture based on incorrect interpretation of the factual reality
and the preponderance of international humanitarian law.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Stratas repeatedly blames the detained</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> individuals detained for their
plight, even though many of those held in NE Syria are trafficked women, and in
the case of Jack Letts, he traveled there as a humanitarian volunteer wanting
to assist the people of Syria who were (then, as now) under the barrel bombs
and industrial scale torture of the Assad regime. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Despite his
crusading role as a stickler for legal discipline, Stratas plays fast and loose
with the facts, noting “On its own accord,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> </span>the
Government of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3pt;"> </span>Canada has successfully<span style="letter-spacing: -0.45pt;"> </span>repatriated some of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span>its citizens from<span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;"> </span>camps.” This completely disregards the record before the court,
which shows that in all instances, repatriations have occurred despite Canadian
actions, not because of them, and only when compelled to do so by legal action.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Stratas also pulls his own Forrest Gump moment, claiming “International
law is not a box<span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span>of chocolates from<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span>which one can take what one wants,
leaving the rest in the box. Instead, international law is a specialized field
calling for discipline, intellectual<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span>rigour
and careful judgment when applying it to domestic issues.” Yet that is exactly
what his decision engages in, refusing to recognize <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the positive obligations on governments not to
be involved, directly or indirectly, in arbitrary detention and torture.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Indeed, as UN Special Rapporteur </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Fionnuala Ní Aoláin</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> noted one year ago in
a special <a href="https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27269">report</a>
on the ongoing detention of Jack Letts, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“the urgent, voluntary and human rights compliant
repatriation of all the [Canadian] citizens…is the only international
law-compliant response to the complex and precarious human rights,
humanitarian, and security situation” of the detainees.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">While Stratas claims Canada “did not cause or continue their plight” and
“is not responsible for the respondents’ inability to enter Canada,” this
ignores the fact that Canada still holds the key to resolving this crisis. As the
Rapporteur noted, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“it
appears that none of the conditions to prevent arbitrary detention – a right so
fundamental that it remains applicable even in the most extreme situations –
are respected, and that no steps towards terminating or reviewing the legality
of the detention have been taken, despite Mr. Letts having been detained for
five years, which in practice amounts to the possibility of indefinite
detention.”</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In addressing the
unending detention of Jack Letts, the Rapporteurs wrote that, as with the
no-exceptions ban on torture, the prohibition on arbitrary detention is a
peremptory norm of international treaty and customary law from which no one is
ever allowed to derogate. Indeed, “arbitrary deprivation of liberty can never
be a necessary or proportionate measure,” and no country can ever claim that
“illegal, unjust or unpredictable deprivation of liberty is necessary for the
protection of a vital security or other interest proportionate to that end.”</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">From the
very start of these legal proceedings, the case has been clear and simple, far
from the “complexity” claimed by Ottawa. The Kurds who hold the Canadians have
asked for them to be repatriated with three conditions: that a formal request
be made to them; that travel documents be issued; and that a Canadian official
or someone delegated by the Canadian government be present for an official
signing and handover. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In the
absence of positive government action, a citizen’s initiative has sprung up
with plans for a delegation of </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">“parliamentarians,
former diplomats, human rights experts and lawyers” </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">to travel directly to NE Syria to seek a negotiated
release of the men. In one more instance of its refusal to abide by domestic
and international law, Global Affairs Canada has informed the delegation that
it will not appoint them to receive the Canadian detainees.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As Canada
seeks a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, today’s judgment
– and Canada’s ongoing refusal in these cases to uncouple itself from
complicity in arbitrary detention and torture – speaks volumes. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture will continue its efforts to seek repatriations of all Canadians illegally detained in NE Syria as well as non-Canadian mothers of Canadian children. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></span></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-49404271232743496692023-04-05T11:22:00.001-07:002023-04-05T11:22:23.358-07:00Advocates Welcome Expected Partial Repatriations, Reiterate Demand that All Be Brought Home from Syrian Prison Camps and Jails<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Lawyer for 2 non-Canadian Moms To File Emergency Court Motion</b></span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0P68OiDhN8L_iOZ5Zb1UvHlgeJqL0UvN9MaMX0h8zaspvvKG5emqFbMkQ1Oj8OJZotuiCu-ZwKxem-FeQxXh3uDim590OTDzUug5Udp76z3QZTWD7jlaADeyfLbOQQIW3WoXN7jDdWe7wAGXN2UYvW8D3G1V7yI4vJXEy2OKMy51JXV4eki7R587eMw/s2048/Banner%20PMO%20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="2048" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0P68OiDhN8L_iOZ5Zb1UvHlgeJqL0UvN9MaMX0h8zaspvvKG5emqFbMkQ1Oj8OJZotuiCu-ZwKxem-FeQxXh3uDim590OTDzUug5Udp76z3QZTWD7jlaADeyfLbOQQIW3WoXN7jDdWe7wAGXN2UYvW8D3G1V7yI4vJXEy2OKMy51JXV4eki7R587eMw/w640-h370/Banner%20PMO%20.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><span style="font-size: medium;"> OTTAWA, April 5, 2023</span><br /><div class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" style="font-size: large;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="" lang="EN-US">As some of the long-detained Canadian women and children are expected to be repatriated shortly from Syrian prison camps where conditions are akin to torture, <b>advocates are demanding immediate action for repatriation of the remaining Canadians, including the detained men and four non-citizen mothers of ten Canadian children</b>, still illegally held there.</span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> “Joe Biden recently applauded Canada for its stand against arbitrary detention when the Two Michaels were detained in China, yet by its actions Canada has perpetuated the arbitrary detention of the Canadian Muslim men still held without charge in northeast Syria,” says Matthew Behrens of Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture, which has led a campaign for repatriation that includes a petition that’s generated tens of thousands of signatures (<a class="" href="https://www.change.org/p/canadians-are-dying-free-jack-letts-43-canadian-kids-women-men-in-syria/">https://www.change.org/p/canadians-are-dying-free-jack-letts-43-canadian-kids-women-men-in-syria/</a>)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> “Canada is also refusing to bring four moms who are not Canadians but who have Canadian children, one of whom urgently requires emergency brain surgery,” Behrens continued. “This despite the fact that applications to allow them entry to Canada have been on the immigration minister’s desk for close to 2 months. <b>Does Canada want these kids and their moms to die?”</b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> In a statement released through her lawyer, Asiya Hirji, one of those mothers, Zahra, explained: “I’m not able to articulate how unsettling it is to wake up to the sequestration of my Canadian children from the repatriation process. They have the right to be in Canada with their primary caregiver, their mother. Family separation isn’t a collateral consequence of a policy, one that ironically states that ‘no child will be separated from their mother’. Rather, it’s explicitly intentional. <b>To give up children, who are already distraught and extraordinarily traumatised, is NO choice. Besides, leaving our kids to face inhumane conditions, which is the choice made by the Canadian government itself, is a stark contrast. Our kids are in tears, heartbroken. It’s like Canada has told them their lives are not worth saving unless they give up their mothers.</b> This could happen to any Canadian detained abroad.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> Sally Lane, mother of the longest held detainee, Jack Letts (marking 6 years in May), has mixed feelings. “We have campaigned for so many years to bring everyone home, and while it is wonderful to know that some of the children and their moms will no longer be forced to endure conditions the UN calls akin to torture, my son is still held without charge over there along with other mothers’ sons,” she says. “It is infuriating to me that Canadian officials can be in the exact same city as the prison that illegally holds Jack, yet t<b>hey refused to take a 10-minute cab ride from where the handover ceremony takes place to pick him up and bring him home</b>.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> Lane believes the men are being discriminated against by Canadian officials, a point made January 20 in the Federal Court decision ordering the repatriation of Jack Letts and three other men. “Judge Brown said there was no evidence that Jack or the other men posed a threat, that their conditions were worse than those for the children and women, that everyone was either dying or at risk of dying, and yet my taxpayer dollars were used to pay government lawyers who last week tried to appeal the repatriation decision and exile my son and the other Canadians forever. <b>What will it take to end this horror show? Do I have to go over there and rescue Jack myself?”</b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> The lawyer for two of the non-Canadian mothers similarly expressed outrage over the failure of Canada to bring everyone home.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> </span> "While we are happy for anyone who can get out of those nightmarish prison camps, <b>we are horrified both that Canada took years to do this and that this country has failed to prioritize the lives and basic human rights of Canadian children </b>whose mothers are not citizens, and therefore all of them have been left behind," says lawyer Asiya Hirji. As counsel for two of those mothers, Hirji will file an emergency mandamus application in the Federal Court seeking the immediate granting of Temporary Resident Permits to allow those moms to come to Canada with their children. "On March 31, United Nations experts marked the beginning of the 5th year of detention for thousands of children in these awful places. <b>We are talking about children with severe health problems who require immediate care. Canada knows this yet drags its feet. Does one of these kids have to die before they get repatriated?"</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br class="" /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> The late night removal of some of the women and children from the prison camps came as </span>one mother was still awaiting a response from Global Affairs Canada (GAC) regarding how her special needs Canadian citizen child would be cared for if he were repatriated without his mother. GAC failed to respond.</span></p><div class="" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture will continue its campaign to compel the Canadian government to honour the rights of its citizens to come home from dire conditions, as well as to approve the temporary resident permits that would allow four moms to arrive with their Canadian children. That campaign was recently boosted by a letter (<a href="https://iclmg.ca/northeast-syria-repatriation-open-letter-to-pm/">https://iclmg.ca/northeast-syria-repatriation-open-letter-to-pm/</a>) initiated by the <b>International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group</b> and signed by over 110 members of the Canadian legal community, including former Minister of Justice and Attorney General<b> Allan Rock</b>, demanding repatriation for everyone as the only legally compliant response to the humanitarian crisis.</span></span></div><div class="" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> </span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder" /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> “It has been maddening to watch Justin Trudeau and his ministers mark the intersection of three religious holidays whose faiths are rooted in stories of exile and banishment, even as they perpetuate the very crimes that gave rise to these important occasions,” Behrens concluded. “At the core of the Islamic faith is a very basic precept: Free the Captives. In this case, Canadians are captives, and Canadian government officials hold the key to their release.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"><span class="" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"><span class="" style="font-size: large;">Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"><span class="" style="font-size: large;">2583 Carling Ave., Unit M052, Ottawa, ON K2B 7H7 </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"><span class="" style="font-size: large;">(613) 300-9536, <a class="" href="mailto:tasc@web.ca">tasc@web.ca</a></span></span></p><span class="" style="font-size: large;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="" lang="EN-US"><span class="" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-62499574717662392112023-03-22T17:45:00.003-07:002023-03-22T17:56:53.627-07:00“Unnecessary” Muslims: Ottawa Appeals to Prolong Torture of Canadians Detained in Syria<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACY0755Hi0vpnYBHDYvlecc_w_cOwtsT-5e2a51ykHotvhe8_XqQ9_MHnvH8qaiVDoXgtbrH7cYuCTd_mKFoGCc0YAOdiNjNPeUBV689TpeLNVZYd5VUA0YH8LD6uDaAwLANEA7ln1RhwuCsTuF27SgAKxzFTptjIfURRcKHlvQeAfU6f4fad24pDNQ/s2048/Letts%20Banner%20PMO:Hill.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1922" data-original-width="2048" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACY0755Hi0vpnYBHDYvlecc_w_cOwtsT-5e2a51ykHotvhe8_XqQ9_MHnvH8qaiVDoXgtbrH7cYuCTd_mKFoGCc0YAOdiNjNPeUBV689TpeLNVZYd5VUA0YH8LD6uDaAwLANEA7ln1RhwuCsTuF27SgAKxzFTptjIfURRcKHlvQeAfU6f4fad24pDNQ/w640-h600/Letts%20Banner%20PMO:Hill.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The Federal Court of Appeal awaits arguments on whether Canada can continue to ensure four Canadian Muslim men remain arbitrarily detained forever under conditions akin torture. One judge notes "</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Canadians are dying or
at risk of dying every day this matter is adjourned.”</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">By Matthew Behrens</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On
February 12, 2023, the Government of Canada chose to prolong the torturous
conditions endured by four Canadian Muslim men arbitrarily detained in
northeast Syria. By launching an appeal against a Federal Court repatriation
order which concluded the four had for years been “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">imprisoned against their
will without charge or trial,” Ottawa sought to extinguish the Charter rights
of Canadians who, according to Federal Court Judge Henry Brown, “are dying or
at risk of dying every day this matter is adjourned.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In an equally
disturbing development, the Federal Court of Appeal agreed on March 14 to place
a stay on further repatriation efforts pending the outcome of the appeal, to be
heard March 27. When weighing whether irreparable harm would come to the
Canadian government if it were forced to repatriate four Canadian men held
under conditions the UN <a href="https://www.rightsandsecurity.org/assets/downloads/Abandoned_to_Torture_-_Final_Report.pdf">describes</a>
as “akin to torture,” the Court of Appeal shamefully sided with Ottawa based on
the government’s paper-thin House of Cards arguments, built on an astounding collection
of lies, unfounded speculation, and an unspoken but very clearly enunciated Islamophobia
(detailed below). “There may be additional harm suffered by [the detainees] as
a result of the delay, but that delay will be short,” the Court of Appeal callously
concluded.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In language normally
reserved for nuclear waste, the appeal paints the uncharged detainees as an alleged
threat to be “mitigated”. They are “unnecessary” human beings unworthy of
assistance. Despite fully knowing for years the dire conditions of these
arbitrarily detained Canadians – and despite the repeated pleas of US
officials, including President Joe Biden, to repatriate all the detained foreign
nationals in northeast Syria – Canadian government lawyers argue that
repatriations should only occur if “absolutely necessary.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Canada’s
Orwellian appeal employs apocalyptic language while claiming that keeping these
long-suffering men under brutal conditions is actually in their best interests since
efforts to secure their release “could in some way result in harm to” the detainees.
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ironically,
on January 19, 2023, the day before the original repatriation order was
released, the federal government confirmed a settlement to repatriate 19 women
and children who had originally been connected to the same court case. Justice
Brown was quick to point out in his decision that “the legal principles
applicable to the Canadian men are the same as those applicable to the Canadian
women and children.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
discriminatory attempt to separate the men from the women and children</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> comes on the heels of a concerted public
relations effort to undermine the factual integrity of the landmark January 20
court order. Led by CBC and Globe and Mail reporters, a series of grossly
inaccurate and inciting stories flew in the face of the publicly available
court record. In the worst tradition of Islamophobic writing, they tarred all
Canadian detainees with the same inflammatory brush, with headlines screaming
about returning “Isis members” coming to terrorize Yazidi refugees while
reviving long-dismissed fallacies about the potential for an international
tribunal in northeast Syria. Despite numerous complaints to the CBC
Ombudsperson about the grossly inflammatory pieces, the media outlet refused to
end its scare-mongering.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Contrasting Approaches to Different
Detainees</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
appeal announcement also followed the astounding late January Global Affairs
Canada ultimatum delivered to four detained women with Canadian children in the
prison camps. Ironically, on the same day Canada announced its first representative
to combat Islamophobia, the detained Muslim women were directly told to surrender
their children or remain there with them forever because Canada would never
come for them again. As a nation built on the forced separation of Indigenous
children from their families, this latest Canadian move certainly ran afoul of its
much-trumpeted “never again” promises, and contravened its legally binding
commitments under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
January and February legal and media attacks against this relatively small
group of detainees – the majority of them children – contributed to their
ongoing banishment in an off-shored “Guantanamo in the desert” that seriously troubled
Federal Court Justice Brown, who wrote on January 20 that “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">there
is no known offence in Canada that carries with it exile or banishment as a
penal consequence.” Yet both by its actions and conscious inaction, exile or
banishment were plainly the result for Canadians stuck in northeast Syria.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s
all a stark contrast to Canada’s well-publicized, robust efforts to secure the
release of illegally detained white non-Muslim Canadians Michael Spavor and
Michael Kovrig, who were always afforded the presumption of innocence by
Canadian media while held by the Chinese regime. Canadian government efforts to
free the two men included leading a 57-nation initiative against arbitrary
detention. Mere weeks after the detention of “The Two Michaels,” then GAC
Minister Chrystia Freeland </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.policymagazine.ca/how-the-free-world-helped-free-two-canadians-diplomacy-and-the-two-michaels/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">told</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> reporters
that Canada was working with a broad range of allies on the issue and had
secured support statements from the USA, UK and European Union, and that “</span><span class="s4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">we
absolutely believe this is not only a Canadian issue,” but “an issue that
concerns our allies.”</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In the case of the detainees in northeast Syria, an affidavit from
Global Affairs Canada’s official Julie Sunday tucked into the government’s
appeal brief declares that compliance with the court order means her department
“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">may
be required to leverage diplomatic relationships with allies in negotiating
and/or implementing conditions of release, which we would only wish to do if
absolutely necessary.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What was deemed absolutely
necessary for the two Michaels is now viewed as not applicable for these
children, women and men, Muslims who have been so demonized that human rights reports
on Canadian children who are no nutritionally deficient that they have been forced
to eat sand are dismissed by government lawyers as irrelevant and improper
evidence. As one </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“extremism expert” </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/eastern-mediterranean/syria/208-women-and-children-first-repatriating-westerners-affiliated-isis"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">shared</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> with the International Crisis Group:
“The problem is that we’ve expended all this effort promoting [what has become]
the Western counter-terrorism paradigm and dehumanizing these people to
mobilise against the ISIS threat. Now we have to humanize the population to
convince countries that they can and should get them home.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Misunderstanding the Detainees</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What can account for such utterly
different responses between the high-profile campaign to release the Two
Michaels and Ottawa’s refusal to end the arbitrary detention of Muslim
Canadians? Freeland’s global appeal went out a fast two weeks after the
Michaels were arrested by a country that is not considered friendly to Canada. For
Canadian detainee Jack Letts, it will soon be 71 months of arbitrary detention
by a Canadian ally in the region that has repeatedly asked Canada to come and
take its citizens home. In addition, the Federal Court of Appeal has just told
Letts and the other men that they need to continue sucking it up because to do
otherwise might bring some undefined harm to Canada’s international relations.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps the “only if absolutely necessary”
standard employed here is because the four Canadian men are Muslim, and a lazy
media, racist commentariat, and spy <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>agency-worshipping national security
academic-industrial complex <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(one of
whose most high-profile adherents used to </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/72430/what-a-few-cakes-say-about-the-us-drone-program/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">bake cakes</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
celebrating the drone assassinations of Muslims) have refused to engage with
any serious inquiry into the diverse humanity of those detained under
conditions that former Guantanamo Bay detainees <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2u_ELJ06Xo">have called</a> far worse
than anything they ever endured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Some of these detainees are
among the most misunderstood groups of people on the planet, largely due to
racist assumptions about their religious faith, alleged political beliefs, and
geographic location. Many were fleeing or opposed ISIS when detained, or were trafficked
by agencies like Canadian spies CSIS; others were in the region for
humanitarian purposes; some were intrigued by the many videos promising a
utopian paradise only to find out differently on day one and then being unable
to escape. Hundreds of Yazidi refugees are in these prison camps too, unable to
return home. Yes, there are no doubt adherents of Daesh who remain too (and
they should be held accountable for whatever crimes they may have committed),
but studies by the likes of </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/when-am-i-going-start-live-urgent-need-repatriate-foreign-children-trapped-al-hol-and-roj/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Save the Children</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> and
</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/between-two-fires-danger-and-desperation-syrias-al-hol-camp-enar"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Médecins Sans Frontières</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> (MSF)
show they are a minority.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In November 2022, the
widely respected, Noble Peace Prize-winning MSF </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/between-two-fires-danger-and-desperation-syrias-al-hol-camp-enar"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">found</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
that <span style="color: black;">“ideological demography of the camp’s population
is far more diverse than narratives regarding their affiliations with IS
suggest. Many of the camp’s population report having been displaced multiple
times as a result of conflict. Far from identifying with IS ideology, many say
they were arrested at checkpoints when trying to flee IS-controlled
territories. Many report that they were living in areas that later came under
the control of IS and were forced to leave their homes on IS orders. They say
that if they chose to stay, they risked being bombed by coalition forces or
being accused of supporting IS by dint of their location.”</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Similarly, the
globally respected Save the Children (STC) </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/when-am-i-going-start-live-urgent-need-repatriate-foreign-children-trapped-al-hol-and-roj/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">notes</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> that these detainees “are often portrayed in the media as
monolithic adherents to ISIS ideologies and their children described as ‘ISIS
children.’ In reality, the population of the camps is diverse and many of their
personal stories are complex.” STC also points out that there are hundreds of
Yazidi women and children in the camps “who were captured and enslaved by ISIS
as part of a genocide against the ethno-religious group.” Other women found
themselves under Daesh control through “misapprehension, circumstance or
coercion.” Yet all are tarred with the same “ISIS-linked” brush when in
reality, those with links to ISIS are reportedly a relatively small minority.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Colonial Missionaries and Repatriation</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite such well-documented studies, amongst some
supporters of repatriation, there are disturbing, unexamined attitudes that
reek of white saviour colonial missionaries who view the detainees as depraved
savages needing the West’s so-called civilizing influences. Their arguments
start not from the assumption that these are long-suffering human beings who
have inherent rights (including a presumption of innocence), but rather that
they are dangerous reprobates for whom repatriation, accompanied by a potent
cocktail of terrorism peace bonds, prosecution, and surveillance, is sought only
as a last resort for our own protection. It’s almost a begrudging argument that
reinforces white supremacy and a bloated sense of colonial self-virtue: we of
the Great White West have fair and unbiased legal systems who will take back
these deranged souls, much as we despise them, and place them somewhere where
they cannot hurt anyone. Such a “we are better than them” position celebrates
“our” (read white) humanity rooted in “rule of law” as we rescue them from
“over there,” the heart of darkness territory where they cannot get a fair
trial. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One such repatriation
supporter made the wholly </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu5Nu8JEwbk"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">unsubstantiated claim</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> that
these detainees are <span style="color: black;">“Canadians who have behaved
abominably and acted stupidly and done things that are illegal.” As early as
2018, that same individual </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3umikp43K3w"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">said</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> of the nutritionally
deficient children forced to eat sand, the women who were trafficked into the
region, and the tortured men: “They’re our mess. We need to take responsibility
for it and protect Canadians as well as the rest of the world from these
people.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But
where is the evidence that we need protection from them, or that any of these
Canadians have been involved in wrongdoing? As the Federal Court of Canada
noted in it repatriation decision, not even the government of Canada alleges
illegality or <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>involvement in terrorism
on the part of these detainees. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another
repatriation supporter </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://macleans.ca/news/world/bring-them-home/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">told</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Maclean’s that
“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I
don’t care about the adults” and <span style="color: black;">called the detainees
“trash.” Shockingly, they </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUFhj7tB2Qg"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">declared</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> without
evidence to CBC Power and Politics: “These people left Canada, they were
radicalized here, travelled abroad, they’ve committed atrocities against
others.” Yet within the same breath, the individual said: “We don’t have a good
sense of the evidence that we have against any of these individuals.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Who
gets to say such atrocious things on a national news program? Where is the
interviewer who pauses and asks, “Have you seen any evidence of what you
allege?” Where is the accountability for casually applying such dangerous
labels to long-suffering detainees?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
white-framing of the issue of the detained Canadian Muslims is premised on a
sickening calculation, that these individuals are simultaneously sad sack
individuals – women and children who need to be rescued despite being less than
human because of their alleged “choices” – and male Super Muslims, hard-wired and
indoctrinated to kill and pillage at the first opportunity, primed to take down
Western civilization despite years of torture and incommunicado detention.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Home-Grown Islamophobic Stereotypes</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Such
Islamophobic stereotypes are baked into so-called Western Culture, as noted by
books like Jack Shaheen’s </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.mediaed.org/transcripts/Reel-Bad-Arabs-Transcript.pdf"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Reel Bad Arabs</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, which analyzes over 900 pre-9/11<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>films demonizing Arabs and Muslims (a number that has no doubt doubled
since). The notion that Arab Muslims are addicted to violence and biologically fated
to fall prey to the first extremist preacher who comes to town is reflected in
the words of one grudging repatriation supporter </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUFhj7tB2Qg"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">who says things</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> like “I think we are creating a circumstance where we are
potentially creating a second generation of ISIS the longer we leave them
there.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Those
stereotypes are also given life time and again via the assumption of guilt and
deference to a government which has consistently applied Islamophobic policies
and lied about Muslim Canadians detained abroad (as documented by two judicial
inquiries). They were reflected in one repatriation supporter’s comments on
Canadian detainee Jack Letts (who publicly opposed ISIS and was jailed three
times for doing so). In addressing the inflammatory comments of then Public
Safety Minister Ralph Goodale about Jack Letts on the CBC, this repatriation
supporter </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUFhj7tB2Qg"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">said</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> “like you
pointed out to the Minister, he’s satisfied that this individual is a
terrorist, [so] there must be evidence there to support that.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yet
what have the past two decades shown other than that such unsubstantiated claims
of state security threats by government officials must not be taken on faith,
and they certainly cannot be casually thrown about given the very real harm it
can cause to the individuals being so labeled? As noted above, if the
Government of Canada truly believes these detainees are a threat, why was not a
single scintilla of evidence presented at the Federal Court hearing to that
effect (even during the two days when they could have shared such information
during secret hearings)? It was something that truly struck Justice Brown, who
wrote: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“Notably the [government] Respondents do not allege any of the
Applicants [detainees] engaged in or assisted in terrorist activities. The
Respondents affirmed this position at the hearing.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As the women and children come home at some unspecified time (and
hopefully the men as well as non-Canadian mothers of Canadian kids) it is
critical </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">that “ISIS-linked” not be employed as a
one-brush-tars-all title or headline. Justice O’Connor’s <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/services/commissions-inquiry/arar.html">Commission
of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar</a>
noted “Labels have a way of sticking to individuals, reputations are easily
damaged and when labels are inaccurate, serious unfairness to individuals can
result.” Equally critical, “Written labels, particularly when no caveats are
attached, have a way of sticking to an individual and then spreading to others
and becoming the accepted fact or wisdom.”<br />
<br />
Among other
findings, O’Connor reminds us that:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“The
impact on an individual’s reputation of being called a terrorist in the
national media is severe. As I have stated elsewhere, labels, even unfair
and inaccurate ones, have a tendency to stick.”</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“It
is important that precision be used when attaching labels to individuals,
particularly in terrorism-related investigations in these times. There is
a danger that loose language can lead to unfair and misleading or
erroneous conclusions.”</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“Caution
is also necessary with respect to the use of potentially emotive or
inflammatory phrases. To say that someone is an ‘Islamic extremist’ or a
‘jihadist’ can open the door to a slipshod and casual process in which
guilt is assigned by association.”</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“The
use of loose or imprecise language about an individual or an event can
have serious and unintended consequences. Labels, even inaccurate ones,
have a way of sticking.”</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Labels not only erase an individual’s humanity, they also erase
individualized histories. Indeed, our ahistorical culture, in which yesterday’s
news is ancient history, fails to recall that thousands of people traveled to
Syria a decade ago in support of the Arab spring and to support the victims of
the brutal dictator Bashar al-Assad’s barrel bombs, torture centres, and
scorched earth military campaigns. Others who actually believed the Daesh
videos that promised a state free of discrimination and violence quickly found
out it was all a lie, but faced death if they tried to leave. While such
mistakes are normally forgiven or simply overlooked if, for example, Canadians
travel abroad and join groups engaged in documented war crimes (from the </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/07/27/gaza-apparent-war-crimes-during-may-fighting"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">Israeli “Defence” Forces</span></span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> to the </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/08/ukraine-ukrainian-fighting-tactics-endanger-civilians/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">Ukrainian military</span></span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">), that mercy rarely extends to Muslims.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">An Appeal Built on Lies</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Future law students will be astounded to
read the poorly argued and unsubstantiated submissions government lawyers put
together for an appeal that relies on one very big unspoken elephant in the
room: the detainees are Muslims and, like <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/331864/publication.html">other
Canadian Muslims</a> whose overseas detention and torture we have contributed
to, we never want them to come home. Rather than strip them of citizenship,
Ottawa’s approach is now to prevent them from exercising their rights of
citizenship, a foundation of which is the right to enter Canada.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s concerning that a
stay was granted by a Federal Court of Appeal cognizant of the dangerous,
life-threatening conditions faced by the Muslim detainees, a conclusion that
may not have resulted had the detainees been born with names like, say, Michael.
It’s also concerning that they did so based on a record replete with government
lies, unfounded speculation, and Islamophobic assumptions. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For example, government
officials claim they will be unable to conduct normal assessments of returning
Canadians before issuing travel documents, even though </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Brown wrote in his decision: “Simply<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5pt;"> </span>put at the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>appropriate<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>time<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>Applicants<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span>must be<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>provided<span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span>necessary<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6pt;"> </span>travel<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4pt;"> </span>documents<span style="letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span>I<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> </span>will<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4pt;"> </span>so
<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">declare….</span> it will not be ordered<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4pt;"> </span>to proceed<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4pt;"> </span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4pt;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.45pt;"> </span>timeline<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">
</span>that may<span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>fact be<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">
</span>counterproductive<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>or<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3pt;"> </span>otherwise <span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">unreasonable.”</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One
immigration official claims that if its foreign partners found out that travel
documents had been issued to the detainees it could “damage Canada’s international
reputation and our relationship with foreign partners.” Yet the issuance of
documents in seven other cases of women and kids repatriated to Canada has not
appeared to harm Canada’s relationships. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Government
lawyers also kick irony to the curb by arguing that giving travel documents
would “expose the applicant (detainees) to greater risk or worsening the applicant’s
situation.” But it is unclear how after six years of enduring conditions akin
to torture, a one-way ticket home could worsen a detainee’s life. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Similarly, Global Affairs maintains, without an ounce of
evidence, that “the order to request repatriation is likely to affect Canada’s
foreign policy interests in ways that cannot be predicted.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a manifestly strange and untested long-shot
theory, given that dozens of countries have repatriated their own citizens
without upsetting the international order of state-to-state relations. In
addition, such concerns were never raised when Canada went on a diplomatic
offensive to repatriate the Two Michaels. Regardless, stay motions by law cannot
be based on such spurious speculation unless, of course, the subject of the
stay motion is a Muslim detainee, in which case, as scholar Sherene Razak
points out in a recent book, “</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/nothing-has-to-make-sense"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Nothing Has to Make Sense</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Despite the
presence of 50,000 social workers in Canada, the government also argues that
the repatriation order for four – count ’em, four – men would risk </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“drawing
on specially trained staff from fields like social work and clinical
health…proceeding with a rushed repatriation without sufficient staff,
resources and preparation in place may significantly exacerbate the threat
arising from some of these cases of return to Canada.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yet even
if one buys the unsubstantiated claim that any of these four men have some
ideological rigidity clinging in their minds after years of torture, Canada’s
own Public Safety agencies and so-called “counter-radicalization” networks have
prepared for this eventuality for over a decade. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Dr. Michael King of the
Public Safety Canada-funded Organization for the Prevention of Violence </span><span lang="EN-US"><a><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">told</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
the Toronto Star that plans have been in place for five years in expectation of
eventual repatriation. “We all have some experience with people returning from
overseas, so that’s a good thing,” says King. “It’s no one’s first rodeo, but
it’s going to be everyone’s biggest rodeo.” King notes the detainees are likely
to hold a variety of experiences, beliefs and needs. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“Some of these people will have disavowed the ideology a few hours
after arriving in ISIS-controlled territory all those years ago and probably
said, ‘This is the biggest error of my life,’ but it was unsafe to leave,” King
said.</span></p>
<p class="text-block-container"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Dr. Ghayda Hassan <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>coordinates a network that 5 years ago </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">developed
a “repatriation and reintegration” plan for returnees, “along with key partners
such as youth protection and family services across the country. This plan was
put into practice for the first time last fall upon the return of two Canadian
citizens and two young children. The teams were present at the airport of
arrival of these returnees to offer support for the returnee children, extended
family members, as well as for the returned adults before and after their
investigation and interrogation by security services. The teams are continuing
to provide services to these returnee adults, children and extended family. The
implementation has been deemed as a success by all involved partners.”</span></p>
<p class="text-block-container" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Dr. Hassan shared her concern that returnees
may face with respect to stigma. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“They will come back to face
a society here that stigmatizes them because they’re still being considered by
many people — sometimes quite wrongfully, actually — as terrorists,” Hassan
said. “Many of them have been kind of drawn into this and mostly been victims,
actually. Some may have been perpetrators, of course. I’m not denying that.”</span></p>
<h1 style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Meanwhile,
Global Affairs Canada incorrectly claimed in a sworn affidavit that previous
Turkish military actions in the region have “stalled repatriation operations
from the region.” However, according to the Rights and Security International
(“RSI”) </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.rightsandsecurity.org/action/resources/global-repatriations-tracker"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Global Repatriation Tracker</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> and other open source material,
2023 is set to become a record breaking year for repatriations (during the
first two months of 2023, repatriations have already outpaced the total for all
of 2022, with a total of almost 800 so far.) An analysis of prior repatriation
numbers dating back to 2019 reveals no significant impacts on repatriation,
even during periods of heightened Turkish military violence in Northeast Syria.
</span></h1>
<h1 style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ultimately,
the government relies on tired stereotypes, especially about the male
detainees, An affidavit from </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Public Safety’s Sébastien
Aubertin-Giguère</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
paints the men as “Canadian Extremist Travelers” and despite the lack of any
individualized evidence, declares “in general, CETs suspected of traveling to
north-eastern Syria are believed to have had, at a minimum, direct experience
with Daesh/ISIS, a listed terrorist organization, and direct experience with
violent extremist ideology. They are highly likely to have acquired combat,
weapons and terrorist training, and operational combat experiences while in
Syria and Iraq, and are likely to have established international connections
with likeminded individuals.” </span></h1>
<h1 style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">While
the only thing missing from Mr. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Aubertin-Giguère’s affidavit is
the eerie orientalist music that accompanies the slow-motion, gun-toting,
stalking Muslim extremist featured on your neighbourhood movie screens and
streaming platforms, it was also disingenuously sworn three weeks after Justice
Brown noted that Canada raised no security concerns with respect to any of the
men at the original hearing that took place the previous month. </span></h1>
<h1 style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It’s on such thin grounds that the Government
of Canada will crow about protecting national security before the appeal court judges
next Monday. As loved ones of the detainees wait with bated breath for the
outcome of the Federal Court of Appeal hearing on March 27 and the non-Canadian
mothers of Canadian kids pray that their temporary resident permit applications
will be approved, it is clear that the Islamophobia that has underwritten
Canada’s mistreatment of these Canadian men, women and children remains deeply
stitched into the national discourse. We need radical surgery to remove it from
the national consciousness as one step toward preventing further harm to those Canadians
who, because of their faith, continue to be demonized, exiled, and tortured
abroad.</span></h1>
<h1 style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">During the month of Ramadan, a chain fast in
support of repatriation is taking place, and individual fasters can sign up on
free dates here: </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2023/03/ramadan-repatriation-chain-fast-to-free.html"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2023/03/ramadan-repatriation-chain-fast-to-free.html</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></h1>
<h1 style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The compelling memoir of Sally Lane’s 9-year
struggle to bring her son Jack Letts home is also now available at </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459750944-reasonable-cause-to-suspect"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459750944-reasonable-cause-to-suspect</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Those wishing to attend the virtual Court of Appeal Hearing on March
27 should w</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">rite to </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="mailto:information@fca-caf.ca" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">information@fca-caf.ca</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span> and ask to register for the BOLOH hearing on March 27,
ref. # </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span>A-32-23</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p>
<h1 style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
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{margin-bottom:0cm;}</style></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-87531411948520451012023-03-11T06:58:00.026-08:002023-04-11T18:21:34.094-07:00Ramadan Repatriation Chain Fast to Free the Canadian Captives March 23 to April 20, 2023<span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">“Feed
the Hungry. Visit the Sick. Set Free the Captives.” – Prophet Muhammad (Peace
Be Upon Him)</span></i></b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Details on how to join the fast for a day or more are
below, as are actions you can take even if you are not fasting!)</span></i></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgMwtgCksUZL-NyybYTpGevia7HRdopVbudDPAUHf7rbsT-knVjs2ixtolmC_J39Q2Febz6q_nbAHF8gj7v2FEY0ERc2OIP6woqubINi30pBJ_HtwY9lhylR26MkfP8ijVMXAx661tKZFPAjmfDzNY8OTsaiwbByqRwsyuHYzgAuTb1fRFlGNyQT0ctw" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: times; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1013" height="421" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgMwtgCksUZL-NyybYTpGevia7HRdopVbudDPAUHf7rbsT-knVjs2ixtolmC_J39Q2Febz6q_nbAHF8gj7v2FEY0ERc2OIP6woqubINi30pBJ_HtwY9lhylR26MkfP8ijVMXAx661tKZFPAjmfDzNY8OTsaiwbByqRwsyuHYzgAuTb1fRFlGNyQT0ctw=w640-h421" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: times;"><b>INTRODUCTION</b><br />
Please <b>pick a day to fast</b> in support of immediately freeing and bringing
home dozens of arbitrarily detained Canadian Muslim men, women, and children,
including the longest-held detainee, Jack Letts. All of them are illegally held
without charge in northeastern Syrian jails and prison camps under conditions
the United Nations describes as meeting the <b>“threshold for
torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under international law.” </b>Justice
Henry Brown of the Federal Court stated in December: “Canadians are dying or at
risk of dying every day this matter is adjourned.” Every moment of delay
increases the risk for the children, men and women.<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On
January 20, 2023, the Federal Court of Canada ordered the government to
repatriate 4 Canadian men illegally detained for as long as 6 years. The
previous day, it agreed to bring home 19 women and children held under
similarly appalling conditions. Almost two months later, none have been
returned.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This should have occurred no later than February 15,
2023, the second anniversary of the Canadian-led Declaration Against Arbitrary
Detention. But instead, the Government of Canada is appealing the decision,
choosing to prolong the arbitrary detention under conditions akin to torture of
Canadian children, women and men. It is also trying to forcibly separate some
Canadian children from non-Canadian mothers instead of doing the right thing by
keeping families intact, and issuing Temporary Resident Permits to those
mothers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Justice Brown declared in his January 20, 2023
decision that, as soon as reasonably possible, “Canada must make a formal
request for their repatriation,” that the detainees “must be provided necessary
travel documents,” and Canada be required to “appoint either a delegate or
representative to accept their hand over.” He made these findings based on
well-settled Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence and Canada’s international
treaty obligations “in the expectation the executive government will act in
good faith as its counsel represented to the Court.”</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1UmIxxbGq3tXBhKpU8hlcaj6gTZy-N0gW5fohp43vUFG7tP5PM3mtoZuZ96n87F9ogCIhwLt4A3Eh9IccZUuobp-SDDVbNWDCqWvSzDz0PF648VkIks7G_cIABYnVUJmR3bkya4K9ihsY2pVHbWPNTOU-v9PPKwahHZKoaKfWvHQ6jqASNrXrZGnJpA" style="font-family: times; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="220" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1UmIxxbGq3tXBhKpU8hlcaj6gTZy-N0gW5fohp43vUFG7tP5PM3mtoZuZ96n87F9ogCIhwLt4A3Eh9IccZUuobp-SDDVbNWDCqWvSzDz0PF648VkIks7G_cIABYnVUJmR3bkya4K9ihsY2pVHbWPNTOU-v9PPKwahHZKoaKfWvHQ6jqASNrXrZGnJpA=w440-h640" width="440" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="font-family: times; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BACKGROUND </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">President
Joe Biden, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations, the US State Dept., leading
United States generals, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Save the
Children, and even a House of Commons committee have called for repatriation of
all detainees.<b> But a Canadian government long complicit in the torture of
its Muslim citizens held abroad has refused to lift a finger to help, </b>even
as far smaller and less resourced countries from Kazakhstan to Bosnia and
Herzegovina have had no trouble bringing their nationals home. Ottawa has
rightfully invested $3 million towards the repatriation of Iraqi citizens
detained in Syria, but when it comes to its own citizens, Ottawa’s only response
has been to create a bureaucratic “framework” marinated with insufferable
bafflegab that makes it impossible for anyone to come home. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
a result, it’s up to those of us who can speak up to do so with public actions
like this chain fast. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
chain fast will run during the blessed month of Ramadan because, as the UK
human rights group CAGE reminds us, "The history of Islam is replete with
stories of men and women facing imprisonment and abuse at the hands of
oppressors.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Canada
says it opposes Islamophobia, yet imposes institutional Islamophobia against
these detainees. Among those imprisoned are mothers and fathers, as well as the
sons and daughters of parents and grandparents who have worked for years to
bring their loved ones home. In addition, the Canadian government, taking a
page from its own history of genocidal violence against Indigenous people, is
engaged in an insidious process by which it seeks to separate the imprisoned
babies and young kids from their moms and dads. Family separation – especially
based on racist lies – is never acceptable.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjD1mzO939yGvc30vKJNTaaVeRGQTTKudDIx0ptzwUOwd7EnTg2Llx2ZEo9z5VaCBIDctrw65C_JAO5V-l7vBTspY-6co5p3gfRkfpMdfwJv5DTnCJUMk40ueXUVNou_1DrYiId3besCMrUXkv0gafScKgWEV3J8aCKh_PSSymcT_sUGvZwXnFLet-zGg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: times; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjD1mzO939yGvc30vKJNTaaVeRGQTTKudDIx0ptzwUOwd7EnTg2Llx2ZEo9z5VaCBIDctrw65C_JAO5V-l7vBTspY-6co5p3gfRkfpMdfwJv5DTnCJUMk40ueXUVNou_1DrYiId3besCMrUXkv0gafScKgWEV3J8aCKh_PSSymcT_sUGvZwXnFLet-zGg=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /> </span>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WHO IS DETAINED?</span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All
of the Canadians who went to Syria have been unjustly tarred with the same
“national security” brush. None have been given a chance to defend themselves
against these false accusations. As is happening with Canadians flocking to
resist the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a small number of young Canadians
travelled to Syria during the Assad regime’s war against the Syrian people.
Some went to fight; some went for humanitarian reasons to help people suffering
as a result of the civil war; some were trafficked; and some went on a ‘grand
adventure’ or to escape racism and Islamophobia at home. Most believed they
were going to help build a non-violent, utopian, Muslim society – a dream that
proved both false and lethal for many. Some, like Jack Letts, opposed ISIS in
the streets and were prosecuted for opposing them – a fact the Western media
refuses to acknowledge.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Canada must stop relying on the media-generated,
Islamophobic myths </span></b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">about these detainees as an excuse to perpetuate their
misery (see a detailed analysis of Jack’s case at <a href="http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2022/03/canada-must-stop-monstering-jack-letts.html">http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2022/03/canada-must-stop-monstering-jack-letts.html</a>)
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Compare
the way in which Canadian officials mistreat this group of emaciated, tortured
souls with the Two Michaels, Canadians who were also arbitrarily detained, but
in China. Despite being charged with serious (though clearly bogus) offences,
the Two Michaels enjoyed (as they should have) a presumption of innocence in
the eyes of Ottawa and the media. But <b>when it comes to Canadian Muslims
detained abroad under conditions of torture, Canada has always assumed guilt
and been a complicit partner in criminalizing and torturing them.</b> Two
judicial inquiries and numerous Federal and Supreme Court decisions have found
Canada complicit in the torture of Canadian Muslims abroad over the past two
decades. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WHY A FAST? </span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fasting
has long been a tool to raise awareness both in our communities and within
ourselves. When you fast, and your body asks when nutrition will eventually
arrive, it is a reminder of a cruel reality. Unlike those of us who fast for a
day – and know that what we need for our health is coming soon – for many who
hunger for justice, they simply do not know when the decision that will soothe
their souls and provide peace of mind will arrive. That uncertainty, which can
be indefinite, produces anxiety and trauma. When you fast in support of the
Canadian captives, it provides moral support to the families of the detainees
and reminds them that they are not alone. It also sends an important message to
the Canadian government that you recognize the humanity and the rights of those
detained (the very things Canada wants us to dismiss). It also helps spread the
word about an injustice that needs to be remedied as soon as possible.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CHAIN FAST</b> <br />
a) Pick a day (or a series of days) to fast during Ramadan and email your name
and town to <a href="mailto:tasc@web.ca">tasc@web.ca</a> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">b)
A list of open dates and names is available at http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2023/03/ramadan-repatriation-chain-fast-to-free.html</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">c)
More than one person can fast on the same date.<br />
<br />
d) Fast according to your preferred tradition (a full 24 hours, liquids only,
sun up to sun down).<br />
<br />
e) <b>The fast is open to anyone (you can join even if you are not living in
Canada). </b>Even if you cannot fast, we encourage you to do these actions
below!<br />
<br />
<br />
On the day they fast we encourage you to:<br />
<br />
1. take a selfie with a simple message (ie, #FreeThe44, Free the Canadian
Captives, Canada Complicit in Arbitrary Detention, Obey The Court Order, Free
the 40+ Canadian Captives, etc.) and share that image via social media,
explaining why you are fasting on that day. Email us the image at <a href="mailto:tasc@web.ca">tasc@web.ca</a> so we can share it too.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">b.
Write an email (sample below) to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Global Affairs
Minister Mélanie Joly and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino to explain why
you are fasting and reinforce the demands listed above. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">c.
Write a letter to a local newspaper about why you are fasting.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">d.
Fast for an hour in front of your MP’s office.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
e. Share this petition: You can copy and paste this link on your social media
and email it to your friends as well! <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.change.org/p/canadians-are-dying-free-jack-letts-43-canadian-kids-women-men-in-syria">https://www.change.org/p/canadians-are-dying-free-jack-letts-43-canadian-kids-women-men-in-syria</a></span></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u style="font-family: times;"><span style="color: blue; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">f.
Attend the virtual appeal hearing on March 27 when Canada tries to stop the
repatriation of its own citizens. Email <a href="mailto:tasc@web.ca">tasc@web.ca</a>
for details. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<br />
Thanks for your support!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stop
Canadian Involvement in Torture </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <br />
Sample email <b>SAMPLE EMAIL (be sure to include the CC-ed MPs and add your own
MP if they are not already listed below!)</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Feel free to personalize with your own statement
imagining what it would be like to know your loved ones are condemned to these
brutal camps and prisons and the Canadian government is refusing to lift a
finger for them. Use a creative subject line as well that does not make your
email look like it is computer-generated!)</span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><u><span style="color: blue; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Melanie.Joly@parl.gc.ca</span></u><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, <a href="mailto:Melanie.Joly@international.gc.ca">Melanie.Joly@international.gc.ca</a></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">CC:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="mailto:pam.damoff@parl.gc.ca">pam.damoff@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:rob.oliphant@parl.gc.ca">rob.oliphant@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:marco.mendicino@parl.gc.ca">marco.mendicino@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:michael.chong@parl.gc.ca">michael.chong@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:yasir.naqvi@parl.gc.ca">yasir.naqvi@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:sameer.zuberi@parl.gc.ca">sameer.zuberi@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Marty.Morantz@parl.gc.ca">Marty.Morantz@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Stephane.Bergeron@parl.gc.ca">Stephane.Bergeron@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Rachel.Bendayan@parl.gc.ca">Rachel.Bendayan@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Hedy.Fry@parl.gc.ca">Hedy.Fry@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:tasc@web.ca">tasc@web.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Heather.McPherson@parl.gc.ca">Heather.McPherson@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:alistair.macgregor@parl.gc.ca">alistair.macgregor@parl.gc.ca</a> , <a href="mailto:Randeep.Sarai@parl.gc.ca">Randeep.Sarai@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Chandra.Arya@parl.gc.ca">Chandra.Arya@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Peter.Schiefke@parl.gc.ca">Peter.Schiefke@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Kamal.Khera@parl.gc.ca">Kamal.Khera@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Salma.Zahid@parl.gc.ca">Salma.Zahid@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Iqra.khalid@parl.gc.ca">Iqra.khalid@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Joel.Lightbound@parl.gc.ca">Joel.Lightbound@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Ruby.Sahota@parl.gc.ca">Ruby.Sahota@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Majid.Jowhari@parl.gc.ca">Majid.Jowhari@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:pm@pm.gc.ca">pm@pm.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:ps.ministerofpublicsafety-ministredelasecuritepublique.sp@canada.ca">ps.ministerofpublicsafety-ministredelasecuritepublique.sp@canada.ca</a> , <a href="mailto:jagmeet.singh@parl.gc.ca">jagmeet.singh@parl.gc.ca</a></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dear Minister Joly,</span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
am fasting today as part of a Ramadan Chain Fast to free the Canadian captives
illegally detained in NE Syria because you refuse to bring them home. You must
drop your court appeal and make immediate arrangements to bring home these long
suffering children, women and men.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The historic January 20, 2023 Federal Court ruling
calling on you to repatriate four Canadian men illegally and arbitrarily
detained in northeast Syria – and your own commitment made the day before to
repatriate 19 women and children – means it is time to immediately bring
everyone home (including the Canadians not identified in the lawsuit and the
non-Canadian mothers of Canadian children). This should have occurred no later
than February 15, 2023, the second anniversary of the Canadian-led Declaration
Against Arbitrary Detention.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Every day you fail to bring these long-suffering
Canadians home, you perpetuate their arbitrary detention, forcing them to
suffer conditions the UN calls akin to torture. You also increase their
exposure to the risk posed by the ongoing bombings of the area by Turkish
drones and fighter jets. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Justice Henry Brown of the Federal Court stated in
December: “Canadians are dying or at risk of dying every day this matter is
adjourned.” Every moment of your delay increases the risk for the children, men
and women. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Justice Brown declared in his January 20, 2023
decision that, as soon as reasonably possible, “Canada must make a formal
request for their repatriation,” that the detainees “must be provided necessary
travel documents,” and Canada be required to “appoint either a delegate
or representative to accept their hand over.” He made these findings based on
well-settled Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence and Canada’s international
treaty obligations “in the expectation the executive government will act in
good faith as its counsel represented to the Court.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You can show good faith by not dragging this out for
months and months in the same manner your government has looked the other way
for years despite being called on to enact repatriation by the world’s leading
human rights organizations, the United Nations, your U.S. State Dept. allies, President
Joe Biden, a Parliamentary Committee, the Kurdish authorities who hold the
detained Canadians, and tens of thousands of Canadians.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Canada has already repatriated 7 of its female and
child citizens from the region. It has the necessary contacts on the ground in
northeast Syria. It has the support of the world’s most powerful military,
American Forces who remain on the ground. Most importantly, it has the consent
and clear request of Kurdish authorities who hold the Canadians. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As Global Affairs Minister, you have already made an
agreement to repatriate 19 additional women and children originally identified
in the lawsuit. Adding the four men in Justice Brown’s order – where as he
stated "the legal principles applicable to the Canadian men are the same
as those applicable to the Canadian women and children” – should pose no
problems. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In addition, you must repatriate all the Canadians not
identified in the lawsuit (as well as the non-Canadian mothers of Canadian
children, since your notorious Policy Framework clearly states you will not
separate children from parents. I was horrified to learn that Global Affairs
Canada delivered an ultimatum to these mothers to either give up their children
and possibly never see them again or to keep them in these camps where
conditions are akin to torture.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I am disappointed that the Canadian government has
repeatedly used unsubstantiated “national security” concerns to justify its
failure to assist these Muslim Canadians in coming home. Justice Brown clearly
wrote, “Notably the [government] Respondents do not allege any of the
Applicants [detainees] engaged in or assisted in terrorist activities. The
Respondents affirmed this position at the hearing.” He also stated there was no
evidence before the court that anyone had committed offences contrary to
Canadian law.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> “The primacy of the right to return to Canada is
reinforced in Canadian law,” Brown writes in his decision. “This is also a
critical factor in this Judgment. Simply put, there is no known offence in
Canada that carries with it exile or banishment as a penal consequence,” yet
both by Canadian actions and conscious inaction, exile or banishment were
plainly the result for Canadians stuck in northeast Syria. Indeed, Brown
carefully cited jurisprudence that Section 6(1) of the Charter of Rights and
Freedoms – whose 40th anniversary you celebrated last year – “forbids the
executive from frustrating the rights of Canadians to enter and return whether
by executive actions taken in Canada or abroad.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For too long, you have frustrated and denied the
rights of these Muslim Canadians. The Court has called on you to bring these
Canadians home. I expect them to be home as soon as possible. <br />
<br />
<br />
Name<br />
Town/City</span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
+++++++++++++++++++</span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<b>SAMPLE Call (feel free to use your own wording)</b><br />
Mélanie Joly<br />
613-992-0983 (Ottawa office)<br />
514-383-3709 (Montreal office)</span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You may or may not get an answering machine (if you
do, please leave a message).</span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
Hi, my name is XXXXXXXX and I'm calling from XXXXXXX. On January 20, the Federal
Court ordered Minister Joly to bring home four Canadian men arbitrarily
detained in northeast Syria under conditions akin to torture. Ms Joly also
agreed to bring home 19 women and kids. Two months later, they are still there
and your government has appealed this order. I wanted to let you know I am
fasting today in support of repatriation during the month of Ramadan. Given
that she has ignored all prior requests to bring these long-suffering Canadians
home, I am concerned that Minister Joly will do everything in her power to
delay, avoid, and ultimately disregard this clear court order. The judge in the
case said “Canadians are dying or at risk of dying every day this matter is
adjourned.” I am calling on Ms. Joly to immediately bring everyone home – all
Canadians and the non-Canadian mothers of Canadian children. Thank you.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> ++++++++++++++++++++++</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> List of Fasters and Dates<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Thursday March 23: Julie Lovely, Martin, Georgia, USA; Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Jan Slakov, BC; </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Friday March 24: Mary Cowper-Smith, Prince Edward Island; Connie Pike, St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador</span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">; Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar; Belinda Cole, Montreal, QC<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Saturday March 25: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sunday March 26: Kim Koyama, Toronto, ON; </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Monday March 27: Maureen McGahey, Perth, Ontario; </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Tuesday</span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> March 28: Donna Morrison, Ottawa, Ontario; Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON; </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Wednesday March 29: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Thursday March 30: Sandra Davies, Kingston, ON (on her 83rd birthday!); </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Friday March 31: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Saturday April 1: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sunday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 2: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Monday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 3: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Tuesday</span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 4: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON; </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Wednesday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 5: Amanda Moddejonge, Ontario<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Thursday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 6: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Friday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 7: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Neal Marchak, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Niigata City, Japan</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Saturday April 8: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sunday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 9: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Monday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 10: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Tuesday</span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 11: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON; </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Wednesday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 12: </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Ayman Ibrahim, Oxford, UK<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Thursday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 13: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Friday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 14: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Saturday April 15: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sunday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 16: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maria Mars, Cookstown, Ontario; </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Monday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 17: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Tuesday</span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 18: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON; </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Wednesday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 19: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maria Mars, Cookstown, Ontario; </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Thursday </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">April 20: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Maryam Akram, Doha, Qatar; Lee Morales, Doha, Qatar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span> <span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: times; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times;"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-39747237417158326742023-01-25T17:49:00.005-08:002023-01-25T19:02:36.764-08:00How False Labeling Threatens the Lives of Canadian Muslims Illegally Detained in Syria<p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8vggdhBAMHKk83B__Dsj21TOkOg1MDz3V6BwwVIJVQvrpVe8mykhc8AvU2bUEFlS-FwSq_kGlokpjWeKKAbpxrD3iBOfmGSeFbGkAdffWxGxcYB67EOJz3ntQF7brXv-NwoI8kREJorodw3GYMkWB8wz4hSwwm2n3rJjeHK41rPZgfmKSESEsJdZRA/s1600/Yusuf.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8vggdhBAMHKk83B__Dsj21TOkOg1MDz3V6BwwVIJVQvrpVe8mykhc8AvU2bUEFlS-FwSq_kGlokpjWeKKAbpxrD3iBOfmGSeFbGkAdffWxGxcYB67EOJz3ntQF7brXv-NwoI8kREJorodw3GYMkWB8wz4hSwwm2n3rJjeHK41rPZgfmKSESEsJdZRA/w640-h360/Yusuf.png" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 7.1pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 7.1pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Canadians are dying or at risk of dying every day this matter is
adjourned.”</span></b></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;"> – Federal Court Judge Henry
Brown, December 6, 2022<br />
<br />
<br />
In the blitz of breaking news coverage <a href="http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2023/01/federal-court-orders-repatriation-of.html">regarding
the repatriation of 23 Canadian Muslim men, women and kids</a> from
prison camps and jails in northeast Syria, Canadian media fell into predictable
patterns of Islamophobic labeling, irresponsibly assuming anyone in the camps
and prisons was “ISIS-linked,” screaming out unsubstantiated fears about
whether these returnees from conditions akin to torture could be prosecuted,
and generally ranting about wholly unproven security “risks” even as the
Federal Court <a href="https://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/fc-cf/decisions/en/item/522819/index.do">decision</a>
reported that the federal government itself had not alleged any acts of
violence or criminal wrongdoing on the part of the detainees. That decision was
a vindication of the rights that these long-suffering Canadians have been so
long denied because of racial, religious, and political profiling.<br />
<br />
This piece calls on journalists and commentators to hold to a higher standard.
Such labeling can prove incredibly harmful, as documented by two judicial
inquiries into the torture of Canadian Muslims held overseas with Ottawa’s
complicity. It also tells the story of one 9-year-old detained Canadian boy who
urgently requires life-saving surgery, but Canada has abandoned him and his
family.<br />
<br />
<br />
By Matthew Behrens<br />
<br />
At the tender age of 9, Canadian “Yusuf” has spent almost half his life
arbitrarily detained inside a prison camp in northeast Syria. Like his younger
brother and sister, they have known only barbed wire, hunger, disease, and
bombardment, and been seared by a desert sun from which there is no
escape. <br />
<br />
Yusuf urgently requires brain surgery to address his carotid artery stenosis –
which causes life-threatening blood clots and strokes. The Canadian government
has long been fully aware of the life-threatening medical challenges facing
Yusuf, but has refused to assist him, even though his Kurdish captors have
repeatedly offered to release him and his family as long as Canada requests it.<br />
<br />
These three children are among 50 Canadian Muslim men, women and children
arbitrarily detained for years at a series of prisons and prison camps known as
Guantanamo in the Desert, ostensibly <a href="https://rabble.ca/columnists/un-slams-canadas-failure-to-repatriate-citizens-illegally-detained-in-syria/">at
Canada’s behest</a>. Until January 6, 2023 the federal government had spent
endless hours in court fighting against their return to Canada. Yet once
lawyers from the Dept. of Justice seemed to sense their case was collapsing,
they suddenly agreed on January 19 to bring back 19 Canadian women and children
listed in the court case, but not the four men, and certainly not the other
Canadians still arbitrarily detained under conditions the UN calls akin to
torture.<br /> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;"><b>Magna Carta Mandates Repatriation</b><br />
The very next day, Federal Court Judge Henry Brown issued a remarkable decision
ordering Ottawa to repatriate the four men who remained in the lawsuit. The
decision harkens back to core principles of the Magna Carta and invokes
Canada’s domestic Charter and international treaty obligations in calling for
an end to the arbitrary detention and banishment/exile of these Canadians.
<br />
<br />
Midway through the hearings on repatriation that preceded his decision, Brown
felt the urgency of the case when he declared: “Canadians are dying or at risk
of dying every day this matter is adjourned.”<br />
<br />
While that statement certainly applies to 9-year-old Yusuf, he is not included
in the Federal Court’s repatriation order or the January 19 agreement. As
such, he and his family are among 30+ additional Canadians who remain in a
frightening limbo. <br />
<br />
Yusuf also has severe autism, is non-verbal, and still wears diapers while
limping from a shrapnel wound in his leg. He is malnourished and suffers from
serious digestive infections that have seen him suffer diarrhea for almost four
years. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">His
mother struggles to feed him because he has great difficulty consuming most of the
little that is available at the camp, so he is continually losing weight.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Yusuf’s only point of reference in the world is his mother, “Asiya,” an electrical
engineer. Because she is not a Canadian citizen, Ottawa is insisting that for
Yusuf and his siblings to even be considered for repatriation, Asiya must give
them up and remain behind in the prison camp. Thus, the only adult who has
provided the children stability, love and care under impossibly cruel
conditions would remain in the prison camp under threat of return to her home
country, where she would face torture and even more arbitrary detention than
she’s already been subjected to. The kids would become de facto orphans, as it
has been years since Yusuf hugged his father, a Canadian scholar of Middle East
history and religions, also illegally detained under even more brutal
conditions in a northeast Syrian prison.<br />
<br />
Asiya’s other kids include 7-year-old “Jacob,” who suffered third degree burns
when he fell accidentally on a gasoline heater, an unhealed injury which
prevents him from being able to put on a full set of clothes or sit properly.
Baby daughter “Yocheved,” just over 3 years old, was born in a tent as Asiya
wasn't allowed to go to the hospital. The poor, paper-thin tents in the camps
fail to protect the detainees from the brutal effects of massive sand storms, intense
cold, flooding, and the desert sun, under which Yocheved has suffered permanent
burns that Asiya fears will lead to skin cancer.<br /> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Canada Pursues Forced Separation of Kids</b><br />
This inexcusable state of affairs – reflecting a shameful and ongoing Canadian
colonial history built on the forced separation of Indigenous children from
their families – is something against which Save the Children (STC) has
repeatedly warned, recently declaring that it is vital to ensure there is a
path out of the detention camps “for mixed nationality families that takes into
consideration the best interests of the child, including their right to a
family life.” STC notes that for families like Yusuf’s, “their caregiver
relationship is likely to be even more central to their lives because of the
lack of fathers or older male relatives.” In their study of children and women
who have returned from the camps, Human Rights Watch quoted a repatriated
Swedish mother on the devastating impact of forced separation, noting:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">In the camps, their mom is the only person the children trust. Suddenly taking
the mom out of their life can be traumatizing.… During the three months of
separation, my children were sad and confused about what was happening, and why
they were separated from me. I felt the separation traumatized them even more.…
Some of my children developed behavioral problems they didn’t have before. My
3-year-old son did not speak for weeks. His foster family thought he was mute.”</span><br />
<br />
While neither Yusuf, his mother or siblings are included in the repatriation
agreement, the children are being “considered” for assessment under a
rights-violating policy framework developed in secret in 2021 by Global Affairs
Canada (GAC). In his repatriation decision, Judge Brown reserved harsh words
for this so-called framework, which he said may include a “useful set of
internal guidelines to assist the executive in assessing the situations of the
Applicants [detainees], but it is no substitute for nor does it permit the
executive to unilaterally derogate from subsection 6(1)” of the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the right of Canadians to return home.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
Despite the insufficiency of those guidelines, they do explicitly state that “<i>children will not be separated from their
parents except in extraordinary circumstances</i>.” Notably, Kurdish officials
have also been very clear that they do not wish to participate in such forced
family separation either, and they have reportedly allowed other non-citizen
mothers to be repatriated with their citizen children. There are no
extraordinary circumstances to justify separating Yusuf and his siblings from
their mother when a reasonable solution (such as the legal and practical
issuance of a temporary resident permit to enter Canada as the children’s
mother) is available. I have personally written to Global Affairs Canada (GAC)
on numerous occasions on Yusuf and Asiya’s behalf offering to work on this
commonplace and widely accepted solution, but they have refused to respond.<br />
<br /><b>Canadians Abandoned to Torture </b> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If GAC has known about the lethal risks faced by this family and so many others
– GAC receives regular updates about the medical challenges and other
conditions described by the United Nations as “akin to torture” – why have they
abandoned these Canadians when they could easily have brought them home so kids
could be going to school, play games, and ice skate as their proud, loving
mothers and fathers looked on?<br />
<br />
Had these children been born with first names like Michael and been held in
China, their chances for survival would be far better. But the Canadian
government (and some of the media) sees these children, along with their
mothers and fathers, as one monolith of “Extremist” travelers whose children
are “ticking time bombs”, an alleged Muslim contagion of risk and violence that
is just as nonsensical as the old Red Scare tropes about communists hiding
under our beds and inserting coded messages into popular Hollywood movies.<br />
<br />
As mentioned, Global Affairs Canada bureaucrats know the details of their
plight. When they bother to reply – which is rare – they tell the loved ones of
the detainees they will place such vital information “in the file.” What,
exactly, that file is meant to be used for is exquisitely unclear. It’s
certainly not moved the dial towards their repatriation (only court action has
for some of the detainees). <br />
<br />
In the aftermath of Judge Brown’s repatriation order, Global Affairs Canada has
remained muted, saying only that it was “reviewing” the decision. It remains
unmoved by Yusuf’s plight, where the consequences for this inaction are
developmental delays and possible death each day his unique medical needs
remain unaddressed. Yet despite having full knowledge of this, Canada’s racist
response has been, essentially: you made your bed and now you must lie in it.<br />
<br />
Absent in most discussion of these issues is any sense of nuance or
understanding of the very real, human stories about how so many of these
detainees wound up in the prison camps in the first place. Asiya travelled to
Syria in 2015 to help retrieve her husband, a scholar who had gone to the region
as a researcher, fallen ill, and was unable to get out. (Getting into Daesh
territory was notoriously easy, as the Canadian spy agency CSIS showed when it <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canadian-spy-isis-syria-teenagers/">trafficked
underage teenage</a> girls into the region, but getting out was impossible,
usually risking a death sentence).<br />
<br />
Once she entered the region and met up with her husband, Asiya too was unable
to escape. Her husband, who in addition to being fluent in Classical Arabic and
having studied Biblical Hebrew and Sanskrit, is currently imprisoned and losing
his eyesight due to diabetes. Asiya has not heard from him for years following
a brief letter received via the International Committee of the Red Cross.<br />
<br />
<b>Dangerous Labels</b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As families like Asiya’s pray that they too will get the news that Canada is working
on their repatriation, it is helpful to explore who most of the detainees in
northeast Syria actually are. Indeed, everything from sloppy media headlines to
reports produced by well-meaning human rights groups inaccurately label them
“ISIS-linked”, a dangerous appellation that has contributed to the
fear-mongering and Islamophobia that, at root, have served the Canadian
government’s agenda to prevent repatriation.<br />
<br />
For example, some of the best work on the conditions in the prison camps and
jails has been produced by the venerable Human Rights Watch, whose
on-the-ground research and reporting by a small, dedicated, courageous crew is
bold and absolutely essential work. Their spokespersons have played a key role
in addressing the issue for years. Yet the titles of their reports are, sadly,
enough to turn off anyone who is vulnerable to the Islamophobic narratives of
the so-called War on Terror while unintentionally opening the door to the very
media sloppiness that has trumpeted the overblown and, in many cases, false
“ISIS-linked” narrative.<br />
<br />
“<a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/11/21/my-son-just-another-kid/experiences-children-repatriated-camps-isis-suspects-and">My
Son is Just Another Kid: Experiences of Children Repatriated from Camps for
ISIS Suspects and Their Families in Northeast Syria</a>,” produced in November
2022, and the equally powerful and illuminating June 2020 “<a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/06/29/bring-me-back-canada/plight-canadians-held-northeast-syria-alleged-isis-links">Bring
Me Back to Canada: Plight of Canadians Held in Northeast Syria for Alleged ISIS
Links</a>” both sport titles that promote a false and harmful narrative about
who camp residents actually are. (Compare this to Save the Children’s study
title, <a href="https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/when-am-i-going-start-live-urgent-need-repatriate-foreign-children-trapped-al-hol-and-roj/">When
am I Going to Start to Live? The urgent need to repatriate foreign children
trapped in Al Hol and Roj Camps</a>,” which focuses on the same issue without
throwing in the unnecessary and inaccurate red flag that completely distorts
how its findings will be viewed and reported). When one of the world’s leading
human rights organizations uses such inflammatory language, one can see how
media will unquestioningly run with that narrative.<br />
<br />
Why is it critical that “ISIS-linked” not be employed as a one-brush-tars-all
title or headline? The ill-effects of such language are far-reaching, and have
been well-documented by two judicial inquiries into the torture of four
Canadian Muslim men, all of whom suffered due to Canadian government actions
driven by racial and religious profiling. Justice O’Connor’s Commission of
Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar noted
“Labels have a way of sticking to individuals, reputations are easily damaged
and when labels are inaccurate, serious unfairness to individuals can result.”
Equally critical, “Written labels, particularly when no caveats are attached,
have a way of sticking to an individual and then spreading to others and
becoming the accepted fact or wisdom.”<br />
<br />
Among other
findings, O’Connor reminds us that:<br /></span></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“The impact on an individual’s reputation of being called a terrorist in the
national media is severe. As I have stated elsewhere, labels, even unfair and
inaccurate ones, have a tendency to stick.”</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
“It is important that precision be used when attaching labels to individuals,
particularly in terrorism-related investigations in these times. There is a
danger that loose language can lead to unfair and misleading or erroneous
conclusions.”</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
“Caution is also necessary with respect to the use of potentially emotive or
inflammatory phrases. To say that someone is an ‘Islamic extremist’ or a
‘jihadist’ can open the door to a slipshod and casual process in which guilt is
assigned by association.”</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
“The use of loose or imprecise language about an individual or an event can
have serious and unintended consequences. Labels, even inaccurate ones, have a
way of sticking.”</span></span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
<br />
Labels not only erase an individual’s humanity, they also erase individualized
histories. Indeed, our ahistorical culture, in which yesterday’s news is
ancient history, fails to recall that thousands of people traveled to Syria a
decade ago in support of the Arab spring and to support the victims of the
brutal dictator Bashar al-Assad’s barrel bombs, torture centres, and scorched
earth military campaigns. Others who actually believed the Daesh videos that
promised a state free of discrimination and violence quickly found out it was
all a lie, but faced death if they tried to leave. While such mistakes are
normally forgiven or simply overlooked if, for example, Canadians travel abroad
and join groups engaged in documented war crimes (from the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/07/27/gaza-apparent-war-crimes-during-may-fighting">Israeli
“Defence” Forces</a> to the <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/08/ukraine-ukrainian-fighting-tactics-endanger-civilians/">Ukrainian
military</a>), that mercy rarely extends to Muslims.<br />
<br />
When Daesh fell, tens of thousands filled up the main detention camps at Al Hol
and Al Roj. It’s worth remembering that Al-Hol exists because of our
(“Western”) imperial violence. It originally sprang from the 1991
US/UK/Canadian military violence now called “Gulf War 1,” when a massive bombing
campaign and innumerable war crimes were committed against the Iraqi people,
forcing many to flee across the border into Syria. The camp was reopened in
2003 during the illegal continuation and escalation of the war, an invasion
based on the lies of non-existent weapons of mass destruction. The subsequent
torture-enforced occupation created the very conditions that led to the
creation of Daesh.<br />
<br />
<b>Detainees are Victims of Daesh</b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">According to Save the Children (STC), over 30,000 Al-Hol prisoners are Iraqi,
many having fled Daesh advances in 2016 and others fleeing again in 2019 as
Daesh retreated. It is remarkable that despite being victims of Daesh (aka
ISIS), such camp prisoners are now referred to as “ISIS-linked,” a label that
will prevent many from being repatriated to home countries because it will make
them the targets of local surveillance, harassment, discrimination, arrest,
detention, torture, and death. (Canada has spent close to $3 million on a
project to repatriate some of those Iraqis while at the same time it has
devoted millions in court to prevent repatriation of its own citizens).<br />
<br />
STC confirms that many “arrived in the [Al Hol] camp fleeing from violence and
conflict caused by ISIS…fleeing these final offensives, these women and
children made arduous journeys to the camps. Many children arrived in critical
condition suffering from hypothermia and malnutrition, and over the course of
the next year many died in the camps… The scale of the violence, hardship,
deprivation and trauma that children living in these camps experience every day
cannot be overstated.” <br />
<br />
In addition, STC notes that these detainees “are often portrayed in the media
as monolithic adherents to ISIS ideologies and their children described as
‘ISIS children.’ In reality, the population of the camps is diverse and many of
their personal stories are complex.” STC also points out that there are
hundreds of Yazidi women and children in the camps “who were captured and
enslaved by ISIS as part of a genocide against the ethno-religious group.”
Other women found themselves under Daesh control through “misapprehension,
circumstance or coercion.” Yet all are tarred with the same “ISIS-linked” brush
when in reality, those with links to ISIS are reportedly a relatively small
minority.<br />
<br />
(Notably, STC also found that when faced with starvation, there are reports of
some women who swore allegiance only “as a strategic move due to the funds that
ISIS provided to followers” in a region where poverty and despair were rife.
Hardly the stuff of hard-core adherents, more the stuff of doing what they had
to do to survive.) <br />
<br />
STC points to a British study by the human rights organization Reprieve that
shows 63% of UK women in the prison camps are victims of trafficking: “This is
based on evidence that these women were all subjected to sexual and other forms
of exploitation, and were either transported to Syria as children; coerced into
travelling to Syria; or kept and moved within Syria against their will. Some of
these women were as young as 12 when they were taken to Syria.”<br />
<br />
An affidavit from Reprieve’s Joint Executive Director, Maya Foa, submitted to
the recent Canadian court hearing, pointed out that from “Reprieve’s interviews
and investigations, we believe that a significant number of individuals of
other nationalities were also likely to have been trafficked by ISIS, including
Canadian nationals. … It is well established that States have a positive
obligation to identify, assist, and protect victims of trafficking. With
respect to potential trafficking victims being detained in [northeast Syria],
however, many states have failed to take any meaningful steps to offer any
assistance or protection to their nationals. Moreover, the failure of states to
facilitate their nationals’ release from detention may be in violation of the
principle of non-punishment. The non-punishment principle guarantees that
victims of trafficking are not punished for unlawful acts committed as a
consequence of their trafficking.”</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br />
Labels Could Result in Permanent Exile</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Another widely-respected organization, Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), has also
reported extensively on the diverse populations of the prison camps and the
fact that many detained are in fact victims of Daesh. In discussing the largest
camp, Al-Hol, their outstanding November 2022 report, “<a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/between-two-fires-danger-and-desperation-syrias-al-hol-camp-enar">Between
two fires: Danger and desperation in Syria’s Al-Hol camp</a>,” again did not
use an unnecessary red-flag “ISIS-linked” title, and took great pains to point
out that the “ideological demography of the camp’s population is far more
diverse than narratives regarding their affiliations with IS suggest. Many of
the camp’s population report having been displaced multiple times as a result
of conflict. Far from identifying with IS ideology, many say they were arrested
at checkpoints when trying to flee IS-controlled territories. Many report that
they were living in areas that later came under the control of IS and were
forced to leave their homes on IS orders. They say that if they chose to stay,
they risked being bombed by coalition forces or being accused of supporting IS
by dint of their location.”<br />
<br />
MSF quotes one camp detainee as saying, “People were forced to leave their
homes because mostly they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. We were
forced to leave our city and forced to stay in the city of IS, and we were
forced to move from place to place by IS.” Another detainee calls Al-Hol “a
detention centre – it is like Guantanamo, it is a death camp, a prison…The
media are not putting out the right message about Al-Hol, with the result that
one bad person affects all the people here.”<br />
<br />
Some detainees are actually afraid to leave this death camp because of what
might await them upon return home, that they will be treated as terrorists or
social pariahs because of the mislabeling of all detainees as “ISIS-linked.”<br />
<br />
Further proof that many of those held in the prison camps have nothing to do
with Daesh is in the fact that not everyone who returns faces prosecution
(which, in itself, is not a sign that someone has committed a crime because
there still exists in some quarters something called presumption of innocence).
Indeed, going to court under “anti-terror” legislation is always difficult
because the standards are so low and the definitions so broad that many
apparently innocent acts can be falsely attributed as terrorist simply because
of political considerations and racial and religious profiling.<br />
<br />
In Kazakhstan, 19 of 187 women returnees were convicted of terrorism-related
offences in secret trials (which, clearly, do not meet acceptable international
fair trial standards). In Sweden, only 2 of 18 have been convicted.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the demonization of Muslim boys and men is also rife, from the
Canadian government’s ongoing refusal to repatriate any men from the brutal
prisons to the Islamophobic rantings of individuals who, despite supporting
repatriation in principle, only do so through a lens that dehumanizes the
detainees as “trash.” </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br />
It’s exactly this refusal to recognize the diversity and humanity of the
detainees which has played a significant role in their monstering, just as it
has in the case of <a href="https://rabble.ca/columnists/islamophobia-preventing-jack-letts-from-returning-home-to-canada/">Jack
Letts</a>, another Canadian individual brutally smeared by a Murdoch media
empire that generated false and deceitful headlines about him and then used
information gleaned from torture to try and reinforce its false narrative.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br />
Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, the trailblazing “Special Rapporteur on the promotion and
protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering
terrorism,” has called out the way Muslim men and boys are discriminated
against, noting “certain male children in this conflict setting [are viewed] as
being inherently untrustworthy of the status of civilian, child or victim
status and [are] presumed by virtue of gender (male), religious affiliation (Muslim)
and geography (Syria) to be a non-child for the purpose of international law
protection.”</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br />
The corrosive effects of the past 20+ years of demonizing Muslims is widely
documented. Its very human effects are played out daily, and journalists
perhaps unfamiliar with this history can easily fall into the standard trap of
easily assigning dangerous labels without knowing the harm they cause. But it’s
a trap for which there is no excuse. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Guilt
by alleged association should never trump the presumption of innocence, yet the
media frenzy in this case sadly appears to have concluded otherwise.</span><span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In the meantime, Yusuf and his siblings and mom and father are desperate to be
together again in Canada. That day will hopefully come soon. One way to make
that happen is to refuse the unsubstantiated labels and stereotypes that have
prevented it thus far.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><h2 class="type-break-word" style="text-align: left;"><span>Call/Write to Ensure Ottawa Obeys Court Order to Bring Canadian Detainees Home from Syria ASAP: <a href="https://www.change.org/p/canadians-are-dying-free-jack-letts-43-canadian-kids-women-men-in-syria/u/31247951">https://www.change.org/p/canadians-are-dying-free-jack-letts-43-canadian-kids-women-men-in-syria/u/31247951</a><br /></span></h2><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
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{page:WordSection1;}</font></style></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-65313877654225383322023-01-22T13:26:00.014-08:002023-01-22T17:39:14.289-08:00Federal Court Orders Repatriation of Canadians Illegally Detained in Syria<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDH4LkbceOqRthk8Dyn6iK3qRNA1uNVLC9DKJjBDb3PFK0cjsenGNQcEF6O-0nIWmwv063z4zOZf42oIj1_DkH3dU1XrQ5rkXtwVBQFS5Eci2HJapmvSYeG05PbsY8FDbESaIYniOk0kQJzjZIC495bba6vZlwPgfoaCyQluraFuigqLNAO9WlhcAJiw/s2048/Letts%20Banner%20PMO:Hill.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1922" data-original-width="2048" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDH4LkbceOqRthk8Dyn6iK3qRNA1uNVLC9DKJjBDb3PFK0cjsenGNQcEF6O-0nIWmwv063z4zOZf42oIj1_DkH3dU1XrQ5rkXtwVBQFS5Eci2HJapmvSYeG05PbsY8FDbESaIYniOk0kQJzjZIC495bba6vZlwPgfoaCyQluraFuigqLNAO9WlhcAJiw/w640-h600/Letts%20Banner%20PMO:Hill.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></span><span><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 11pt; margin-top: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;">By Matthew Behrens</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>In
an important ruling with global human rights implications, Federal Court Judge
Henry Brown has informed the Canadian government that it must end the
years-long arbitrary detention without charge endured by dozens of Canadian
men, women and children in northeast Syrian jails and prison camps.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span></span><span>The
January 19 judicial repatriation order applied to 4 Canadian men “imprisoned
against their will without charge or trial” under conditions Brown deemed
“dire” (with one of those men having “reported to Canadian government officials
that he had been tortured”). It was released a day after the federal government
confirmed a settlement to repatriate 19 women and children who’d originally
been connected to the same court case.</span></span></span></span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Brown
was quick to point out that in this case “</span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span lang="EN-US">the legal<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> </span>principles applicable<span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span>Canadian<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">
</span>men<span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;"> </span>are the same as those
applicable to the Canadian women and children.”</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><style>@font-face
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</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>These
23 Canadians – who have suffered conditions the United Nations describes as
akin to torture – are among almost 50 who have been unlawfully detained at
Canada’s behest in the Kurdish autonomous region of northeast Syria also known
as Rojava. Going back as far as 2017, Ottawa has refused to respond to the
Kurdish captors’ simple 3 requests: to send an official letter requesting
repatriation, issue travel documents, and appoint a representative to attend in
Rojava for a handover.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>While
dozens of other countries, including the United States, have been able to
manage the simple journey to Northeast Syria – a well-documented fact
relied upon by Brown – Canada instead spent those years in the full knowledge
that it was prolonging Canadian citizens’ needless suffering by creating a
racist None is Too</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> Many “</span><i><span>Policy Framework to
Evaluate the Provision of Extraordinary Measures to Assist Canadian Citizens
detained in North-Eastern Syria.</span></i><span>” (None is Too Many is a
phrase that was used by Canadian officials seeking to prevent entry of Jewish
refugees from the Holocaust, one with particularly contemporary resonance).</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>The
Policy Framework was infused with bureaucratic state security bafflegab and
designed to ensure these tortured souls, over half of them under the age of 10,
would perish abroad from disease, malnutrition and violence due to Canadian
government-sanctioned criminal negligence causing death (“culpable homicide”
being defined in the Criminal Code of Canada as any act which “directly or
indirectly, by any means… causes the death of a human being.”)</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 9pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>Judge
Brown carefully parsed through the conditions for repatriation and declared
that, as soon as reasonably possible, “Canada must make a formal request for
their repatriation,” that the detainees “must be provided necessary travel
documents,” and Canada be required to “appoint either a delegate or representative
to accept their hand over.” He made these findings based on well-settled
Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence and Canada’s international treaty
obligations “in the expectation the executive government will act in good faith
as its counsel represented to the Court.”</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 23.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 23pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 23.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 23pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><b><span style="color: black;">Judge Rejects Government’s Islamophobic Framing</span></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 23.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 23pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>The
landmark decision ends a protracted legal battle that included three days of
repeatedly delayed public hearings in December and January, with two sets of
secret hearings.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 23.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 23pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 23.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 23pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>Brown,
a highly respected expert on Supreme Court jurisprudence and practice, spoke
barely above a whisper during the hearings, and appeared non-plussed with the
government’s Islamophobic framing of the case. While Department of Justice
(DOJ) lawyer Anne Turley attempted to portray the children, women and men as
alleged threats to the security of Canada, Brown asked questions revealing an
intimate knowledge of the case and illustrated, in his own modest way, what can
only be described as a loving commitment to the core constitutional principles
and international human rights laws and treaties to which Canada, at least on
paper, has committed itself.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 23.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 23pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 23.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 23pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>(Notably,
Turley similarly lost a 2009</span></span><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/court-orders-ottawa-to-let-abdelrazik-return-to-canada-1.797652"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;"><span> </span><span style="color: #1155cc;"></span><span>case</span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span> in which she fought against the
repatriation of another Muslim Canadian abandoned abroad and tortured with
Canadian complicity, Abousfian Abdelrazik. As The Globe and Mail</span></span><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/lawyers-try-to-discredit-canadians-torture-claims/article664122/"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;"><span> </span><span style="color: #1155cc;"></span><span>reported</span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span> at the time,
Turley notoriously engaged in a vicious, racist cross-examination of Abdelrazik
“attempting to discredit [his] assertions that he was beaten and abused by
Sudanese police, suggesting instead that [Abdelrazik] mutilated himself and
that ‘tribal’ practices of cutting or burning account for the scars on his
body.”)</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 23.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 23pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 23.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 23pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><b><span style="color: black;">No Evidence of Violence by Detainees</span></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 23.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 23pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><b><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span></b><span style="color: black;"></span><span>Critically,
Judge Brown delivered as part of his 85-page decision a finding that should
tamp down some of the inflamed and inaccurate reporting that has followed its
release. “Notably the [government] Respondents do not allege any of the
Applicants [detainees] engaged in or assisted in terrorist activities,” Brown
declared. “The Respondents affirmed this position at the hearing.” In other
words, if the government had any evidence that these 50 Canadian children,
women and men had been up to no good in Syria, this had been their opportunity
to share it. Possessing no such evidence, Canadian officials – who have based
their refusal to repatriate on Islamophobic “national security” tropes and
vague allegations of nefarious associations – must now halt their illegal
practice of banishment and end their years-long complicity in the arbitrary
detention of their own citizens.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 12pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 12pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>As
if Brown’s finding was not enough to obliterate the government’s thin house of
cards case, he also added, “Canadians are entitled to have political opinions,
no matter how abhorrent they may be to other Canadians. The limitation is when
Canadian opinion holders take actions, whether inside of [or] outside of
Canada, that constitute offences against Canadian law including the </span><i><span>Criminal
Code of Canada. However there is no evidence to that effect before this Court</span></i><span>
[emphasis added].” Again, this should undermine any subsequent attempts to
prosecute the Canadian returnees from conditions of torture. If Ottawa had any
evidence of criminal wrongdoing, why didn’t it place that before the Court?</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 12pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 12pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><b><span style="color: black;">Magna Carta Rights Inform Decision</span></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>To
the consternation of DOJ lawyers who zealously fought right up until the last
minute to perpetuate what had become the de facto exile of almost 50 Canadian
Muslim men, women and children, Brown has issued what can only be called a
radical decision (inasmuch as radical means to get to the root of things) by
relying on the 808-year-old Magna Carta that informs and undergirds such a
broad swath of constitutional governance, rights and principles in Canadian
jurisprudence.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>“With
respect, from its antiquity I conclude the 808 year old promise to end
banishment and exile illustrates how long our constitutional order has
concerned itself with protecting the right to enter and return to one’s
country,” Brown writes, referencing the bedrock roots of Section 6(1) of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Every citizen of Canada has the right
to enter, remain in and leave Canada.”). Indeed, the Supreme Court of Canada
has clearly defined 6(1) as a “foundational” and “fundamental” right preventing
“the exclusion of membership in the national community.” The scope of this
right, Brown noted, is “expansive, generous and powerful” and cannot be overridden
by the Charter’s often abused notwithstanding clause. Brown also points out
that the government lawyers chose not to invoke a Section 1 Charter argument
that would have raised in this case the question of “reasonable limits” to the
right to enter, remain in and leave Canada.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;">In addition, Brown refers approvingly the
Supreme Court’s </span><i><span>Divito</span></i><span> decision and the need
for Canada to take actions and design policies in accordance with international
law:</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 28.0pt; margin-right: 11.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 11pt 0cm 28pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><i><span style="color: black;">Divito </span></i></span><span style="color: black;"><span>unequivocally states the right to
enter or return to Canada guaranteed by subsection 6(1) must be defined
generously - and not in a legalistic manner - in light of the interests it is
to protect. It is “foundational” right because without the ability to enter
one’s country of citizenship, the “right to have rights” cannot be fully
exercised. The right to return to Canada, says </span><i><span>Divito</span></i><span>,
is a “fundamental right associated with citizenship”…. Importantly, Canada’s
international obligations not only inform </span><i><span>Charter </span></i><span>rights.
</span><i><span>Divito </span></i><span>confirms earlier Supreme Court jurisprudence
that: “the</span></span><a href="https://qweri.lexum.com/calegis/schedule-b-to-the-canada-act-1982-uk-1982-c-11-en"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;"><span> </span><i><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;"></span><span>Charter</span></i></span></a><i><span style="color: #1155cc;"><span> </span></span></i><span style="color: black;"></span><span>should be
presumed to provide at least as great a level of protection as is found in the
international human rights documents that Canada has ratified.” The right to
enter protected by subsection 6(1) of the Charter must be interpreted in a way
that is consistent with or greater than Canada’s international treaty
obligations.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 35.0pt; margin-right: 42.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 42pt 0cm 35pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>During
the court proceedings, Brown questioned government lawyer Turley about the
Magna Carta, noting he used to teach a university course on the document that
is regularly ignored by what he referred to as “troublesome” regimes that
essentially tell banished individuals, “You can't come back. We don't want you
back. We don't like what you think… I just wonder whether that's so ingrained
in our system as opposed to European systems, which in many cases may not have
had constitutions like we've inherited [with] principles as referred to in the
opening words of our Constitution. I just throw it out because it's historical
fact and interests me. Have any thoughts on it?”</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>Turley,
whose whole case rested on rejecting the Magna Carta, stumbled through an
answer about “the law as it exists today in Canada” before decking off into
another area of rights-denying submissions. Brown later repeatedly shot down
her arguments in his decision.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>
“The primacy of the right to return to Canada is reinforced in Canadian law,”
Brown writes. “This is also a critical factor in this Judgment. Simply put,
there is no known offence in Canada that carries with it exile or banishment as
a penal consequence,” yet both by its actions and conscious inaction, exile or
banishment were plainly the result for Canadians stuck in northeast Syria.
Indeed, Brown carefully cited jurisprudence that Section 6(1) “forbids the
executive from frustrating the rights of Canadians to enter and return whether
by executive actions taken in Canada or abroad.” In this instance, the
government’s None is Too Many Policy Framework, which he later called into
question, was exactly the kind of obstacle employed to frustrate rights of the
detainees.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><b><span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><b><span style="color: black;">Ottawa Failed To Request Repatriation</span></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 20.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 20pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>Throughout
the landmark decision, Brown is not shy about sharing his reservations about
clear government misconduct. “The Applicants are Canadian citizens who are not
able to return home in part because their government seems never to have
formally requested their repatriation,” he writes at one point.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 9pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>Brown
expresses concern that six months before the detainees even started their legal
challenge, their lawyer wrote to Global Affairs Canada asking them to appoint a
delegation to visit Rojava and receive the detainees, but no such appointments
were ever made. “I appreciate this may not be the first step in the exercise of
the Applicants’ right to return, but it is still one that I find essential to
the exercise of the </span><i><span>Charter </span></i><span>rights at issue,” Brown
declares. “The Applicants absolutely must have Canada make such appointments or
they will never be able to return to Canada.”</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 9pt 0cm 5pt; text-indent: 31pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;">In addition, Brown also points out that
although the detainees’ counsel “have repeatedly asked for travel documents not
only before commencing this proceeding but up and to the close of oral
submission, none have been provided. Instead Canada relies on and requires the
Applicants meet the conditions in its </span><i><span>Policy Framework</span></i><span>.
With respect, I am not persuaded compliance with the </span><i><span>Policy
Framework </span></i><span>is a precondition of the exercise of the Applicant’s
</span><i><span>Charter </span></i><span>protected right to return to Canada.”
He adds as well in what can only by a stinging rebuke to the designers and
administrators of the None is Too Many policy, that the Framework is “a likely
very useful set of internal guidelines to assist the executive in assessing the
situations of the Applicants, but it is no substitute for nor does it permit
the executive to unilaterally derogate from subsection 6(1).”</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 20.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 20pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 13.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 13pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>In
addressing what he deems “not correct” the government assertion that a Charter
breach must be established before a remedy is granted, Brown also expresses his
dismay at the inexplicable and indefensible failure of the government to act
despite years-long requests for them to do so. “While I might have found </span><i><span>Charter
</span></i><span>breaches in terms of travel documents and making a formal
request for repatriation, </span><i><span>rights requested almost two years ago
but not afforded [emphasis added</span></i><span>],” he writes, “I do not
consider that necessary because of well-established jurisprudence that a </span><i><span>Charter
</span></i><span>breach is not a necessary pre-condition for the declaratory
orders to be issued in this case as already determined.”</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 13.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 13pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 20.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 20pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>Later
in the decision, Brown says that he remains “perplexed as to why the
[government] did not share the </span><i><span>Policy Framework </span></i><span>with
the Applicants [detainees] when they requested relief and were in effect
requesting it in February 2021 [a month after it was created].” He ponders why
the government “for unknown reasons chose not to tell the Applicants of
the </span><i><span>Policy Framework </span></i><span>until November 2021. The
Court was not provided with a satisfactory explanation for what it considers an
unreasonable delay in informing the Applicants of the </span><i><span>Policy
Framework</span></i><span>. The Respondents delayed from February, 2021 to
November, 2021 … a delay of nine months.”</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 20.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 20pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 20.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 20pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVj5NemXGW_qZP2Y2FR1QyJfISDvaSOw9JozvJD_3JV_rRXXNMI5vE71dLrN_zJAt0IGlOFZbixeVI0hDKZ4oQHvHMvdeQXBBZG24dOfasLVoulBGHtlfZQghs9DOTPaR2gkaR981MfZmkvhhoAP8n0QJHChdaREv3xfeWwgX70xIRtjR_owtOBDLCw/s782/sally%20book.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="758" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVj5NemXGW_qZP2Y2FR1QyJfISDvaSOw9JozvJD_3JV_rRXXNMI5vE71dLrN_zJAt0IGlOFZbixeVI0hDKZ4oQHvHMvdeQXBBZG24dOfasLVoulBGHtlfZQghs9DOTPaR2gkaR981MfZmkvhhoAP8n0QJHChdaREv3xfeWwgX70xIRtjR_owtOBDLCw/w388-h400/sally%20book.png" width="388" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Sally Lane has published with Dundurn Press her memoir about the 9-year struggle to rescue her son Jack Letts and have him returned home. She hopes the decision means Jack will be home as soon as possible.</b><br /> </span><p></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 20.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 20pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 20.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 20pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><b><span style="color: black;">Human Consequences of Delay</span></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 20.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 20pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>Beneath
that language of a 9-month “unreasonable delay” is the human reality that never
enters the government’s cynical calculations, even though family members have
flooded Global Affairs Canada with individualized reports on the appalling,
life-threatening conditions. Indeed, each moment of that 9-month delay was rife
with risk and continued suffering, in which severely malnourished</span><b><span>
</span></b></span><span>children are forced to eat sand and dirt</span><b><span>, </span></b><span>there
is no clean water or nutritious food, there are rarely diapers or sanitary
towels, there is no medical care, education, or privacy. It was an additional 9
months where children played (and some drowned) in cesspools of human waste,
sewage flooded their paper-thin tents, and wild dogs roamed the camps
terrorizing people. As Brown would note repeatedly, the conditions for the
imprisoned men were even worse.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 20.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 20pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>Throughout
his decision, Brown outlines the hugely problematic process engaged by the
creation of the secret Policy Framework, noting that without informing the
detainees of the framework’s assessment criteria nor seeking their input,
Global Affairs Canada conducted assessments on all of the detainees and
concluded in 2021 that only one of them met the criteria for “consideration”
(in that case, a deathly ill woman, Kimberly Polman, was finally repatriated a
year afterwards).</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 20.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 20pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 20.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 20pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>On
the eve of the December 2022 repatriation hearing, in a clumsy move clearly
designed to undercut the detainees’ case, Global Affairs Canada pulled a
180-degree move and informed the court that all of the women and children were
suddenly, after all this time, eligible for “consideration” under the
Framework, though no timeline was attached to that announcement. None of the
men were thusly considered, a point of clear discrimination that Brown would
repeatedly return to during the hearings and in his written decision.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 13.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 13pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>Brown’s
clear discomfort with the discriminatory None is Too Many framework is
frequently referenced, as when he writes that he finds himself “compelled
to observe the three threshold criteria for eligibility to be considered under
the </span><i><span>Policy Framework </span></i><span>appear drafted to exclude
the Canadian men imprisoned” in Rojava and that, if this were indeed the case,
the policy could not withstand a Charter challenge.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 14.0pt; margin-top: 10.0pt; margin: 10pt 14pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>While
pointing out the first two of those criteria apply only to children, the third
is based on the premise that “Canadian men held in very dire circumstances in
makeshift prisons” may only be considered eligible if they show their condition
has “changed significantly,” and in the view of Global Affairs Canada, “none of
the four men Applicants have met the threshold criteria.”</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 14.0pt; margin-top: 10.0pt; margin: 10pt 14pt 0cm 5pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>In
language that must feel validating to all those family members who have dealt
with the maddening gaslighting of the rights-violating Framework, Brown
expresses his disbelief that such a nonsensical policy could be engaged to
prevent the enjoyment of Charter rights, noting with respect to the finding
that the men did not meet the criteria: </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 57.0pt; margin-right: 38.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 38pt 0cm 57pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;">With respect these conclusions are very problematic. I say
this because, based on evidence before this Court, the conditions of the
Applicant Canadian men are even more dire than those of the women and children
who Canada has just agreed to repatriate. Numerous questions arise. Do those
incarcerated men, who imprisoned with 30 others in cells designed for 6, need
to demonstrate they are now with 35 others or more? Do these Canadian prisoners
receiving inadequate food and inadequate medical care need to establish their
rations have been further reduced or their medical treatment terminated? Do
those who allege they have been tortured…need to establish they have been
tortured more frequently or in even worse ways? And how exactly are </span><i><span>Policy
Framework </span></i><span>administrators to determine if conditions in the
prisons for men have worsened “significantly” given these men have not been
heard of since 2019? This issue was discussed at the hearing where I suggested
this aspect of the </span><i><span>Policy Framework </span></i><span>was
inacceptable from a </span><i><span>Charter </span></i><span>point of view, a
view I am not persuaded to abandon. I add these comments based on the evidence
before the Court as of 2019, not knowing their current situation but assuming
it is the same or worse, which may not be correct, in the hope the </span><i><span>Policy
Framework </span></i><span>will be materially revised, or that the Canadian
male prisoners be considered for repatriation as is not the case with the
Canadian women and children.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 20.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 20pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><b><span style="color: black;">Brown Debunks Government Arguments</span></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>At
every turn in Brown’s decision, he dismisses the baseless arguments made by
government lawyers, who were unable to sneak past this Supreme Court scholar
poorly constructed rationales that, in one instance, he called “debunked”.
Indeed, despite government exhortations to discard the numerous findings of the
United Nations Special Rapporteur on this issue, Brown relied heavily on them,
including the urgent June, 2022 report sent to the Trudeau regime which
reiterated “</span><i><span>again that the urgent, voluntary and human rights
compliant repatriation of all the citizens of your Excellency’s Government is
the only international law-compliant response </span></i><span>to the complex
and precarious human rights, humanitarian and security situation faced by those
detained in inhumane conditions in overcrowded prisons or other detention
centres in North-East Syria, with limited access to food and medical care
putting detainees' lives at increased risk.” [Emphasis added].”</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>These
conditions, Brown writes, and the manner in which they violate Canada’s
international treaty obligations, constitute “a matter the Court is unable to
ignore or set aside in coming to its conclusions.”</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>Critically,
Brown discusses how, while one can be entitled to Charter rights, the
government of Canada can act in such a way that makes those rights become
illusory. While Brown does place faith in government acting on his decision, he
says Ottawa must be “alive and sensitive and guided by the fact the
Applicants do not merely depend on the goodwill or discretion of the executive
but have the constitutional rights declared in this Judgment.” Importantly, he
notes the court “is granting relief in accordance with binding jurisprudence,”
finding “no merit” to government arguments that this would somehow
represent “an unprincipled expansion of the right to enter Canada,” adding his
“declarations flow from the very dire circumstances of the Applicants” and
international treaty obligations.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><b><span style="color: black;">Next Steps for Repatriation</span></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span></span><span>Because
Judge Brown did not impose a timeline on repatriation beyond “as soon as
reasonably possible,” there remains concern that the federal government (which
regularly professes its respect for court decisions and rule of law but often fails to act on them) will do what it always does in such cases: drag
its feet and continue to perpetuate the well-documented rights violations
suffered by these Muslim Canadians.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span></span><span>While
advocates will continue to apply pressure for immediate repatriation (which is
entirely practicable given how often this has been occurring with other
nations), Brown himself will no doubt be monitoring whether the faith he has
placed in Ottawa doing the right thing is being honoured as well. Indeed, given
that Canada has already agreed to repatriate 19 women and children, the exact
same infrastructure will be in place for the remaining four men in the legal
case. In addition, there are almost 30 more men, women and children not named
in the lawsuit who should also be brought home (including the non-Canadian
mothers of Canadian children).</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span></span><span>In
the meantime, while Global Affairs Canada is “reviewing” the decision as
so-called “security” experts try to generate Islamophobic hysteria about the
detainees’ return, it’s instructive to recall the words of lawyer Barb Jackman
who, in representing one of the male detainees, Jack Letts, opened her
arguments by noting she was counsel at two earlier commissions of inquiry that
found Canada complicit in the overseas arrest, detention, interrogation, and
torture of four Muslim Canadians. She noted with a combination of sadness and
rage that none of the recommendations flowing from these inquiries had been
substantively implemented, and that she was seeing in this case the same
patterns of racial and religious profiling contributing to torture.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><b><span style="color: black;">The Lethal Cost of Delay</span></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>Against
that backdrop of lessons unlearned and contemptuously ignored, Jackman informed
Brown, “I’m appalled that we’re even here,” but added in comments that proved
prophetic, “I’m glad it’s before this court because if there’s any obligation,
it rests with you to make sure Canada does what it’s supposed to do, because
they obviously didn’t listen” to the justices who presided over the earlier
commissions of inquiry.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRaJaSBYyTWoJ7LXpL352F7iGsg7HJXaGrahAJQEmOoQvy-t9D4OSKdEZ8bcsCMgDO-ecaz1N-qvlMdUxgF82iRWSTIqE6yq5zCJs48aY7bvOk77ugdnmUSwVa9RNCTqFIoWANuKEKojthfB0q3V-Ef03H5ieYa8Jpo-lq1FX8U2jfCQz34BLaABrvg/s224/barbara-jackman_224.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="224" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRaJaSBYyTWoJ7LXpL352F7iGsg7HJXaGrahAJQEmOoQvy-t9D4OSKdEZ8bcsCMgDO-ecaz1N-qvlMdUxgF82iRWSTIqE6yq5zCJs48aY7bvOk77ugdnmUSwVa9RNCTqFIoWANuKEKojthfB0q3V-Ef03H5ieYa8Jpo-lq1FX8U2jfCQz34BLaABrvg/w400-h400/barbara-jackman_224.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> <b>Lawyer Barbara Jackman represents Canadian detainee Jack Letts<br /> </b></span><p></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 11.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 11pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>Jackman
noted the ease with which Canadian governments and their agencies have always
improperly labeled Muslims as security threats. “Once you get the Islamic
terrorist label on you, nobody wants to help you,” she said, adding that in the
present case, where such labels were being improperly affixed to the detainees
“from the highest levels of the Canadian government,” it appeared no different
from cases she’d worked on 20 years earlier.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 11.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 11pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>As
of December 2022, Jackman said,</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 28.0pt; margin-right: 52.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 52pt 0cm 28pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;">Nothing has changed. Nobody’s looking at the actual facts of
the case. Instead, [her client] is labeled a terrorist and they don’t want to
help him. It’s one of the reasons why access to a court is so important,
because a court will look at the facts and will try and determine what’s right
in terms of the law and its application to human rights matters. The question
you have to answer [is] can Canada wipe its hands of its citizens who are
living in such appalling conditions over such an extended period of time? Are
we the kind of country that doesn’t care about the humanity of our citizens who
are outside our border when we know they’re dying?...if you don’t tell the
government of Canada to act to bring these people back, they’re not coming back.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 2.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 2pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span>Thankfully,
Judge Brown heard Jackman’s challenge and answered her question well. Brown
noted at the close of the December portion of the hearing that he felt an
urgency to hear the rest of the matter as soon as possible because “Canadians
are dying or at risk of dying every day this matter is adjourned.”</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 2.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 2pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span></span><span>While
the detainees and their families have much to celebrate with this
decision, they are all too aware that the government must also act quickly
because, as Brown clearly stated, Canadians are dying or at risk of dying with
every day of delay in implementing this historic decision.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 2.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 2pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>TAKE ACTION TO ENSURE The Government of Canada complies with the court order. Sample letter and call at: <a href="https://www.change.org/p/children-forced-to-eat-sand-sign-to-free-jack-letts-43-canadian-kids-women-men-in-syria/u/31247951 ">https://www.change.org/p/children-forced-to-eat-sand-sign-to-free-jack-letts-43-canadian-kids-women-men-in-syria/u/31247951 </a><br /></span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 11.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 11pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span> </span><span></span></span><span> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 11.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 11pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 11.0pt; margin-top: 11.0pt; margin: 11pt 11pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 11pt; margin-top: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><style><span style="font-family: times;"><font size="3">@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</font></span></style></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /><br /></span></span>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-70517900719864441522022-12-24T16:23:00.003-08:002022-12-24T16:23:44.971-08:00Santa Subject to Arrest for Seeking to Repatriate 50 Canadians Detained in Syria
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNETIGiHexcUOUyj-0RWVKE2CDnkYre7WR2-EUqvQukN78ee6nuPBnZI-jAR0B-rTIDtUOcXb3VGK1tXxzqREYujMMkdRHRfYhc_uiCxA63iE04HU0CdN8WuXU6CnXkn7QzGCNyhZAIWBP4hMC_pGPck-VS7oY6xw4iy8QoCDapPiBSb-zXenE-yhLoA/s612/istockphoto-870726544-612x612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="612" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNETIGiHexcUOUyj-0RWVKE2CDnkYre7WR2-EUqvQukN78ee6nuPBnZI-jAR0B-rTIDtUOcXb3VGK1tXxzqREYujMMkdRHRfYhc_uiCxA63iE04HU0CdN8WuXU6CnXkn7QzGCNyhZAIWBP4hMC_pGPck-VS7oY6xw4iy8QoCDapPiBSb-zXenE-yhLoA/w400-h300/istockphoto-870726544-612x612.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Breaking News! Will Jolly Old Saint Nick Wind Up in the Slammer for Upholding Human Rights Laws and Treaties that Canada is Violating? <br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;">OTTAWA – </span>An article in the modest North Pole <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Elf Daily</i> has touched off a diplomatic
storm which could see Santa Claus in handcuffs by the end of the Yuletide
Season.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In his annual State of the Holiday
press conference held on December 23, Claus addressed an issue that had been
troubling him for quite some time – <b>the indefinite arbitrary detention of
thousands of men, women and children in Northeast Syria</b>, all of them held under
conditions the UN calls <b>akin to torture</b>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I was shocked to see that countries
like Canada, which has 50 of its citizens held in these horrible camps and
prisons, is trying to prevent their return home,” Claus said, wiping away a
tear from his normally jolly face. “<b>I am planning to pick them up on my way
back home, since Rudolph knows the area well,</b> and with an empty sleigh and a
good tail wind, we’ll have plenty of room for everyone, including the 23
children, 19 women and 8 men.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Claus noted that dozens of countries
have repatriated thousands of their citizens from the region, but that Canada
has played an illegal and immoral role in blocking efforts to bring home its
own citizens.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Red Flags Raised in Ottawa </b><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>According to reliable sources, the
article set off red flags in an otherwise storm-deserted downtown Ottawa, where
Dept. Of Justice (DOJ) lawyers from the firm of </span><span class="hgkelc"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Scrooge and </span></span><span class="jpfdse"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Marley</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> – currently in court trying to keep those 50
Canadians in conditions of torture indefinitely, even if it means them dying –
began preparations to seek a Federal Court injunction to prevent Claus from
rescuing the Canadians that Ottawa should have brought home years ago.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“<i>Are there no prisons, are there no
workhouses for these Canadians?</i>” the DOJ brief begins.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Santa, meantime is red-faced with
anger.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I understand Canada was within a
week of bringing these Canadians home in 2018, but then everything stopped,”
Claus said. “There’s kids there eating sand because there is no nutritious
food. These are massive open air prisons, and the men are held in unbelievably
cramped conditions in prisons. Hundreds have died or been killed over the past
several years. It breaks my normally happy heart.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Canada Prevents Return of Boy Needing Brain Surgery</b><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Claus spoke specifically of one 9
year old Canadian boy, Youssef, who requires immediate, life-saving brain
surgery. “<b>How can anyone be so hard of heart that they would want to prevent
this Canadian child from receiving health care like this?</b>” an exasperated Claus
asked. “Not only that. Ottawa has told his mother that she cannot accompany her
children back to Canada. Such family separation is cruel.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sarah Christine Claus, a distant
relative of the jolly fellow who takes care of an elderly reindeer, Eric, who
can no longer make the annual journey, has been pushing Saint Nick to take up
this issue for years. “These detainees have all been tarred with one brush when
for many of them, it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,”
she explained. “Some of them were humanitarian workers, some of them were
scholars studying the region. Some were trafficked there by Canada’s own spy
agency, CSIS. <b>They are held without charge, in violation of all international
legal standards, and the only legally compliant solution here is to have
everyone returned home</b>.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Meanwhile, sources said that the
phone lines have lit up between Ottawa and Florida, where vacationing DOJ
lawyer Scam Turdley<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– who’s built a
career on trying to keep Canadian Muslims detained abroad under conditions of
torture – is urging that all powers be used to prevent Santa from completing
his humanitarian mission. She has wired Global Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly,
herself busy preparing for the self-congratulatory third anniversary of the
Canadian-led Coalition to End Arbitrary Detention, demanding that the Minister
take all measures necessary to keep the Canadians in arbitrary detention. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>CSIS Believes Santa a Security Threat</b><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Documents filed with the Court by
Turdley and fellow lawyer Hal Robbers-Son include a security assessment which
she hopes will be used to prevent Claus from returning through Canadian
airspace to drop off the detainees.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">According to the highly classified document from
the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), “The Service has reasonable
grounds to believe that [name blacked out, but clearly a reference to <b>Claus] is
a member of an inadmissible class of persons to Canada based on a variety of
associations, travel patterns, and other indicators which constitute a threat
to the security of Canada</b>.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Among
those highly suspect findings, CSIS notes, is <b>Santa’s long beard </b>(“worn in the
traditional Muslim fashion that could inspire some radicalized youth to follow
bearded individuals such as Osama bin Laden”), <b>his visitation to countries
throughout the Middle East and refusal to demonize anyone</b> (“a disturbing
inclination towards supporting the human rights of Palestinians,”), his <b>large
donations of gifts</b> (“he may be transporting illicit materials that could place
him on the United Nations 1267 list, thereby barring him from traveling with
goods that could fall into the wrong hands”), <b>past associations </b>(“[subject] did
attend at Robben Island prison compound and provide material aid to Nelson
Mandela and other members of African National Congress, which Service maintains
was, is, or could be a terrorist organization”), has signed petitions urging
the release of immigration detainees (including children detained in refugee
jails across Canada) and in support of environmental protections (“Service notes
subject supports same causes as eco-terrorists trying to block oil sands
development”), and his failure to carry a passport.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Service
also notes that <b>Mr. Claus uses several aliases </b>possibly as a means of avoiding
detection, including Jolly St. Nick, Kris Kringle, and, in a special code with
woman alleged to be Mrs. Claus, ‘tubby old sock,’ origin for which is still a
mystery to Service but further investigation will reveal.” Claus also appears
to be under surveillance for carrying of <b>“suspicious” sacks, studious avoidance
of customs, and his “religious head gear,”</b> the last of particular concern to
Quebec security services attempting to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>enforce
their so-called Charter of Values and Bill 21.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
also appears that CSIS also notes with grave concern that at least two of
Santa’s reindeer (Prancer and Vixen) have been reading the Koran and allegedly
discussed conversion to Islam.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Hoping for Christmas Miracle</b><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Turdley
– a heartless “law is the law” persecutor known as “Alabama Scam” by her
law-school classmates, who noted she was the only one to sign up in Moot Court
to prosecute the Rosa Parks case – issued a brief statement declaring that she is more
than prepared to use the Anti-Terrorism Act against Claus because, “after all,
these detainees are in fact Muslims, and sure, we may have a decades-long
record of wrongfully detaining and torturing Muslims, but the law is the law,
even if we have to bend and break it through the lens of racial and religious profiling every once in a while.” Turdley did not
elaborate on which law she is relying to prevent repatriation and to charge
Claus, though when a reporter asked why she is denying the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms to these Canadians, she choked on her martini olive and
hung up the phone.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Meanwhile,
Sarah Christine Claus has it on good authority that Eric the Reindeer has some
magic dust that may well be employed by an angel named Clarence to take Turdley
and her kind on a midnight journey to meet the ghosts of complicity in torture
past. It may well be that Turdley could find her heart by daybreak and, in an epiphany
marked by the joy of feeling love and solidarity, drop her Federal Court
actions and sign up for the welcoming party for the detained Canadians.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Santa
Claus, meanwhile, has waved off the NORAD escort – Claus does not believe in
the militarization of children – and will do his best to bring
home the Canadians on his journey back to the North Pole. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>A support committee has been formed by
Homes not Bombs to defend Claus and any detainees charged upon their return to
Canada. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-47153293324000346542022-10-20T18:36:00.003-07:002022-10-29T06:56:42.287-07:00Send Birthday Cards to Jack Letts, Illegally Detained in an Overseas Dungeon for 5.5 years!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29Nulnd1jnLrvNCIg6z4P7sNP_IOsoKf5lf6-lSGr0WekW_tmxr0m0_hM2tyRrDFV4XRrI1Hkxle-bxzVzDjIosTvhkFtZeeQRmJRF8ZJLFGQl6REb4hSLgqXcNS77nEUe8dL8wixpnWTh1Ttcxn_Sv9pcd2zkgZO-xvZStFCUhLYm1B36Sqr7NpS5A/s680/Bring%20Back%20Jack%20collage.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="680" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29Nulnd1jnLrvNCIg6z4P7sNP_IOsoKf5lf6-lSGr0WekW_tmxr0m0_hM2tyRrDFV4XRrI1Hkxle-bxzVzDjIosTvhkFtZeeQRmJRF8ZJLFGQl6REb4hSLgqXcNS77nEUe8dL8wixpnWTh1Ttcxn_Sv9pcd2zkgZO-xvZStFCUhLYm1B36Sqr7NpS5A/w640-h360/Bring%20Back%20Jack%20collage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">(Details below the
description) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">November 14 marks a
bittersweet day for Jack Letts, a Canadian citizen <b>wrongfully detained in Syria
for 5 and a half years</b>. An idealistic teenager who went abroad to <b>support the
Arab Spring </b>aspirations of the Syrian people, he has been detained under conditions
the UN calls <b>tantamount to torture </b>because the <b>Canadian government refuses to
bring him home</b>. A staunch opponent of Daesh – he was in fact imprisoned by them
on numerous occasions for speaking out against their violence – Jack has also been
the subject of a vicious smear campaign based on the fruits of his own torture
(learn more at http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2022/03/canada-must-stop-monstering-jack-letts.html)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The <b>United Nations</b> recently
condemned Canada’s complicity in Jack’s arbitrary detention<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and slammed Ottawa for <b>breaching
international law</b>. It has also condemned Canadian participation in the ongoing
<b>detention of 44 Canadian men, women and children</b> in the same series of prisons
and detention camps known as “<b>Canada’s and Europe’s Guantanamo</b>.” (See http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2022/09/un-slams-canadas-failure-to-repatriate.html) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">While other countries
from Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Netherlands, Albania,
France, the USA, Germany, Iraq and Russia have repatriated their citizens, the
Canadians continue to suffer, with their loved ones <b>forced to head to Federal
Court</b> demanding the Canadian government exercise its responsibility to bring
them home. Ironically, these Canadians are held by a Canadian ally in Rojava,
who have only ever asked for two things: for Canada to send someone to the
region, and to sign repatriation papers once there. That’s it. In fact, Canada
was within one week of doing so in 2018 when it engaged in a complete about
face that appears linked to a cover-up over Canadian spy agency <b>CSIS
trafficking of teenaged girls</b> to the region.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Global Affairs Canada
Minister <b>Mélanie Joly is responsible for the fate of these Canadians</b>, including
Jack Letts. Because it is impossible for Canadians to send mail to the prisons
and camps in Rojava, we are sending birthday cards (postage free) c/o Mélanie
Joly as a symbolic reminder of her responsibility to Jack and the other Canadians.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">HOW THIS WORKS</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">1. Make your own card
or purchase a birthday card for Jack</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">2. Inside, write a
brief note wishing him a happy birthday and letting him know that you support
his right not to be arbitrarily detained and his right to return to Canada, along
with the other men, women and kids illegally held in Syria. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">3. If you can, please
take a selfie with your card to Jack that we can share on social media and send
it to tasc@web.ca</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">4. Also enclose a
brief note that reads thusly (feel free to print this portion and include it in
your card): </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Dear Mélanie
Joly, </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As you know, some
four dozen Canadians remain arbitrarily detained in NE Syria largely
because Global Affairs Canada has refused to take the necessary steps to bring
them home. While four women and children were repatriated at the end of October, some 40 individuals remain stuck under appalling conditions akin to torture. <br /></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: -21.6pt; margin-top: 5.0pt; margin: 5pt -21.6pt 5pt 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In January 2022, the International
Committee of the Red Cross </span><a href="https://twitter.com/ICRC_NYC/status/1486420573815287814"><span color="windowtext" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">declared</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">: “States must
repatriate their own citizens. Not just children. Children, women and men.” At
the same time, Dr. Abdulkarim Omar, co-chair of the Kurdish administration’s
foreign office in Northeast Syria, </span><a href="https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/220120221"><span color="windowtext" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">reiterated</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> what they have
been saying for years: “Every country should take its citizens back.” On
January 31, 2022, the US State Department </span><a href="https://www.state.gov/the-foiled-attack-on-syrian-detention-facility/"><span color="windowtext" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">called</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> on its partners
to “urgently repatriate their nationals and other detainees remaining in
northeast Syria.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Closer
to home, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and
International Development also recommended repatriation in June 2021.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">How can the
government of Canada, which played a lead role in drafting and signing a global
pact on ending arbitrary detention, refuse to take immediate action to end
the arbitrary detention of Canadian men, women and children enduring conditions
that the United Nations has described as meeting the “threshold for
torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under international law”? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Your mandate letter
mentions ending arbitrary detention four times! </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I support the
repatriation of these 8 Canadian men, 11 Canadian women and 21 Canadian
children. One of them, Jack Letts, has a birthday on November 14. His 27th
birthday marks 5.5 years in arbitrary detention. I cannot mail anything to his
prison, but since you are legally responsible for Jack’s well-being and the
safety of the other Canadians, I am mailing this card for Jack to you. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I am sure one of
Jack’s birthday wishes is to be back home in Canada with his mom. Please make
this happen, stop fighting Jack’s family and other Canadians in court, close
Canada’s Guantanamo, and bring everyone home. </span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sincerely, </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">NAME,
ADDRESS</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Mail a card and this
note (postage free!) directly to:</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Mélanie Joly </span></b></p><b>
</b><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">c/o House of Commons</span></b></p><b>
</b><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ottawa, ON<br />
K1A 0A6</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-71554443747253065052022-09-27T09:16:00.006-07:002022-10-07T08:09:05.317-07:00UN Slams Canada’s Failure to Repatriate Citizens Illegally Detained in Syria; Detainees Face Life-Threatening Conditions <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKIDWjQh1zEcHRTNl1PP5ceB7XFIfe5yC_d5f3YI5FQhaaFBtdXhYG5mP-muQdDirVbS65hthUZvIFk0n1OJvAFpS8kjTNTRYvAa-m4Z_pq-6amVSzb2EHm3XqWiKgfg-cPfHdWBagLW704BRdtw-Uwhv4N09xljOwWmPSgHMyyGPLV6Jyi4V1mTUUg/s1600/Jack%20and%20Kimberly.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKIDWjQh1zEcHRTNl1PP5ceB7XFIfe5yC_d5f3YI5FQhaaFBtdXhYG5mP-muQdDirVbS65hthUZvIFk0n1OJvAFpS8kjTNTRYvAa-m4Z_pq-6amVSzb2EHm3XqWiKgfg-cPfHdWBagLW704BRdtw-Uwhv4N09xljOwWmPSgHMyyGPLV6Jyi4V1mTUUg/w640-h360/Jack%20and%20Kimberly.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>"</b></i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>We survived ISIS, we were the lucky
ones. … But can we survive the camps?” </b></i></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>asks Canadian detainee Kimberly Polman, who marks her 4th birthday under Canadian-funded arbitrary detention in Syria at the end of September.</b></i></span><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">By Matthew Behrens</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In a stinging </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27269"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">critique</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> of
the Trudeau government’s complicity in the arbitrary detention in Northeast
Syria of 44 Canadian Muslim men, women and children, a group of United Nations
Special Rapporteurs has called on Ottawa to stop violating international law
and to repatriate all of its citizens.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In addition, the Rapporteurs also
slammed Canadian support for and investment in the very infrastructure of
arbitrary detention which holds these 8 Canadian men, 13 women and 23 children –
among tens of thousands of other foreign nationals who traveled to the region
for a wide variety of reasons in the 2010s – under conditions tantamount
to torture. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Given the apparently intentional
effort to prevent their return, one might very well name the archipelago of Syrian
camps and prisons for what they are: Canada’s Guantanamo Bay, a torturous world
of indefinite detention for a group of Muslim-Canadian citizens who, to serve
the political and state security agenda of Canada’s “intelligence” apparatus, have
been left to die absent a significant intervention.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The UN report, released in late
August 2022, focuses on the case of one of the longest held detainees, 26-year-old
Canadian </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2022/03/canada-must-stop-monstering-jack-letts.html"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Jack Letts</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, </span><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">who as a teenager went to Syria to contribute as a humanitarian
volunteer during the Arab Spring uprising against the brutal Assad regime.
Despite his very public opposition to the Daesh (aka ISIS) occupiers of a
significant swath of Syria and Iraq, Letts wound up detained, tortured by proxy
via questions from the UK, and libeled in a relentless media campaign built
around Islamophobic tropes and information gleaned from that torture.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The UN’s broadside is the latest
in a lengthy series of </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.rightsandsecurity.org/impact/entry/europes-guantanamo-report"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">studies</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> documenting
serious human rights violations imposed on tens of thousands of people
arbitrarily detained by the Kurdish </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Autonomous
Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava, or </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">AANES), a Canadian ally in the war against Daesh.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZKKt8loS-d0RKUYghFtJMhcIEJ6uUbeC8LcpO2TY0th7W1vpk-N4hYx9hmi1oHS6eNRppM3XQjTAmQyx_ObF6qJedQ-oVcPvBXPaNob2gb6MourQvx-59vBpwl_G43-t0GqHPdgsf2zIqIIB-3Uk0308SeFpj5ukRApjnpoNirx0zFRJiyq3sPoKYg/s2048/On%20the%20march.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1274" data-original-width="2048" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZKKt8loS-d0RKUYghFtJMhcIEJ6uUbeC8LcpO2TY0th7W1vpk-N4hYx9hmi1oHS6eNRppM3XQjTAmQyx_ObF6qJedQ-oVcPvBXPaNob2gb6MourQvx-59vBpwl_G43-t0GqHPdgsf2zIqIIB-3Uk0308SeFpj5ukRApjnpoNirx0zFRJiyq3sPoKYg/w640-h398/On%20the%20march.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">While Canada refuses to lift a
finger for its illegally held citizens, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">countries from Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina to
the Netherlands, Albania, France, the USA, the UK, Germany, Iraq and Russia
have repatriated at least some of their citizens. Ironically, Canada itself is
spending </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2021/03/canadas-stabilization-projects-in-iraq-and-syria.html"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">$2.9
million</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> to
repatriate Iraqi citizens at the same time it has forced families of the Canadian
detainees to head to Federal Court later this year seeking an order for their
return.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Canada’s Shocking About
Face</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">With the US State
Department, United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross, Human
Rights Watch, Save the Children, an all-party committee of Canadian
Parliamentarians – not to mention the Kurdish captors themselves – all calling
for repatriation, why has Canada chosen to look the other way from this clear
humanitarian crisis?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MjRBEzLvaX4VRl6nXcaY-p7ow0yxx30ZsNHRuYJw8XGicYTyYI9xWfu7E43rIvRrTEnhTN8qEDDHTSOPuEZ976Nz3n7JmN92XIznvahgiE8bJ5WQc_LVsE6MMZUUqWyLfCtlTmo62-6AudWIGS1GaZdTS8LMBou5_owz_R83s7ulZ5hDxCXPxSmF3Q/s860/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-27%20at%2012.04.31%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="860" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MjRBEzLvaX4VRl6nXcaY-p7ow0yxx30ZsNHRuYJw8XGicYTyYI9xWfu7E43rIvRrTEnhTN8qEDDHTSOPuEZ976Nz3n7JmN92XIznvahgiE8bJ5WQc_LVsE6MMZUUqWyLfCtlTmo62-6AudWIGS1GaZdTS8LMBou5_owz_R83s7ulZ5hDxCXPxSmF3Q/w400-h369/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-27%20at%2012.04.31%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><i><b>A stunning affidavit that reveals Canada's about-face on repatriation</b></i><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">An affidavit connected to the upcoming court case reveals that
Canada underwent a serious about-face on repatriation in 2018, described</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> in a sworn statement of British MP Lloyd
Russell-Moyle who, along with high-ranking British Conservative MP Crispin
Blunt, travelled to the camps in 2018.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“I learnt from those officials at the DFNS [Democratic Federation of
Northern Syria, which holds the detainees] that there had been extensive
discussions between Canadians and the DFNS officials,” Russell-Moyle
testified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The DFNS and the Canadians
together had taken steps<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>towards the
repatriation of all the Canadians ….<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They were, the DFNS understood, only about ‘a week from the Canadians
going home’. I was informed there was a ‘Heads of Terms’ document between the
Canadians and the DFNS about how that transfer would be completed. I asked for
copies of this document. To the consternation of the DFNS officials, the
official Canadian interest in repatriating their nationals, including their
children, suddenly went cold without explanation and the DFNS felt they could
not share further documentation with me regarding this case. Whilst I have no
confirmation of this fact from the British government, it was my understanding
that this happened as a result of British intervention with the Canadian<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>government”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">That conclusion appears to dovetail with comments in a landmark </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/06/29/bring-me-back-canada/plight-canadians-held-northeast-syria-alleged-isis-links"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">report</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> by Human Rights Watch, in which Kurdish
foreign affairs official Abdulkarim Omar shared that Canada was the first
country to be in touch regarding repatriation back in 2018. In a 2020
interview, Omar told the human rights group that </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Canada “sent us application
forms and travel document papers. Canadians [detained in northeast Syria]
filled out all of it and we sent back scanned versions. We got to the point of
them coming to pick up their citizens, then everything stopped. We don’t know
why. This was two years ago. … We would love a meeting with Canada on this
issue.”</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.3pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Pawns in the Spy Games?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">While it is unclear exactly why Canada would go from being within a week
of repatriation to four subsequent years of refusing to cooperate with families
and loved ones of the detainees, the recent headlines reviving a 2015 </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/spy-accused-of-helping-teens-join-isis-claims-he-worked-for-canadian-intelligence-1.2993716"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">story</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> about the role of a Canadian Security Intelligence
Service (CSIS) operative in trafficking young British Muslim girls to the Syrian
war zone could very well be connected to it. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.3pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When Justin Trudeau </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/csis-syria-begum-rasheed-islamic-state-1.6568647"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">defended</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> the CSIS child trafficking as “creative”
and “flexible”, he declined to comment on the other revelation: that CSIS </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-csiss-cover-up-of-islamic-state-trafficking-backfired-says-author/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">withheld</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> its role in trafficking the British girls
from UK authorities, and </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“It was only after [the CSIS operative]
was arrested, and they feared this could become public that the Canadians made
a move and notified the British authorities.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-csiss-cover-up-of-islamic-state-trafficking-backfired-says-author/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">new book</span></span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> highlighting the scandal notes CSIS also made representations to the Turkish
regime, apologizing for running a trafficking operation on Turkish soil without
their knowledge and permission. The CSIS operative, who was arrested and
detained for several years, has apparently been released and may well already
be in Canada, </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-wont-say-if-csis-operative-who-trafficked-teens-to-islamic/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">a repatriation</span></span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> whose irony is not lost on the families of the detainees.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">All of this begs a question. Was the price
for British forgiveness of and assistance in the cover-up over CSIS trafficking
girls to Syria without informing their UK intelligence partners (the cardinal
sin not being the trafficking so much as the failure to let their spy brethren
know about it) a quid pro quo to keep the Canadian detainees in Syria? Would a
Canadian release have undermined the British demonization of UK citizens also held
in Syrian camps, a process used to justify stripping of citizenship and the
UK’s refusal to repatriate? One of the trafficked girls, </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/02/shamima-begum-trafficking-spy-home-office-citizenship"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">Shamima Begum</span></span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> (two of the other girls were subsequently killed), was unjustifiably built
up as a monster in the UK press, had her citizenship stripped, and became the
public face of a moral panic around a relatively small group of young individuals
who either chose (or were lured) to travel to Syria.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Indeed, if Canada’s Prime Minister defends
the crime of child trafficking in the name of state security, it’s not too far
fetched to believe that his government would be willing to sacrifice the lives
of 44 Canadian Muslims to satisfy the Islamophobic imperatives of its spy
apparatus and that of its British counterparts.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As Begum’s lawyer </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Tasnime Akunjee </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/31/calls-for-inquiry-after-british-isil-bride-case-linked-to-canada"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">pointed out</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">,
“at the very same time we have been cooperating with a Western ally, trading
sensitive intelligence with them whilst they have effectively been nabbing
British children and trafficking them across the Syrian border for delivery to
ISIS, all in the name of intelligence gathering. The calculation here is that the
lives of British children, and the risk of their death, is part of the
algorithm of acceptable risk our Western allies have taken.”</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">While much of the press coverage of this
scandal has focused on the propriety of such spy activity (legalized under the
Trudeau government with Bill C-59 (“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">An Act respecting national security matters”)</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, but certainly illegal at the time it was committed), there’s been
precious little coverage of the camps where so many internationals remain
abandoned by their governments.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Urgent Repatriation Call</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It is in this context that the UN Rapporteurs
declared in their Jack Letts </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27269"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">appeal</span></a></span><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> that “the urgent, voluntary and human rights compliant
repatriation of all the [Canadian] citizens…is the only international
law-compliant response to the complex and precarious human rights,
humanitarian, and security situation” of the detainees. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The Rapporteurs </span><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">expressed “serious concern regarding Mr. Letts’ continued
detention since 2017 in North-East Syria and his rights to life, security, and
physical and mental health due to the dire conditions of detention…[there is] no
legal basis, no judicial authorisation, review control, or oversight of his
detention which entirely lacks predictability and due process of law.”</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">They add that they are “extremely concerned”
by the fact that “it appears that none of the conditions to prevent arbitrary
detention – a right so fundamental that it remains applicable even in the most
extreme situations – are respected, and that no steps towards terminating or
reviewing the legality of the detention have been taken, despite Mr. Letts
having been detained for five years, which in practice amounts to the
possibility of indefinite detention.”</span></span></p>
<h2><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The report stands in stark contrast to Ottawa’s self-congratulatory </span><a href="https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/issues_development-enjeux_developpement/human_rights-droits_homme/arbitrary_detention-detention_arbitraire.aspx?lang=eng"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">rhetoric</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
on arbitrary detention, including its role in organizing a 2021 </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Declaration Against Arbitrary
Detention in State-to-State Relations as a means of upholding “universal
values, firmly grounded in international law.” That declaration arose from
Canadian government outrage that two white, non-Muslim men were being illegally
detained by China, but has not been invoked to condemn the holding of 44
Canadian Muslim men, women and children by Canada’s Kurdish allies.</span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The UN Letts report arrives almost
a year after the UN Rapporteurs issued a similarly stark </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=26835"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">document</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
calling for the repatriation of Canadian Kimberly Polman, who had traveled to
Syria in 2015 at the behest of her future husband on the understanding that she
would be providing healthcare for women and children. </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/25/canadians-stuck-syria-camps-struggle-survive"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">According to</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
Human Rights Watch, shortly after she arrived in Syria, Polman wanted to get
out, but was trapped in an abusive relationship: her husband put her in jail
for 10 months for being a “disobedient wife.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Held arbitrarily without charge
since January, 2019, Polman’s physical and mental health have undergone a
serious decline, with untreated hepatitis, kidney inflammation/enlargement,
untreated Hashimoto’s disease, bone/muscle challenges, suicide attempts, and post-traumatic
stress disorder. A report from Doctors Without Borders found her conditions
“life-threatening,” and recommended testing and medical care not available to
her in Northeast Syria. During a months-long hunger strike, Polman lost more
than half her body weight.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Vulnerable to Trafficking</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">While Polman’s family “has
requested on numerous occasions that the Canadian government<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>facilitate the transfer of money for medical
supplies, food, and water, [Ottawa] has not facilitated these requests.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEStzmtOeIvCG3tFl9t24oB4KT_pWV3p45-LadStkU0ONbicnTENu5xqgDjQyAAUw8m3OTfgDE76ioAM22Sp-7C8uu99AfKDTyHFI0c7mmFzby9uZrHad7ACV3Oz4cgvna-VzcPEHD3Gnn3PrATlQHv4PUeuw1nabMGWFmbxqg75NxKMxqMY7pKWR4Qg/s1024/Polman%20pic%20before%20detention.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="678" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEStzmtOeIvCG3tFl9t24oB4KT_pWV3p45-LadStkU0ONbicnTENu5xqgDjQyAAUw8m3OTfgDE76ioAM22Sp-7C8uu99AfKDTyHFI0c7mmFzby9uZrHad7ACV3Oz4cgvna-VzcPEHD3Gnn3PrATlQHv4PUeuw1nabMGWFmbxqg75NxKMxqMY7pKWR4Qg/w265-h400/Polman%20pic%20before%20detention.jpeg" width="265" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><i><b>(Kimberly Polman before she went overseas)</b></i><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The Rapporteurs expressed concerns
that in addition to the denial of Polman’s rights to security and health and
not to be subjected to arbitrary detention, “she may be vulnerable to all sorts
of abuses and trafficking.” In conclusion, the Rapporteurs reiterated that all
countries, including Canada, “have a positive obligation under international
law to protect the right of, and repatriate, their nationals.” They added that
in Polman’s case, her return is “both a legal and humanitarian imperative….Ms.
Polman is experiencing profound infringements on her human rights, we are
concerned for her survival and believe that her return to Canada is critical to
prevent those specific and identifiable harms.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">On February 10, 2022, 10 UN experts again </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/un-urges-canada-take-back-ill-woman-held-syria-camp"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">called</span></a></span><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> for Polman’s repatriation to receive life-saving medical care. While
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Global Affairs officials acknowledged in court papers that Polman
was eligible to be considered for repatriation because of her medical condition,
</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.hrw.org/about/people/letta-tayler"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Letta Tayler</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, Associate
Crisis and Conflict Director at Human Rights Watch, pointedly </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/02/22/canada-let-gravely-ill-canadians-leave-northeast-syria"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">asked</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">:
“How close to death do Canadians have to be for their government to decide they
qualify for repatriation? Canada should be helping its citizens unlawfully held
in northeast Syria, not obstructing their ability to get life-saving health
care.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">An Unrepentant Scofflaw</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The cases of Letts, Polman, and
the other 42 Canadian men, women and children <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>detained in Northeast Syria shine a glaring
spotlight on Canada’s role as an unrepentant scofflaw when it comes to
respecting international law. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In addressing the unending detention of Jack
Letts, the Rapporteurs write that, as with the no-exceptions ban on torture,
the prohibition on arbitrary detention is a peremptory norm of international
treaty and customary law from which no one is ever allowed to derogate. Indeed,
they write “arbitrary deprivation of liberty can never be a necessary or
proportionate measure,” adding that no country can ever claim that “illegal,
unjust or unpredictable deprivation of liberty is necessary for the protection
of a vital security or other interest proportionate to that end.” </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Yet that is what the Liberals – and,
specifically, the Global Affairs Canada (GAC) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>bureaucracy – have done with a policy
framework that seeks to use unnamed and unsubstantiated threats as an excuse
not to fulfill their duty to ensure the return of the Canadian detainees and to
end their complicity in torture and arbitrary detention. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The framework’s top priority lists “national
security considerations,” and applies those <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>equally to adults and children under the age
of 7. Despite a growing body of case law which proves otherwise, the document
declares there is no “positive obligation” on the part of Global Affairs Canada
to provide consular assistance or repatriation.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“In practice, the policy has done nothing to facilitate
repatriations since its adoption and suggests discriminatory provision of
consular assistance,” Human Rights Watch </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/13/submission-committee-rights-child-concerning-canada"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">concluded</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">. To
add insult to injury, GAC failed to share its framework for a full year with
the family members; it only came out through the legal case’s disclosure
process.<span class="f7rl1if4"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Even though the life-threatening conditions
faced by Kimberly Polman qualified her for repatriation under GAC’s highly
restrictive policy, Canada has actively </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/it-s-been-3-years-since-this-canadian-woman-was-arrested-in-syria-she-may-never-leave-1.5787327"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">prevented</span></a></span><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> her return, even when a former US diplomat offered to escort her out
of the camp. Polman </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/it-s-been-3-years-since-this-canadian-woman-was-arrested-in-syria-she-may-never-leave-1.5787327"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">described</span></a></span><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> the long-term effects of malnutrition to CTV news earlier this
year, saying “</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Almost everyone’s got breaking teeth. And
they’re not just breaking, like cracking. It’s almost like they’re tearing off
because they’re soft.”<span class="f7rl1if4"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><span style="color: red;"></span></b></span></p><b>
</b><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Subcontracting Arbitrary Detention</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As disturbing as the Canadian government’s failure to repatriate
its citizens is its role in subcontracting their suffering via a non-state
party, which is consistent with past Canadian practices of subcontracting
torture of Canadians Muslims in Cuba’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guantanamo Bay, Syria, Egypt, Sudan, and other
countries (documented by two judicial inquiries as well as numerous Federal and
Supreme Court decisions). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The UN Rapporteurs highlight the fact that <span class="f7rl1if4">the
very members of the so-called Global Coalition fighting Daesh are investing in
the detention infrastructure that punishes their citizens with conditions
described as tantamount to torture and which have no legal basis in law (much
like the CIA black sites and other torture centres that have long been part of
a global network of repression).</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Indeed, the Rapporteurs note “that what is
now emerging is capacity building and technical assistance provision supporting
such indefinite detention of [Canadian] nationals enabled and supported in part
by the Coalition” of which Canada is a member. Indeed, the “entrenchment and
protraction of allegedly arbitrary detention in these inhumane condition in
North-East Syria … is premised on the direct security assistance provided by
the Coalition” to a non-state entity, the Kurdish authorities. In turn, this
raises “serious questions of State responsibility and of complicity in the
facilitation, sustainment and continuation of the serious human rights
violations that are taking place in the prisons and detention centres in
North-East Syria.” </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6oY-kDsxn3xyFW9l9Zcku-IBWxp6Lk2OkuceT9YhaOBsYABNXTe_neYjRXDapFeM74Pb9aRFAImwE7fzDxx3-l-4oWR2xkNcQnDCADIhXyM-y8zWtkoPVP7EINpMm1fbM8lHsfV8U6wFv3MhehPavGB_d0-OEDo0P5Y2i1HIpqjrgiXM9sGLA3fiIg/s2048/Jo%20and%20Sally.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1413" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6oY-kDsxn3xyFW9l9Zcku-IBWxp6Lk2OkuceT9YhaOBsYABNXTe_neYjRXDapFeM74Pb9aRFAImwE7fzDxx3-l-4oWR2xkNcQnDCADIhXyM-y8zWtkoPVP7EINpMm1fbM8lHsfV8U6wFv3MhehPavGB_d0-OEDo0P5Y2i1HIpqjrgiXM9sGLA3fiIg/w276-h400/Jo%20and%20Sally.jpg" width="276" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><b><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sally Lane seeking a meeting with Trudeau to free her son Jack Letts</span></span></b></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><b><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></b></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The Rapporteur reminds Canada that “States
must not render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the
serious breach [of international human rights law] and must cooperate to bring
it to an end.” They also remind Canada that the building and support “for the
maintenance of prisons designed to keep these individuals in detention are incompatible”
with Canada’s international law obligations, especially the unbreakable
commitment prohibiting arbitrary detention. </span></span></p>
<p><span class="f7rl1if4"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">While the Dept. of Justice prepares arguments
for the upcoming repatriation court case, it is no doubt looking to the French
government, which was the subject of a significant European Court of Human
Rights decision earlier in September regarding the repatriation of French woman
and children. As Un Special Rapporteur </span></span><span class="css-901oao"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Fionnuala Ní Aoláin</span></span><span class="f7rl1if4"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/83146/european-court-tackles-the-thorny-issue-of-family-repatriation-from-northeast-syria/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">points
out</span></a><span class="f7rl1if4"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, the decision </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">affirms <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“a continuously deteriorating humanitarian
situation and a rights-free zone in which thousands of men, women, and children
have been arbitrarily detained for the past four years absent any legal basis
or review of the legality of their detention. Importantly, the Court’s decision
puts to rest myths relating to the impossibility of repatriation for security
reasons due to its confirmation that European states have access to the camps
and have successfully repatriated individuals in the past. All of this indicates
that states do not have a strong legal basis for denying repatriation requests,
particularly for vulnerable individuals who have had their fundamental rights
violated for far too long.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In a revealing section of the decision, the
French government concedes (in a declaration that sounds like it is Canada’s
own policy) that it is fearful that any “humanitarian action might become an
obligation for the future.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Let Them Eat Sand</span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The case of the Canadian detainees is an open
secret in Ottawa, yet apart from two statements by NDP MP Heather McPherson and
Green MP Elizabeth May, no one has <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>raised concern. While Liberal MPs like Sameer
Zuberi of the Parliamentary Muslim caucus have staked their turf around the
very justified concerns around </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-liberal-mp-calls-on-ottawa-to-grant-refuge-to-10000-uyghurs-fleeing/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Uyghur</span></a></span><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Muslims arbitrarily detained in China, they have consciously
chosen silence for their fellow Muslim citizens arbitrarily detained in Syria.
There is a crude sense, according to off the record conversations with various
community leraders, that none dare touch these 44 Canadians, the ultimate
victims of a Good Muslim, Bad Muslim dualism in which Islamophobic electoral politics
trump the universality of human rights. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It is their silence that
perpetuates Canada’s Guantanamo in northeast Syria, where there is no clean
water or nutritious food, few diapers or sanitary towels, no medical care, no
education and no privacy. There are no playgrounds: children play next to
cesspools of human waste, into which some have fallen. Sewage floods their flimsy
tents while wild dogs roam the camps terrorizing people. Malnutrition is
rampant, many have been killed in all too frequent tent fires, and communicable
diseases common to such concentration camps such as tuberculosis and cholera
are a constant threat. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">One Canadian child’s nutritional
deficiency makes them crave salt and minerals, and so they eat sand and dirt.
This is not a secret. This has been shared with Global Affairs Canada. Yet
Justin Trudeau, Melanie Joly and Chrystia Freeland are behaving as if state
security requires this child to eat sand and dirt and to die in the slow
suffering of starvation. Hundreds die every year from preventable causes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The men’s prison cells are packed
with bone-thin prisoners, many with amputated limbs. Detainees remain in the
same position from 8 am to midnight because they are so tightly packed in, with
1 overflowing latrine for 80 people. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Loved ones of the detainees,
respected international organizations, and fellow governments keep GAC
officials abreast of all these facts. But instead of acting to end this
nightmare, Canadian government lawyers are busy preparing arguments to keep 44
Canadian citizens there forever. While a </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.change.org/p/children-forced-to-eat-sand-sign-to-free-jack-letts-43-canadian-kids-women-men-in-syria"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">petition</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> in
support of repatriation now has almost 11,000 signatures, it will take a lot
more voices to turn the tide of this humanitarian catastrophe. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In September 2021, Kimberly Polman wrote a letter describing her
plight. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
am continually bleeding,” she </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/25/canadians-stuck-syria-camps-struggle-survive"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">wrote</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. “My teeth are
all broken...my legs cannot walk or stand... I am dying a slow death here and I
have done everything I can think of to get help. Nothing has worked.”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In a previous letter, Polman also </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/25/canadians-stuck-syria-camps-struggle-survive"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">asked</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> a
question that can only be answered by people of conscience willing to take a
stand and demand immediate repatriation: “We survived ISIS, we were the lucky
ones. … But can we survive the camps?” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -1.3pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -1.3pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -1.3pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> (an edited version of this story will appear at rabble.ca) <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="f7rl1if4"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p><br />TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-75539947760854481102022-05-21T05:27:00.007-07:002022-05-21T05:46:27.870-07:00Dr. Monia Mazigh Calls on Trudeau: Free Jack Letts, Free ALL the 44 Canadians Detained in Northern Syria<p class="MsoNormal"><i><b><i><b>"<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Twenty years ago, my husband, Maher Arar, was also
detained in Syria. He was never charged with any crime and still the Canadian
government didn’t help him to come back, and similarly they put all the
obstacles to stop his repatriation. If it wasn’t for the will, determination
and activism of people like the ones who are standing here, my husband would
have died in his Syrian prison." – Dr. Monia Mazigh, May 19, 2022</span></b></i></b></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><b><i><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></b></i></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAJvRljgNEi_7Biv-7sz31p3dh4OLdRk9VqHRay9ipI_Vx8s60jdmXlXxdxgNv7phHbiIK2XUg4Gps1Lh9DrpkDvTtWSpsQGUbf1OXeGzWX8pMX0MTKDWt3jnF7v2FEAmxv-Rw4qQl3joxvoFKDHG3MMSQnS9IxYT5iuZhREhQtIma0uOde0lZHvYbw/s620/Screen%20Shot%202022-05-21%20at%208.45.30%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="620" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAJvRljgNEi_7Biv-7sz31p3dh4OLdRk9VqHRay9ipI_Vx8s60jdmXlXxdxgNv7phHbiIK2XUg4Gps1Lh9DrpkDvTtWSpsQGUbf1OXeGzWX8pMX0MTKDWt3jnF7v2FEAmxv-Rw4qQl3joxvoFKDHG3MMSQnS9IxYT5iuZhREhQtIma0uOde0lZHvYbw/w400-h303/Screen%20Shot%202022-05-21%20at%208.45.30%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Text of a speech by Dr. Monia Mazigh in support of repatriation for Canadian Jack Letts and 43 other Canadian men, women and children arbitrarily detained in Northeast Syria. <br /></span></b>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;">May 19, 2022</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;"> Today I am standing here in the stairs of the Prime
Minister office with a group of Canadian citizens who are worried about the
rights of other Canadian citizens. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;">We are worried to see the rights of Jack Letts and 43
other Canadians being disregarded ignored and abandoned.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;">Since 2017, there are 44 Canadian citizens who are held
in Northern Syria by the Kurdish forces. They are held in conditions similar to
torture. It is </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>estimated that
there are two dozen Canadian children, most age 7 and under, unlawfully
detained in these camps and prisons. </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;">This is what Human Rights Watch said in their report: “</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Canada
has an obligation under international law to take necessary and reasonable
steps to assist nationals abroad facing serious abuses including risks to life,
torture, and inhuman and degrading treatment. International law also grants
everyone the right to return to their country of nationality, without their
government throwing up direct or indirect barriers.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Why is the government of Canada doing nothing to bring
back its own citizens home? Worse, why is Canada putting obstacles for families
of Canadians who are trying to bring their loved ones back home? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Where is Madame Mélanie Joly, Canadian foreign affairs
minister? Why doesn’t she stand up for the rights of Canadian children?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Where is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who once declared
“a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian”? Why doesn’t he stand up to bring home
Jack Letts and 43 other Canadians detained in Northern Syria?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Twenty years ago, my husband, Maher Arar, was also
detained in Syria. He was never charged with any crime and still the Canadian
government didn’t help him to come back, and similarly they put all the
obstacles to stop his repatriation. If it wasn’t for the will, determination
and activism of people like the ones who are standing here, my husband would
have died in his Syrian prison. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">In the last twenty years, Canadians Muslims have been
surveilled, spied upon, harassed in their workplaces and campuses, put under
house arrest, had to wear electronic bracelets in their ankles to watch their
movements, rendered to torture, kept for more than 10 years in Guantanamo, sent
to prisons to disappear. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Canadian legislation was brought to criminalize Canadian
Muslims. Very few courageous politicians and engaged citizens stood up against
this systemic Islamophobia. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Today, we have 44 Muslim Canadians detained in Northern
Syria. They were never charged with any crimes. Their Canadian families want
them back home but the Canadian government is stopping them. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">How come an American former diplomat, Peter Galbraith, is
able to do more than the whole Canadian government? And still the Canadian
government refuse to cooperate with him?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Today as a Canadian Muslim woman who went through
Islamophobia and still suffer from what the Canadian government did to my
husband, my children and myself, I am asking Prime Minister Trudeau to walk the
talk and fulfill his promises of fighting hate and Islamophobia:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Bring Jack Letts home to his mother Sally
Lane and his family. </span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Bring all the 43 other Canadians detained
abroad including the children who can’t go to school, learn and live in healthy
and safe environment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Listen to what<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>organizations like Human Rights Watch and
Amnesty International had mentioned in their report about the urgent need to
provide consular services and repatriation assistance to these Canadians
detained abroad.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Listen to </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Fionnuala Ni
Aolain, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Protection and Promotion of Human
Rights while Countering Terrorism, who put Canada on a "list of
shame" because it won't take active steps to repatriate its foreign
nationals trapped in Kurdish-controlled camps in northern Syria.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">As a country, we have no credibility when on one hand we
champion the rights of Uyghurs detained in Chinese concentration camps but on
the other hand we leave other Canadians detained by Kurdish forces. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Prime Minister Trudeau is probably scared of losing any
political capital in returning home Muslim Canadians. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">But this is not leadership. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Leadership isn’t a popularity contest. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">It is about applying the laws and stopping the arbitrary
detention and the abuse of human rights of ALL Canadians.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Free Jack Letts, free all the 44 Canadian detained in
Northern Syria.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/un-rights-watchdogs-urge-canada-to-save-its-arbitrarily-detained-children-in-syria-1.5313818?cache=a+href%3FautoPlay%3Dtrue">https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/un-rights-watchdogs-urge-canada-to-save-its-arbitrarily-detained-children-in-syria-1.5313818?cache=a+href%3FautoPlay%3Dtrue</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/13/submission-committee-rights-child-concerning-canada</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"> </span></p><p data-adtags-visited="true">Dr. Monia Mazigh was born and raised in
Tunisia and immigrated to Canada in 1991. She speaks Arabic, French, and
English fluently and holds a Ph.D. in finance from McGill University.
Dr. Mazigh has worked at the University of Ottawa and taught at Thompson
Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. In 2004, she ran in
the federal election as a candidate for the NDP, gaining the most votes
for her riding in the history of the NDP.</p>
<p data-adtags-visited="true">Dr. Mazigh was catapulted onto the public
stage in 2002 when her husband Maher Arar, was deported to Syria where
he was tortured and held without charge for over a year. During that
time, Dr. Mazigh campaigned vigorously for her husband’s release and
later fought to re-establish his reputation and sought reparations. In
January 2007, after a lengthy inquiry, her husband finally received an
apology from the Canadian government and was offered compensation for
the “terrible ordeal” his family had suffered. </p><p data-adtags-visited="true">Dr. Mazigh has since
authored a book called <i>Hope and Despair</i>, published with
McClelland and Stewart in 2008. The memoir documents her ordeal after her
husband was arrested and how she campaigned to clear his name. <i>Hope and
Despair</i> was shortlisted for the Book Award of the City of Ottawa. In
2014, her first novel, <i>Mirrors and Mirages</i> was published by House
of Anansi. It was the finalist of the City of Ottawa Book Award and of
the Trillium Award in its original French version. In 2017, Dr. Mazigh
published at House of Anansi, her second novel, Hope Has Two Daughters.
It was the finalist for the Champlain Book award. Dr. Mazigh presently
lives in Ottawa with her husband and two children.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"> </span><span lang="EN-CA"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHH5fK_O9mzZozxZHYOdKzbKq0MjAbSCEN1d0bHfG8Sgr6VeCxj85hS7c0t2EmDoFDiqfc-yQg3OiARUj9YPLoNUJbSb1WWp-bjrYOKa1Hl1B9GylgP51JO6LCg-8BQtzwQTdXCh5qYOYo34nJ6ypKnSZlLM4YAdMHF-q4ismcgTFahXiPXALg9EcNiw/s2048/PMO%20Banner%20Peace%20Tower.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1922" data-original-width="2048" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHH5fK_O9mzZozxZHYOdKzbKq0MjAbSCEN1d0bHfG8Sgr6VeCxj85hS7c0t2EmDoFDiqfc-yQg3OiARUj9YPLoNUJbSb1WWp-bjrYOKa1Hl1B9GylgP51JO6LCg-8BQtzwQTdXCh5qYOYo34nJ6ypKnSZlLM4YAdMHF-q4ismcgTFahXiPXALg9EcNiw/w640-h600/PMO%20Banner%20Peace%20Tower.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span><p></p>
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{margin-bottom:0cm;}</style></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-13795529105314098592022-05-09T08:29:00.001-07:002022-05-09T08:30:08.102-07:00Ottawa Mother of Son Detained 5 Years in Syria Seeks Meeting with Prime Minister<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimx8xkkv7QAorFAbR9UkjQNPMzE5o2VuBAuddhtOeDWosLOFBOfyDoDw-Y6uAgzRaPzKAe38C2AXq8EPYtQhJgIIFt944OKUXFFTHD3HKgHQNIYyYyVqIAoVlwYBZh0EHDtcwO9UM6-7OL4ZvWTgboDQl-nahwTBsExl-ghCS90qi-bYclfLW4iKTovQ/s579/280366329_10159596244245973_7586279169889864328_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="490" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimx8xkkv7QAorFAbR9UkjQNPMzE5o2VuBAuddhtOeDWosLOFBOfyDoDw-Y6uAgzRaPzKAe38C2AXq8EPYtQhJgIIFt944OKUXFFTHD3HKgHQNIYyYyVqIAoVlwYBZh0EHDtcwO9UM6-7OL4ZvWTgboDQl-nahwTBsExl-ghCS90qi-bYclfLW4iKTovQ/w542-h640/280366329_10159596244245973_7586279169889864328_n.jpg" width="542" /></a></div><br />
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mother’s Day, 2022 </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I am writing to request a meeting with you concerning
the life-threatening situation of my son, Jack Letts, a Canadian citizen, who
has been arbitrarily detained by the Kurdish authorities in NE Syria for the
past five years. It was the fifth anniversary of his detention five days ago,
on May 3, 2022. I have not seen Jack for eight years. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">To mark those five years, I will be outside your
office in Ottawa for five hours on Thursday, May 19, hoping to meet with you
and Prime Ministerial staff to discuss how we can free not only my son but also
43 other arbitrarily detained Canadian women, men and children. As has been
made abundantly clear, Canada holds the keys to their freedom, yet refuses to
unlock their cages. I would like to speak with you directly about how your
government can stand up for and repatriate these 44 citizens.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">For five years, Jack has endured conditions which the
United Nations have described as meeting the “threshold for torture, cruel,
inhuman, and degrading treatment under international law.” </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">He
has been held in a severely overcrowded cell, with little food or water, often
in long periods of solitary confinement, with no access to the outside world or
legal assistance. He has been charged with no crime. The only contact he has
had with us, his parents, in five years is a handful of Red Cross letters,
which are censored of any information his detainers do not wish publicised. We
know that his physical and mental health have been severely damaged, and that
medical attention in captivity is extremely poor or non-existent.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Five years ago, the Canadian government assured me
that it was ‘doing everything it could to secure the release of [my] son.’
However, since then, Global Affairs Canada has provided a number of spurious
excuses as to why they are unable to act. It is inconceivable to me, and to the
family members of 43 other Canadians, including 23 child captives, why the
Canadian government is unable to secure the release of its citizens from its
allies, the Kurdish authorities. On numerous occasions over the past 5 years,
these Kurdish authorities have declared that all they need for the repatriation
of Canadian citizens is a simple request from their government. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Their call for repatriation has been echoed by Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch, The International Committee of the Red
Cross, the United Nations, the US State Department, Save the Children and, in a
rare show of cross-party unanimity, a Canadian Parliamentary
Committee. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Countries from Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Bosnia and
Herzegovina to the Netherlands, Albania, France, the USA, the UK, Germany, Iraq
and Russia have repatriated their citizens from these camps.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So why not Canada?</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span> <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In March 2020, at the height of the covid pandemic,
then Foreign Minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne claimed that his department
had achieved the ‘<span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">largest repatriation effort in
Canada's history in peacetime’. Forty thousand Canadians, who had been stranded
abroad by the pandemic, were returned from 100 countries on 356 flights. In
contrast, Jack and the other 43 Canadians - a total of 13 women, 23 children
and 8 men - have been completely abandoned by their government in conditions
described by Human Rights Watch as “filthy and often inhuman and
life-threatening.”. Moreover, they have been given no indication as to how long
this disgraceful situation will continue. </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Your government recently celebrated
the second anniversary of the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention, but
neglected to act on the fact that it is actively complicit in the arbitrary detention of
44 of its citizens. Your government also announced the imminent appointment of
a special representative on combating Islamophobia, but said nothing about the
fact that those detained in NE Syria are all Muslims. Would that account for the
very different treatment they have received in contrast to your vocal advocacy
for the two Michaels while they were arbitrarily detained in China? </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“There’s a really clear and
compelling positive obligation on Canada to prevent serious harm to its nationals,
which it is in a position to prevent,” UN Special Rapporteur Fionnuala D. Ní
Aoláin told MPs last year, adding that it was lack of political will, and not
diminished capacity, preventing Canadians’ return. She pointed to Kazakhstan,
among many much smaller and less-resourced nations, that have been able to do
bring home their citizens with ease, noting: “There are a lot of countries
doing it and doing it well. There isn’t a deficit of examples out there.”</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I am not asking too much to demand
that we meet to discuss how your government can immediately make the
repatriation of Jack and all Canadian detainees – women, children and men alike
– an urgent, high-level priority. In fact, all I am doing is what you urged us
to do some three months after Global Affairs Canada learned that my son Jack
had been tortured. In October, 2017, you clearly stated: “I hope people
remember to demand of governments, this one and all future governments, that
nobody ever has their fundamental rights violated either through inaction or
deliberate action by Canadian governments. Nobody ever deserves to be tortured.
And when a Canadian government is either complicit in that or was not active
enough in preventing it, there needs to be a responsibility taken.” </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Does my son have to be brought back
to Canada in a body bag before the Canadian government takes responsibility and
recognizes that his life is in imminent danger? Jack’s life – and the
lives of the other detainees – is worth so much more than the scant attention
that’s been paid to him so far.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I, and all the other family members
who have suffered for many years now, call upon the government of Canada to
uphold its commitments under domestic and international law, as well as
the principles of morality and common decency, to immediately take charge of
this situation and repatriate their citizens without further delay. The lives
of 44 Canadians are dependent on it, and so is the faith of all citizens in the
state of democracy in this country.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Yours sincerely,</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sally Lane</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mother of Jack Letts</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-79330885424828092582022-04-23T10:48:00.039-07:002022-06-16T18:15:26.929-07:00Mother’s Day to Father’s Day Chain Fast to Free the Canadian Captives<p></p><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnV8BoualkoYeWVlbqHlX_ZpC13d2htDzNvuM_8cLq8Jte2vCeZ5T8VZS8avrGlfwcicqBnJw4VXWZ_GvyggEUjX5KEtHG3tJTDbxUL87pEe_AQJwMzY2Of8EDEIt8YRyLQC81epuGZWm42WrjuLxBzAnRmmHmSamyvEZaXsmIj7_BDWpPyN40wfCwJA/s1920/Jack%20Letts%20pics%20with%20textBETTER.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1920" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnV8BoualkoYeWVlbqHlX_ZpC13d2htDzNvuM_8cLq8Jte2vCeZ5T8VZS8avrGlfwcicqBnJw4VXWZ_GvyggEUjX5KEtHG3tJTDbxUL87pEe_AQJwMzY2Of8EDEIt8YRyLQC81epuGZWm42WrjuLxBzAnRmmHmSamyvEZaXsmIj7_BDWpPyN40wfCwJA/w640-h336/Jack%20Letts%20pics%20with%20textBETTER.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bring Home Jack Letts and all Canadian Detainees From NE Syria</span></span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">May 8 to June 19, 2022</span></span></b></div><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Details on how to join the fast for a day are below, as are actions you can take even if you are not fasting!)</span></i></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">INTRODUCTION</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please <b>pick a day to fast</b> in support of freeing and bringing home arbitrarily detained Canadian Muslim Jack Letts and four dozen other Canadian Muslim men, women, and children. All of them are illegally held without charge in northeastern Syrian prisons and camps. A March, 2022 United Nations report described their conditions as meeting the <b>“threshold for torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under international law.”</b></span></div><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In late January, the International Committee of the <b>Red Cross declared: “States must repatriate their own citizens. Not just children. Children, women and men.”</b> At the same time, Abdulkarim Omar, foreign office co-chair of the Kurdish administration that holds the detainees, reiterated what the Kurds have been saying for years: “Every country should take its citizens back.” On January 31, 2022, the US State Department called on its partners to “urgently repatriate their nationals and other detainees remaining in northeast Syria.” </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNSMhV7l32eQKnEMrdx3LFwRZb8ozH2HIXJfngOlA_h9FiFCvyHE4xwDeUBmaSk7F7GVWLhuUmpmtWP1YvCmfxuxkpztZb0pNrvHFuSqpM3KlVWJKSHss8P_FJK4wLW6uU9vysApV_Hi2RpHkcDHsA6nq7-HRzQdm9FLySOtD7a_JRZasQLFgxbwni9g/s1500/44Canadians%20bring%20them%20home.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNSMhV7l32eQKnEMrdx3LFwRZb8ozH2HIXJfngOlA_h9FiFCvyHE4xwDeUBmaSk7F7GVWLhuUmpmtWP1YvCmfxuxkpztZb0pNrvHFuSqpM3KlVWJKSHss8P_FJK4wLW6uU9vysApV_Hi2RpHkcDHsA6nq7-HRzQdm9FLySOtD7a_JRZasQLFgxbwni9g/w640-h214/44Canadians%20bring%20them%20home.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BACKGROUND</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the United Nations, and even a House of Commons committee have called for repatriation of all detainees. <b>But a Canadian government long complicit in the torture of its Muslim citizens held abroad has refused to lift a finger to help</b>, even as far smaller and less resourced countries from Kazakhstan to Bosnia and Herzegovina have had no trouble bringing their nationals home. Ottawa’s only response has been to create a bureaucratic “framework” marinated with insufferable bafflegab that makes it impossible for anyone to come home. </span></div><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a result, it’s up to those of us who can speak up to do so with public actions like this chain fast. </span></div><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The chain fast will run Mother’s Day to Father’s Day because a<b>mong those imprisoned are mothers and fathers, as well as the sons and daughters of parents and grandparents who have worked for years to bring their loved ones home.</b> In addition, the Canadian government, taking a page from its own history of genocidal violence against Indigenous people, is engaged in an insidious process by which it seeks to separate the imprisoned babies and young kids from their moms and dads. Family separation – especially based on racist notions – is never acceptable.</span></div><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHO IS DETAINED?</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All of the Canadians who went to Syria have been unjustly tarred with the same “national security” brush. None have been given a chance to defend themselves against these false accusations. As is happening with Canadians flocking to resist the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a small number of young Canadians travelled to Syria during the Assad regime’s war against the Syrian people. Some went to fight; some, like Jack Letts, went for humanitarian reasons to help people suffering as a result of the civil war; and some went on a ‘grand adventure’ or to escape racism and Islamophobia at home. Most believed they were going to help build a non-violent, utopian, Muslim society – a dream that proved both false and lethal for many. Many, like Jack Letts, opposed ISIS in the streets and were prosecuted for opposing them – a fact the Western media refuses to acknowledge.</span></div><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Canada must stop relying on the media-generated, Islamophobic myths </b>about Jack Letts and the other detainees as an excuse to perpetuate their misery (see a detailed analysis of Jack’s case at </span><a href="http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2022/03/canada-must-stop-monstering-jack-letts.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2022/03/canada-must-stop-monstering-jack-letts.html</span></a><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">)</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-eNXeLkbrYjP97uIkE0SZKaoG39XR0fVA9CmWiCZEQhIkFiGpBeySwm3C9sTHqgnJnho6EVEdZBbfKP9A1Hb8155SCGef0t62OYh5C9ZhXh_d0dfXIhzVvOrAq9qepo8rvoX6bqrK40MT0NlNu2Qkngjutu4CkcEP5YeN24cRdBntBEDsI9F_0ugZw/s780/Banner1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="780" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-eNXeLkbrYjP97uIkE0SZKaoG39XR0fVA9CmWiCZEQhIkFiGpBeySwm3C9sTHqgnJnho6EVEdZBbfKP9A1Hb8155SCGef0t62OYh5C9ZhXh_d0dfXIhzVvOrAq9qepo8rvoX6bqrK40MT0NlNu2Qkngjutu4CkcEP5YeN24cRdBntBEDsI9F_0ugZw/w640-h480/Banner1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></span></div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Compare the way in which Canadian officials mistreat this group of emaciated, tortured souls with the Two Michaels, Canadians who were also arbitrarily detained, but in China. Despite being charged with serious (though clearly bogus) offences, the Two Michaels enjoyed (as they should have) a presumption of innocence in the eyes of Ottawa and the media. But <b>when it comes to Canadian Muslims detained abroad under conditions of torture, Canada has always assumed guilt and been a complicit partner in criminalizing and torturing them.</b> Two judicial inquiries and numerous Federal and Supreme Court decisions have found Canada complicit in the torture of Canadian Muslims abroad. </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivPaUQVooK3iZPuOi9Ymvp88_3zlj3sJM1nr-Tv14R-mpsNnbvrQ2qXSw6Yd6eVo5GgB-Ou5zBUCOnsDsVFKX2LWyaqc1akGyOuFGUrfuqGpsoglyERTnVTQy2HowZl1Cv7RYt8hFOJFt8a_S9tW4q0VqaP6gOlozI9oucdiLXJsj9CRvVvn-SV0TNjQ/s780/Pamela%20Monia.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="576" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivPaUQVooK3iZPuOi9Ymvp88_3zlj3sJM1nr-Tv14R-mpsNnbvrQ2qXSw6Yd6eVo5GgB-Ou5zBUCOnsDsVFKX2LWyaqc1akGyOuFGUrfuqGpsoglyERTnVTQy2HowZl1Cv7RYt8hFOJFt8a_S9tW4q0VqaP6gOlozI9oucdiLXJsj9CRvVvn-SV0TNjQ/w472-h640/Pamela%20Monia.jpg" width="472" /></a></div></span></div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /> </span></div><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHY A FAST? </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fasting has long been a tool to raise awareness both in our communities and within ourselves. When you fast, and your body asks when nutrition will eventually arrive, it is a reminder of a cruel reality. Unlike those of us who fast for a day – and know that what we need for our health is coming soon – for many who hunger for justice, they simply do not know when the decision that will soothe their souls and provide peace of mind will arrive. That uncertainty, which can be indefinite, produces anxiety and trauma. When you fast in support of the Canadian captives, it provides moral support to the families of the detainees and reminds them that they are not alone. It also sends an important message to the Canadian government that you recognize the humanity and the rights of those detained (the very things Canada wants us to dismiss). It also helps spread the word about an injustice that needs to be remedied as soon as possible.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CHAIN FAST</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a) Pick a day (or a series of days) to fast during the Mother’s Day to Father’s Day time period and email your name and town to <a href="mailto:tasc@web.ca">tasc@web.ca</a> </span></div><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">b) A list of open dates and names is available at </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: red; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2022/04/mothers-day-to-fathers-day-chain-fast.html</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: red; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">c) More than one person can fast on the same date.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">d) Fast according to your preferred tradition (a full 24 hours, liquids only, sun up to sun down).</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">e) <b>The fast is open to anyone (you can join even if you are not living in Canada). </b>Even if you cannot fast, we encourage you to do these actions below!</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the day they fast we encourage you to:</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. take a selfie with a simple message (ie, #BringBackJackLetts, #FreeThe44, Free the Canadian Captives, Canada Complicit in Arbitrary Detention, Free the 40+ Canadian Captives, etc.) and share that image via social media, explaining why you are fasting on that day. Email us the image at </span><a href="mailto:tasc@web.ca" style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tasc@web.ca</span></a><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> so we can share it too. </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7xHIdCbfJEBNphTTsq13AQ7EKQw1cdJVDQ0heY5dDMcPkL_PD-0B5-MnlWOQtGSn919Su66geZ--uoczi2zkZAYVMvlqykjTLQUjB_pavtVYpe7YkfbVPq1hHJiEvPJ0EwT6AvMTb-g0NEGxnc9Oc34PmSOdqYXPccI0iObDLNI1heW5evYl3v_ydg/s1013/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-24%20at%2010.00.36%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1013" height="421" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7xHIdCbfJEBNphTTsq13AQ7EKQw1cdJVDQ0heY5dDMcPkL_PD-0B5-MnlWOQtGSn919Su66geZ--uoczi2zkZAYVMvlqykjTLQUjB_pavtVYpe7YkfbVPq1hHJiEvPJ0EwT6AvMTb-g0NEGxnc9Oc34PmSOdqYXPccI0iObDLNI1heW5evYl3v_ydg/w640-h421/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-24%20at%2010.00.36%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">b. Write an email (sample below) to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Global Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino to explain why you are fasting and reinforce the demands listed above. </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">c. Write a letter to a local newspaper about why you are fasting.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">d. Fast for an hour in front of your MP’s office.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">e. Share this petition: You can copy and paste this link on your social media and email it to your friends as well! </span><a href="https://www.change.org/p/i-forgot-what-the-sun-looks-like-free-jack-letts-and-all-canadian-detainees-in-ne-syria" style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.change.org/p/i-forgot-what-the-sun-looks-like-free-jack-letts-and-all-canadian-detainees-in-ne-syria</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></a><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanks for your support!</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Canadian Coalition to Free Jack Letts &</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sample email </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SAMPLE EMAIL (be sure to include the CC-ed MPs and add your own MP if they are not already listed below!)</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Feel free to personalize with your own statement imagining what it would be like to know your loved ones are condemned to these brutal camps and prisons and the Canadian government is refusing to lift a finger for them. Use a creative subject line as well that does not make your email look like it is computer-generated!)</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To:</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <a href="mailto:Melanie.Joly@parl.gc.ca">Melanie.Joly@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Melanie.Joly@international.gc.ca">Melanie.Joly@international.gc.ca</a></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CC:</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <a href="mailto:pam.damoff@parl.gc.ca">pam.damoff@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:rob.oliphant@parl.gc.ca">rob.oliphant@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:marco.mendicino@parl.gc.ca">marco.mendicino@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:michael.chong@parl.gc.ca">michael.chong@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:sven.spengemann@parl.gc.ca">sven.spengemann@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Marty.Morantz@parl.gc.ca">Marty.Morantz@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Stephane.Bergeron@parl.gc.ca">Stephane.Bergeron@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Rachel.Bendayan@parl.gc.ca">Rachel.Bendayan@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Hedy.Fry@parl.gc.ca">Hedy.Fry@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:tasc@web.ca">tasc@web.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Heather.McPherson@parl.gc.ca">Heather.McPherson@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:alistair.macgregor@parl.gc.ca">alistair.macgregor@parl.gc.ca</a> , <a href="mailto:Randeep.Sarai@parl.gc.ca">Randeep.Sarai@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Chandra.Arya@parl.gc.ca">Chandra.Arya@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Peter.Schiefke@parl.gc.ca">Peter.Schiefke@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Kamal.Khera@parl.gc.ca">Kamal.Khera@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Salma.Zahid@parl.gc.ca">Salma.Zahid@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Iqra.khalid@parl.gc.ca">Iqra.khalid@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Joel.Lightbound@parl.gc.ca">Joel.Lightbound@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Ruby.Sahota@parl.gc.ca">Ruby.Sahota@parl.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Majid.Jowhari@parl.gc.ca">Majid.Jowhari@parl.gc.ca</a>, </span><a href="mailto:Elizabeth.May@parl.gc.ca" style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elizabeth.May@parl.gc.ca</span></a><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, <a href="mailto:pm@pm.gc.ca">pm@pm.gc.ca</a>, <a href="mailto:Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca">Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca</a>, </span><a href="mailto:ps.ministerofpublicsafety-ministredelasecuritepublique.sp@canada.ca" style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ps.ministerofpublicsafety-ministredelasecuritepublique.sp@canada.ca</span></a><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span></div><p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear Minister Joly,</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am fasting today in support of the call to repatriate four dozen Canadian Muslim men, women, and children from NE Syrian detention centres and prisons known as “Guantanamo on the Euphrates.” </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Canada is an international embarrassment, as noted by the United Nations, for its failure to do what so many other countries have been willing and able to do: bring their nationals home.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Countries from Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Netherlands, Albania, France, the USA, Germany, Iraq and Russia have repatriated their citizens from these camps.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So why not Canada?</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last month, Canada celebrated the 40</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. While it’s an important document, it is too often applied unevenly in this country depending on one’s heritage or religious belief. In this instance, four dozen Muslims missed yet another Ramadan with their loved ones here because you are refusing to honour and uphold their Section 6 Charter right to return home. </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As you know, some four dozen Canadians remain arbitrarily detained largely because Global Affairs Canada has refused to take the necessary steps to bring them home. How can the government of Canada, which played a lead role in drafting and signing a global pact on ending arbitrary detention, refuse to take immediate action to end the arbitrary detention of Canadian men, women and children enduring conditions that the United Nations has described as meeting the “threshold for torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under international law.” </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even worse, why is Canada actively fighting a legal challenge in court and trying to prevent these families from seeking an order to have Global Affairs Canada do its job and bring their loved ones home?</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A group of retired diplomats wrote in the January 31, 2022 edition of the Hill-Times that the Canadian “government’s reasons for not helping are specious and are meant to disguise its complete unwillingness to help this specific group of Canadians.” </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is beyond unacceptable that your government claims it is unable to assist these arbitrarily detained Canadian citizens when so many governments have been able to repatriate their own citizens with ease. In fact, you are constantly putting up roadblocks that interfere with their Charter-guaranteed right to return to Canada.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are unsure what to do, perhaps pick up the phone and call the ambassadors of Kazakhstan or Albania or France for pointers on how to repatriate citizens. Better yet, simply respond to the repeated requests of Kurdish authorities to come and claim your citizens. They are, after all, Canada’s ally!</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On February 22, 2022, Human Rights Watch declared the following: “Canada has an obligation under international law to take necessary and reasonable steps to assist nationals abroad facing serious abuses including risks to life, torture, and inhuman and degrading treatment. International law also grants everyone the right to return to their country of nationality, without their government throwing up direct or indirect barriers.”</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I agree with the International Committee of the Red Cross, which in January 2022 clearly called on Canada and other nations to do the right thing: “States must repatriate their own citizens. Not just children. Children, women and men.”</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am calling on you to take immediate action to save the at-risk lives of these Canadian citizens. Prime Minister Trudeau campaigned on a platform that declared, “A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian.” These arbitrarily detained Canadians are no less deserving of human rights than anyone else. Your government said it stood with the two Michaels when they were detained in China. It’s time, now, to stand with the Canadians who, like Jack Letts, remain imprisoned without charge under appalling conditions akin to torture.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I expect better of the Canadian government when it comes to respecting the rights of Canadians detained abroad, and demand that you end this nightmare immediately.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Name</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Town/City</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">++++++++++++++ </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Names and Dates of Fasters</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Sorry, we don't have the ability to click on the date to fill it in, but you can email tasc@web.ca with your name, city, and date!) </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunday, May 8: Tasneem Fazel, Calgary, AB</span><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday, May 9: Mary Cowper-Smith, Charlottetown, PEI</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tuesday, May 10: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wednesday, May 11: </span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Julie Lovely, Martin, GA, USA</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thursday, May 12: Ria Heynen, Ottawa, ON; </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nasreen Alani, Calgary, AB</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday, May 13</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Matthew Behrens, Ottawa, ON </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday, May 14: </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matthew Behrens, Ottawa, ON</span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunday, May 15: </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sally Lane, Ottawa, ON; </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John Letts, UK</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday, May 16: </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mary Cowper-Smith, Charlottetown, PEI</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tuesday, May 17</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wednesday, May 18: Rebecca Platt, Vancouver, BC</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thursday, May 19</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Ria Heynen, Ottawa, ON</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday, May 20: Irina Hoffer, Berkhout, the Netherlands</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday, May 21: Jane Powell, Aberystwyth, Wales</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunday, May 22</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: John Letts, UK</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday, May 23: </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Irina Hoffer, Berkhout, the Netherlands</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tuesday, May 24</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wednesday, May 25: Wendy Goldsmith, London, ON</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thursday, May 26: Gail Lorimer, Hamilton, ON</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday, May 27:</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Brian Tillory, Vancouver, BC</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday, May 28: Connie Pike, St. John's, NL</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunday, May 29</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: John Letts, UK</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday, May 30: </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wendy Goldsmith, London, ON</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tuesday, May 31</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON</span> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wednesday, June 1: Lynn Pascente, Aurora, IL</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thursday, June 2: </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Irina Hoffer, Berkhout, the Netherlands</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday, </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">June 3: Jim Gallagher, Regina, SK</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, June 4: Anonymous, Toronto, ON</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunday</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, June 5</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: John Letts, UK</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, June 6: Kate Lonsdale, Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK; Gill Collins, Brierfield, Lancashire, England </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br /></span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tuesday</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, June 7</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wednesday, June 8: Ray Kline, Toronto, ON</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thursday, June 9: Nasreen Alani, Calgary, AB</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday, </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">June 10: Bill Knight, Edmonton, AB</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, June 11: Talia, Montreal, QC </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunday</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, June 12</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: John Letts, UK</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, June 13: Ray Smith, Halifax, NS</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tuesday</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, June 14</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wednesday, June 15: anonymous, Toronto, ON </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thursday, June 16: Leila Mon, Toronto, ON<span> </span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday, </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">June 17: Jim Leatherstone, NY</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, June 18: Matt Campos, Minneapolis</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunday</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, June 19</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Tasneem Fazel, Calgary, AB</span></div> <span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-72003858297002714692022-03-31T09:58:00.010-07:002022-03-31T16:35:58.875-07:00 Canada Must Stop Monstering Jack Letts and Bring Him Home<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoeFVtsgKIFPTdgr9_cIRx4OOXjJg38oT4-1r3wPz9pNpj2XAUdDot4bn5Ft1joxHsWbmJIkDAgrqXP-p6KCUBE10yN22ald6aSIfgS2mdpYISkOr8eQ7MFuetZVTA4QTaglGTPem4jHI6UXDF9jThqn1f_vwkhwMO-o6xpIuRkXMGAkVDWvr7Jm-bQ/s780/Facebook%20page.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="780" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoeFVtsgKIFPTdgr9_cIRx4OOXjJg38oT4-1r3wPz9pNpj2XAUdDot4bn5Ft1joxHsWbmJIkDAgrqXP-p6KCUBE10yN22ald6aSIfgS2mdpYISkOr8eQ7MFuetZVTA4QTaglGTPem4jHI6UXDF9jThqn1f_vwkhwMO-o6xpIuRkXMGAkVDWvr7Jm-bQ/w400-h300/Facebook%20page.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Part one of a
series on Canadian complicity in arbitrary detention and the false labeling
used to justify it.</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border: medium none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">By Matthew Behrens</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Like far too many people targeted in the “Global War on Terror” (GWOT),
Canadian citizen Jack Letts is a victim of monstering. It’s a demonization
process by which he’s been personified as irredeemably evil, not deserving of
human rights, and left to rot in one of the prisons and detention camps in NE
Syria described as </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/2/5/outsourcing-injustice-guantanamo-on-the-euphrates"><span>“Guantanamo on the Euphrates.”</span></a></span></span></p></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As a result of this monstering, media, politicians, and bureaucrats in
Canada and the UK view Letts as un-human and un-worthy, his suffering buried
beneath Islamophobic labels and degrading language he cannot counter. A
discredited British tabloid writer’s baseless 2016</span><span style="color: red; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">creation of the
“Jihadi Jack” myth has eliminated any nuance, context, and humanity from
discussions of his case, and made his name almost interchangeable with a now
dead ISIS executioner dubbed “Jihadi John.” </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Letts has been stripped of the British half of his dual citizenship, and
has been publicly condemned by former Conservative leader </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5801166/andrew-scheer-jack-letts-parents/"><span>Andrew Scheer</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, former
Liberal Public Safety minister </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-britain-islamist-idUSKCN1VA2BW"><span>Ralph Goodale</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, and Prime
Minister </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/trudeau-keeps-mum-on-whether-jihadi-jack-will-be-allowed-in-canada-1.4556080"><span>Justin Trudeau</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">. He has been
abandoned by Ottawa for five years in a NE Syrian prison, held without charge
under conditions described in a March, 2022 United Nations </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2022-03/syria-41.php"><span>report</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> as meeting the
“threshold for torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under
international law.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">His story reveals an idealistic, compassionate young man of 18 whose
2014 decision to go to Syria to help end the suffering of its people made him
an easy target for the Global War On Terror (GWOT) propaganda machine that
accuses without evidence, detains without charge, assigns inaccurate and
damaging labels, tortures with impunity, condemns by association, and relies on
broad definitions of alleged threats to get away with crimes that violate the
most basic human rights guaranteed by the so-called “rules-based international
order.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">But in an impoverished political milieu fueled by Islamophobia and 24/7
poll monitoring, it is next to impossible to have a discussion about the
nuances of conflicts anywhere on the globe. Indeed, the dichotomous world view
presented by George W. Bush (“You’re either with us or you’re with the
terrorists”) is not limited to the White House. It has always marked the
policies and practices of regimes, intelligence agencies, media outlets, and
the “terrorism industrial academic complex” who rely on a constant diet of
monster creation to remain relevant and well-funded. That self-anointed
certainty of the truth has contributed to the bulldozing of legal rights and
responsibilities and been marked by assassination via drone strikes, the
maintenance of “black site” torture centres, and the theft of $6 </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/01/09/legacy-dark-side"><span>trillion</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> by the US government
for the war on terror since 2001. As the International Commission of Jurists </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/5C941500ECEDDA6F492576040021DD91-Full_Report.pdf"><span>concluded</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> in 2009,
“certain governments want to reserve for themselves the power
to designate a class of people who are not entitled to the same
rights as other human beings.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The Distorted Lens</span></b></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It is within that landscape that Jack Letts’ story serves as a striking
illustration of the distorted lens through which “western” society judges
individual choices. Letts’ biggest mistake, it would appear, was his itinerary.
In 2014, there were two places where Russian military brutality would become
notorious for its sheer inhumanity: Crimea and Syria. The international
volunteers (including </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://euromaidanpress.com/2014/11/29/volunteers-to-make-sure-that-canadian-military-aid-to-ukraine-reaches-soldiers/"><span>Canadians</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">) who went to
Crimea were not monstered or prevented from coming home, despite Amnesty
International finding that war crimes were committed by both sides during the
conflict</span><span style="color: red; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">. </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But those who went to Syria would all be
tarred with the terrorist brush, whether they travelled to fight against
Assad’s brutal regime – just as young Canadians are flocking to Ukraine today -
or were lured by the false promise that they would help create a new, utopian,
Muslim society. Others went simply for humanitarian reasons. Jack was a
committed Muslim who wanted to use his language skills to help the people of
Syria.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Portraying Letts as a monster has also served as a convenient
smokescreen to cover up the Global Affairs Canada (GAC) failure to act for five
years on information that Letts had been tortured by proxy, likely at the
behest of UK officials. GAC has dithered and generated endless excuses for
refusing to liberate Letts and four dozen other Canadians – some of them very
young children – from what Human Rights Watch </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2020/06/canada0620_web_1.pdf"><span>describes</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> as arbitrary
detention “in filthy and often inhuman and life-threatening conditions.” To add
insult to injury, GAC has invested significant resources to fight these
detainees and their families in a Federal Court case to be heard later this
spring.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Family members hope that the Federal Court will order Ottawa to bring
all Canadian detainees home immediately, a right to return guaranteed by
Section 6 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As the Federal Court concluded
in a </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/abdelrazik/"><span>2009 repatriation case</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, “Charter
rights are not dependent on the wisdom of the choices Canadians make, nor their
moral character or political beliefs. Foolish persons have no lesser rights
under the Charter than those who have made wise choices or are considered to be
morally and politically upstanding.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Forcing GAC to bring these Canadians home would be consistent with a
growing international movement to repatriate everyone held in the camps and
prisons controlled by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
(Rojava), Canada’s Kurdish ally in the war against ISIS. Failure to repatriate
its citizens, as Human Rights Watch has </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2020/06/canada0620_web_1.pdf"><span>observed</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, means the
Canadian government “is flouting its international human rights obligations
toward Canadians who are arbitrarily detained in northeast Syria and by
providing inadequate support to family members seeking to provide their loved
ones with essentials such as food and medicine, and to bring them home. The
obligations that Canada has breached include taking necessary and reasonable
steps to assist nationals abroad facing serious abuses including risks to life,
torture, and inhuman and degrading treatment.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Repatriating All Detainees</span></b></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In late January, the International Committee of the Red Cross </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://twitter.com/ICRC_NYC/status/1486420573815287814"><span>declared</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">: “States must
repatriate their own citizens. Not just children. Children, women and men.” </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">At the same time,
Abdulkarim Omar, co-chair of the Kurdish administration’s foreign office, </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/220120221"><span color="windowtext">reiterated</span></a></span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> what the Kurds have been
saying for years: “Every country should take its citizens back.”<span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> On January 31,
2022, the US State Department </span></span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.state.gov/the-foiled-attack-on-syrian-detention-facility/"><span style="color: black;">called</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> on its
partners to “urgently repatriate their nationals and other detainees remaining
in northeast Syria.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two weeks later,
the Biden administration declared it was “</span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/us-infuriated-by-british-refusal-to-repatriate-isis-radicals-9kzrxr7b8"><span>bemused and infuriated</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">” with the UK’s
refusal to repatriate, and warned British officials that the “trust of the UK’s
suitability as a security partner has been eroded considerably due to
lacklustre policy” with respect to the detainees. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Canada’s House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and
International Development also recommended repatriation in June 2021. Fionnuala
D. Ní Aoláin, the United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and
protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism,
told this committee that Canada had earned an unenviable spot on a </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/02/syria-un-experts-urge-57-states-repatriate-women-and-children-squalid-camps?LangID=E&NewsID=26730"><span>list of 57 nations</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> “that no state
should want to be on” for failure to repatriate its citizens. “There’s a really
clear and compelling positive obligation on Canada to prevent serious harm to
its nationals, which it is in a position to prevent,” she told MPs, adding that
it was lack of political will, and not diminished capacity, that prevented
their return. She pointed out that Kazakhstan, a much smaller and
less-resourced nation, had been able to bring its citizens home and noted:
“There are a lot of countries doing it and doing it well. There isn’t a deficit
of examples out there.” </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ironically, the Canadian government now finds itself in a bind of its
own making, one <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/eastern-mediterranean/syria/208-women-and-children-first-repatriating-westerners-affiliated-isis">best
illustrated by</a> an “extremism expert” shared with the International Crisis
Group: “The problem is that we’ve expended all this effort promoting [what has
become] the Western counter-terrorism paradigm and dehumanizing these people to
mobilise against the ISIS threat. Now we have to humanize the population to
convince countries that they can and should get them home.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUkXHCHJy6nzy1WsjJILSYDrI7uHJwnOCcu_pmd47suSDf8ey0XBcCw6FUeA2V7fmZGHXyqgI-Sz1IRn-EyJHf71ZRZpb8RIj38XMpp9xgyBECkOpmAHFe22E2BSbZcVpEG7AgZZra5POagSV10nId9Ci5_ahdMvdHJXK9tLcrhOORVG0BgLvtJTHcw/s876/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%2012.49.22%20PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="876" data-original-width="530" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUkXHCHJy6nzy1WsjJILSYDrI7uHJwnOCcu_pmd47suSDf8ey0XBcCw6FUeA2V7fmZGHXyqgI-Sz1IRn-EyJHf71ZRZpb8RIj38XMpp9xgyBECkOpmAHFe22E2BSbZcVpEG7AgZZra5POagSV10nId9Ci5_ahdMvdHJXK9tLcrhOORVG0BgLvtJTHcw/w242-h400/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%2012.49.22%20PM.png" width="242" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The Gitmo Lie</span></b></span></span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">One need look no further than the U.S.-run concentration camp at
Guantanamo Bay to recognize this conundrum. In the words of the former U.S. War
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Gitmo was supposed to house “high-value” detainees,
the “worst of the worst,” even though a declassified 2003 internal memo
revealed the Pentagon knew that the prison contained “low-value” detainees who
posed no threat to anyone. Of the 780 originally detained without proper
charge, 38 remain, 12 of them charged under the widely condemned kangaroo court
military commission system that relies on confessions obtained under torture. A
2011 </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://law.shu.edu/policy-research/guantanamo-reports.cfm"><span>report</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, <i>Rumsfeld
Knew: DoD's 'Worst of the Worst' and Recidivism Claims Refuted by Recently
Declassified Memo</i>, says the memo “calls into question the Government’s
assertions that the released detainees are dangerous men who have and likely
will reengage” in dangerous activities. As a result, hundreds of innocent men
have languished for years in one the world’s most notorious torture camps,
condemned by a constant stream of sensational media stories about alleged
“sleeper cells” and “extremist travelers” intent on destroying “Western”
society. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sloppy media coverage of the NE Syrian prisons and camps has also
distorted public perceptions, especially with catch-all descriptions of them as
holding grounds for “ISIS fighters”. In fact, when the armed remnants of the
ISIS state finally fell in March 2019, tens of thousands of civilians in the
area were rounded up along with ISIS fighters. This included humanitarian
volunteers, anti-ISIS partisans, and women and men who had been lured by the
false propaganda of a paradise built on utopian Muslim values (but who could
not escape once they fell under the control of the so-called Caliphate). It
also includes thousands of children, many born during the height of the war.
These camps and prisons are filled with a volatile mix of pro- and anti-ISIS
individuals, and within them the war continues: human rights groups regularly
document killings of ISIS opponents. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In 2019, former UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband, now head of the
International Rescue Committee, </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/shamima-begum-isis-latest-syria-bride-david-miliband-a8823121.html"><span>acknowledged</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> the far more
complex detainee demographic when he told <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Independent: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The only thing we know
for sure about them is that they lived under the control of Isis. The IRC knows
from our experiences helping people who fled Mosul and Raqqa that it’s
incredibly dangerous to escape Isis territory. People either have to risk
crossing an active frontline as a battle rages around them or they have to pay
an exorbitantly high price to be smuggled long distances.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Acquiescence to Torture</span></b></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In order to stop public and government acquiescence to the torture of
their fellow citizens in Northeast Syria, Canadians must confront the bedrock
racism and monstering that drives Canada’s foreign policies, security service
mandates, and political discourse. As with the tragic lie of Guantanamo Bay,
many Canadians have convinced themselves that Muslims and racialized “others”
are mostly guilty, dangerous, deceptive, disposable and deceitful. There is a </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/special-reports/investigating-canadas-security-bias"><span>lengthy string</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> of cases of
Muslims who have been detained overseas and at home, all pilloried as the worst
of the worst and dire threats to Canadian security who should never be freed or
brought home. And yet when they have been repatriated or walked out of Canadian
prisons, the sky has not fallen, because there was nothing to the accusations
to begin with. Court cases, judicial inquiries, and the public record point to
a despicable record of prejudicial prejudgment by government officials,
headline writers, and Islamophobic columnists who have conjured up a
frightening, fictional world of Muslim monsters.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Jack Letts is one of the latest of these fictions. There are questions
that need to be answered regarding his case (addressed below), but these do not
suggest he is a threat to Canadian security. Rather, they point to a typical
teenager who made mistakes, embraced a new faith, and perhaps most universally,
was upset by the pain and suffering of the Syrian people and was moved to
actually do something about it. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The fact that Letts wound up in a politically complex war zone is a
quirk of history, and not a reflection of his character. Were this 1982, he
likely would have earned a security service file for traveling to Sandinista
Nicaragua to pick coffee, help build schools and medical clinics, and raise
funds for humanitarian supplies in a country defending itself from a US-funded
mercenary army. Were this the 1930s, he may have found himself alongside Ernest
Hemingway and George Orwell defending the Spanish people against the terror
bombings of Hitler’s Luftwaffe and Franco’s fascists.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Despite the fearmongering, hundreds of young people who went to Syria
have gone home with no issue. Even the right wing Home Secretary Sajid Javid </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-02-20/debates/4DEC2589-7212-48A0-8507-9D38C0DEC42A/DeprivationOfCitizenshipStatus"><span>conceded</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> to the UK
House of Commons in 2019 that 40% of the 900 British citizens who traveled to
the region had returned, been investigated, and “assessed to pose no or a
low security risk.” Human Rights Watch notes that just over two dozen countries
have repatriated some of their citizens, while others remain detained “often
with the explicit or implicit consent of their </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26730&LangID=E"><span>countries of nationality</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Those inside the camps and prisons have learned, through rare letters
passed on by the Red Cross, that they are not welcome back home. Jack Letts
wrote to his father in 2019: “After two years here I realize that I’m no longer
considered human and have become a new, more despicable creature, with far less
rights, in the eyes of the supposedly civilised world. I’ve become a piece of
wheat in a hurricane whilst everyone explains that the only problem at the
moment is that I didn’t die in Deir ar Zour or Raqqa. You said Canadians don’t
give up but the Canadians haven’t even lifted a finger. There’s Canadian women
and children in Syria and Canada doesn’t even respond to the requests to take
them. What I don’t understand is why no-one told me that the idea of a second
chance is just a Hollywood concept.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.3pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In 2017, Letts wrote in a note to his
parents: “If the Prime Minister of Canada was saying ‘Let him out’, they would
as this lot absolutely worship the West.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.3pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Jack’s parents have not heard from him
since.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjea021OYyWVNZS4hUAMxVEp6evn9dWBEu8_kDshmbNH6j7_jK_W8E7Pk9-i59JNyseu_3HVv3_yLr_2zA8AT-YJt0URHqo4z0ph7fOJdaf4-1uwepUErWSph6o21bg5cxF0xDB234f_W8NVt2o1Doko4K8tzO2NGvME_HtB1K_eoy408rD18GwPTcZQ/s720/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%2012.51.08%20PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="720" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjea021OYyWVNZS4hUAMxVEp6evn9dWBEu8_kDshmbNH6j7_jK_W8E7Pk9-i59JNyseu_3HVv3_yLr_2zA8AT-YJt0URHqo4z0ph7fOJdaf4-1uwepUErWSph6o21bg5cxF0xDB234f_W8NVt2o1Doko4K8tzO2NGvME_HtB1K_eoy408rD18GwPTcZQ/w400-h373/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%2012.51.08%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /> </span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">How Jack Was Monstered</span></b></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Jack’s parents, Sally and John, recall their son developed while growing
up a strong sense of fairness and compassion and hated bullying. He was popular
at school and protected vulnerable classmates. He loved to debate, and came by his
interest in global politics honestly. John was an environmental activist, and
was involved in East Timor and West Papua solidarity movements. Sally worked in
international development, and served at Oxfam’s West Africa desk for 8 years.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 1.05pt; margin-top: .55pt; margin: 0.55pt 1.05pt 0cm 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">At the age of 16, Jack converted to Islam.
He taught himself Arabic in order to read the Koran in its original language,
and was, as Sally recalls, “determined to be the best Muslim he could
be.” He initially travelled to Jordan in May 2014 and then on to Kuwait,
where he took courses in Arabic and Islamic studies. To his parents’ horror, he
called them in September, 2014, to let them know that he was in Syria. A few
weeks later he was in Fallujah (Iraq) where he worked in a hospital and a
school and improved his language skills. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Between December 2015 and early 2017, Jack
remained in regular contact with his parents in the UK. In May 2015, he was
injured in an air strike on his home and was sent for medical treatment to
Raqqa in Syria, which was the only functioning hospital that could treat his
injuries. This is where he first encountered ISIS, and he quickly fell afoul of
their rules and teachings. He soon made it very clear to his parents that he
wanted to escape ISIS territories because his life was in danger, as he had
publicly opposed ISIS’ teachings and had been put on trial and imprisoned by IS
several times for his views.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Fearing for their son’s life, his parents asked the UK counter-terrorism
police for approval to help him escape what appeared to be certain death. They
agreed, and records show, the police told them they could wire him £1,000 to
pay a people smuggler to escape ISIS </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“in order to save their son’s life.” The<span style="color: black;"> payment was blocked, and they were instead charged with
“funding terrorism” and prosecuted over a period of 3 years at a cost to the UK
taxpayer of over £6 million (approximately $10 million in Canadian funds). </span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In their 2019 trial at the Old Bailey in London, they were eventually
found <i>not</i> guilty of the two main charges of “funding terrorism,” as the
jury accepted Jack’s life was in danger from ISIS. However, the police had added
a third charge to their sheet claiming a payment of £223 sent to a refugee
family in Lebanon (which the police had initially discounted as a crime) could
also (theoretically) have been used for terrorism. The fact that the refugees on
the receiving end were Shia, and so clearly not aligned with ISIS, was ignored.
</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The trial also showed that in hundreds of messages to his parents over 4
years, Jack never once espoused allegiance to ISIS or any other armed group. In
fact, he condemned ISIS for their distortion of Islam and their cruelty. In his
summing up, the judge accepted that there was no evidence that this £223 was
used to fund terrorism, but guilt under the UK’s Terrorism Act relies on the
opinion of the police, not evidence. Hence, Jack’s parents were found guilty
under Section 17 of the act, and are both now on the UK terrorism register.
This prevents them from maintaining bank accounts, travelling by air, and
receiving psychological support for their trauma, as the climate of fear
ensures UK therapists share the results of therapy sessions with the police.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Of the several inflammatory (and sometimes
unintelligible) things that had appeared on Jack’s Facebook page, his mother,
Sally, has said, “I could tell that it appeared his account had been hacked…I
later learned that Jack, still a very young man at the age of 18, had foolishly
shared his Facebook password and others had used it, something he himself said
was a stupid thing to do. Unfortunately, it is difficult to correct the
misperceptions generated by blaring headlines.” </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Indeed, once someone is monstered, only
negative inferences can be drawn from any action, no matter how innocent. A
widely shared 2015 photo of a smiling lad at Syria’s Tabqa dam – dressed in a
camouflage-style T-shirt and combat-style trousers while pointing one finger
skyward – has been treated a proof positive that Jack was an ISIS adherent. In
fact, Jack’s father bought these pants for him at a UK sports clothing shop
before he left Britain. The finger pointing to the sky is the universal Muslim
sign of ‘tawhid’, or oneness of God, which is made on a daily basis by Muslims
at prayer (in the same way that the sign of the cross is made by Christians).
It also could just be a Jack habit: his mother has a photo of Jack giving the
same gesture aged ten on a family holiday, long before he became a Muslim.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">A Tabloid Betrayal</span></b></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It was in January 2016 that Jack became an
international monster. A sensationalist <i>Sunday Times</i> piece by a
discredited writer of Islamophobic pieces, </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2011/7/11/murdochs-dirty-tricks-against-palestinians"><span>Richard Kerbaj</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, had a
devastating impact. Much like the <i>New York Times</i> writer </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.salon.com/2015/04/06/judith_millers_pathetic_iraq_apologia_a_disgraced_reporter_rallies_to_her_own_defense/"><span>Judith Miller</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, who parroted
the Bush administrations lies about non-existent weapons of mass destruction
that fuelled support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Kerbaj’s sloppy, unverified
journalism also ruined lives. It was Kerbaj’s monstering approach that kicked
off the </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/podcasts/trojan-horse-affair.html"><span>Trojan Horse Affair</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> (a fictitious
Muslim plot to infiltrate Birmingham schools based on an anonymous letter). As
the <i>New York Times</i> described in a podcast on the scandal, “The story
soon explodes in the news and kicks off a national panic. By the time it all
dies down, the government has launched multiple investigations, beefed up the
country’s counterterrorism policy, revamped schools and banned people from
education for the rest of their lives.” According to the <i>Times</i>, the
whole affair was an "Islamophobic hoax" similar to the historical
anti-Semitic hoax <i>The Protocols of the Elders of Zion</i>.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sally recalls that Kerbaj had been
introduced to the family by a so-called <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“deradicalisation”
outfit, the Active Change Foundation, which had promised to help get Jack out
of Syria. She says that they had an agreement to keep Jack’s identity
secret given the risks to his life from ISIS, and to support efforts to help
other families in their shoes. But that agreement was violated the morning of
January 24, 2016, when “Jihadi Jack first white boy to join ISIS” appeared in
the <i>Sunday Times</i> headlines with a half page picture of Jack in his
fashionable, British teenager camouflage. Kerbaj’s claim that Jack had told his
parents he had joined ISIS was a lie (and John and Sally note that Kerbaj has
never released the tape-recorded conversation to support his allegation).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“Thanks to him, the nickname ‘Jihadi Jack’
is now burned into the minds of millions of people around the world,” Sally
says. “And despite the lack of any supporting evidence, and as a result of a
journalist’s lie, Jack himself is believed by millions to be a monster who
chops off heads. Anything John and I said to the contrary – based on our own
evidence – was dismissed as the feeble protestations of parents in
denial.” </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The most damning line, Sally says, and the
one which she believes led to their eventual terrorism charges, read: “Letts, a
keen footballer and highly regarded student, admitted to his parents that he
was with ISIS in Syria in September 2014.” But as Sally says, “Jack never said
he was with ISIS; he only ever said he was in IS <i>territory</i>. In our court
case, included within the notes to the jury was an explanation of the
difference between being in IS territory and being a member of ISIS.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Jack’s whiteness and conversion to Islam
no doubt furthered the anger against him, implying he was a “race traitor”. His
tender age was also a trigger for a culture that regularly engages in moral
panics about young people. </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">That panic also branded his parents, John recalls, “as incompetent,
neglectful, overly-liberal and dim-witted not to have stopped his alleged
‘radicalisation’ (which never occurred) and not to have prevented him from
going to Syria.”<span style="color: black;"> Reports in the UK press also had a
class dimension, giving open season to condemnation of “white, middle class,
Oxford” parents who had allegedly abandoned their child and failed to give him
“direction” and “meaning’”. Not uncommonly in the media, the facts interfered
with a good story. This moral panic about a relatively small group of young
people heading overseas also swept Canada, even though Canadian spy agency CSIS
was </span></span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/spy-accused-of-helping-teens-join-isis-claims-he-worked-for-canadian-intelligence-1.2993716"><span>implicated</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> in assisting
young girls to cross the border into Syria (including 15-year-old </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/sep/15/shamima-begum-says-she-wants-to-prove-innocence-in-uk-courts"><span>Shamima Begum</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, who is also
still detained in NE Syria).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Later in a 2016 </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/jihadi-jack-letts-interview-former-oxford-schoolboy-denies-isis-calls-on-british-people-to-convert-to-islam-as-he-brands-david-cameron-an-evil-creature-a6843491.html"><span color="windowtext">interview</span></a></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Independent</i>, Jack Letts said, “I<span style="color: black;">
believe we should follow Islam how the first Muslims did.” He denied being a
member of ISIS, though added “I’ve never seen Isis kill Muslim kids. I have,
however, seen the coalition do so…The Muslims in Syria are burned alive, raped,
abused, imprisoned and much more. I also think that some of Muslims I met here
are living like walking mountains. Full of honour.” He noted that the Assad
regime, along with its Russian military supporters, were responsible for much
of the violence, though he would soon be imprisoned himself as he grew repulsed
by violence committed by ISIS<b>. “</b>I’ve seen Muslims burned alive as a
result of what the US calls 'hellfire missiles',” he said. “Isis has made huge
mistakes, I don’t deny that, but the coalition has made far worse mistakes.”</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Jack’s first-hand observations are
consistent with reports by groups like </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://airwars.org"><span>Airwars.com</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, which have
documented the damage caused by all armed parties to the war in Syria. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Torture by Proxy</span></b></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It was while recovering in Raqqa from the
mysterious airstrike on his Falluja home in 2015 that Jack became aware of
ISIS’ true nature. He told the BBC journalist, Daniel Sandford, “I realised how
many people Isis had killed, including their former members who had turned
against them.” He challenged ISIS members in the streets, leading to a life on
the run from ISIS police who eventually jailed him three times. He
escaped twice, and was warned that he would be executed if he escaped again. He
fled ISIS territory without his parents’ help in 2017, and was picked up by the
Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). At the start they treated him very well
– “like a hero,” according to Jack – as they were aware of his anti-ISIS stand
(indeed, the internal </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://deeply.thenewhumanitarian.org/syria/articles/2014/02/27/in-raqqa-people-protest-and-women-chafe-under-isis-control"><span>resistance against ISIS</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> has been
under-estimated and ignored by Western media). Within a few weeks, however,
coinciding with a visit from a UK government representative, Jack revealed to
his parents that things took a sharp turn for the worse, and the monstering
escalated. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The tabloid media recycled untruths that
Jack had been a front-line fighter, which not only assassinated his reputation
but also contributed to the criminalisation of his parents. Jack told his
parents that he was told by the Kurds who tortured him that they had a
“dossier” made up of tabloid newspaper articles about him. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 1.05pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In June 2019, the BBC published an
incendiary piece, “Jack Letts, Islamic State recruit: 'I was enemy of UK’.”
What was not explained were the highly problematic circumstances of the interview,
one conducted after torture – and with the threat of future torture
– along with armed guards out of camera range. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwPF3_Vyr6vIpODMEcuAitbnlKbag76vCwfJ_YA5KBSBL1wMpvX772vIqaNDO5Pc4PVIV5zugKkiDVEUwZXyov-px_cyjkQHfC17Si_1BhPiGeFYSHGf3q_N2s7LyYZlfqom6e7K0jqSbL58eqIWBL5P3Hdr_6QY6IJtEdEuBFIZ4dVal05Om6bpTJQ/s774/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%2012.53.17%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="774" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwPF3_Vyr6vIpODMEcuAitbnlKbag76vCwfJ_YA5KBSBL1wMpvX772vIqaNDO5Pc4PVIV5zugKkiDVEUwZXyov-px_cyjkQHfC17Si_1BhPiGeFYSHGf3q_N2s7LyYZlfqom6e7K0jqSbL58eqIWBL5P3Hdr_6QY6IJtEdEuBFIZ4dVal05Om6bpTJQ/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%2012.53.17%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In a witness statement, Clive
Stafford-Smith (the renowned civil rights lawyer who has represented over 80
detainees at Guantanamo Bay) says Jack told him during a subsequent prison
visit that the BBC interviewer’s questions were an exact match to questions
he’d been asked while being tortured – and that the answers they expected were
clear. He knew he would be tortured if he didn’t give the BBC the answers
his jailers wanted – as the BBC must also have realised, having arranged for an </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">interview with
someone who was arbitrarily detained without charge under brutal conditions,
without access to a lawyer or family.<span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: black;">According to Stafford Smith, Jack told him: “I was lying as
I had been forced to lie when I was tortured because I knew what I was expected
to say.” </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Jack told Stafford Smith that when he was first in Kurdish custody,
“there was no real interrogation to begin with. At the time I was only
casually questioned. Then later it became serious. ‘You did this,
this and this.’ This is when it was clear to me that the British were behind
it. It was clear that the British were asking them to ask the questions.’ </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Jack went on to say “the first part of the interrogation they focused on
Britain: Who taught you the radical ideology? Give us the names of
people in the UK, including anyone who had anything to do with me becoming a
Muslim. They asked about where my parents and I live in the UK. It
was clear that they knew things, and that those things had come from the
British.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Stafford Smith noted that “Jack has had no visits by British
Intelligence in person. Indeed, no one from the British Authorities has
come to see him at all, though there is no reason why they could not (from what
I learned from others, they have free access to the detention centres). But
Jack felt sure the questions were from the British and they were not relevant
to the SDF. Jack did say that he did not hold it against the SDF as they
were in a bad position and he felt that they were being coerced by the
British”.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It seems clear that Jack Letts has been the victim of torture by proxy,
a common war on terror practice that has been used by Canadian intelligence
agencies (against Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Muayyed Nureddin, Abousfian
Abdelrazik, Ahmad El Maati and others). Questions are delivered to the torture
chamber from overseas interrogators who await answers in their comfortable
offices in Ottawa and London.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Two separate judicial inquiries found CSIS, the RCMP, and other Canadian
agencies complicit in this practice. Given Canada’s membership in the Five Eyes
intelligence sharing alliance, this raises a significant question: have the
fruits of Jack’s torture been shared by the UK, and are they now being used as
a secret rationale under the cover of the much-abused claim of “national
security confidentiality” to keep Jack from coming home?</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Next: Part 2 Explores the insidious manner in which Canada’s Global
Affairs bureaucracy went from an apparent interest in helping Jack to creating
an insurmountable barrier designed to keep him in arbitrary detention in Syria.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">To sign the petition calling for the repatriation of Jack Letts and all
other Canadians detained in Northeast Syria, visit: <a href="https://www.change.org/p/i-forgot-what-the-sun-looks-like-free-jack-letts-and-all-canadian-detainees-in-ne-syria">https://www.change.org/p/i-forgot-what-the-sun-looks-like-free-jack-letts-and-all-canadian-detainees-in-ne-syria</a></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmorGCIRlXhPsTO6kuSNLZogVYYpqVyPxpfv5ozx0M5a_ZmwSddKqVXsG4TQzECeKLVjxkaKc2manxOhA5QbnJ9KbxRwGLAU_ubqfmHI4kj2HAr1ljMCx9UVh1yBma_8cE6ZVztVR0AAlOVptOn9jnKECdMyQwt8Bt0kRTmB5xyZ1tx_1qPNPJde1Wg/s777/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%2012.56.44%20PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="777" height="568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmorGCIRlXhPsTO6kuSNLZogVYYpqVyPxpfv5ozx0M5a_ZmwSddKqVXsG4TQzECeKLVjxkaKc2manxOhA5QbnJ9KbxRwGLAU_ubqfmHI4kj2HAr1ljMCx9UVh1yBma_8cE6ZVztVR0AAlOVptOn9jnKECdMyQwt8Bt0kRTmB5xyZ1tx_1qPNPJde1Wg/w640-h568/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%2012.56.44%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-75540409501298758582022-02-11T18:54:00.004-08:002022-02-11T18:54:58.202-08:00 Canada: Have a Change of Heart, Bring Home Jack Letts and all the Detainees in NE Syria <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDaU3spuHPnB-miy9ijaVsOLvLE3MQ9dXM3CuIlY0EOPBEbbAXmCIq-EeV6cUEFeJp0JQ4c_nIpSZxRsFR4APlGmRBPZWFqpQH-3jy7rk2gQp3R1_CvZdCywExp6vSZgMZiimzt0ryrQxpOkfiFSMNZhkfwOROaaYLYT94eilV1ytMkjRPhsfuuZVzIQ=s780" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="780" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDaU3spuHPnB-miy9ijaVsOLvLE3MQ9dXM3CuIlY0EOPBEbbAXmCIq-EeV6cUEFeJp0JQ4c_nIpSZxRsFR4APlGmRBPZWFqpQH-3jy7rk2gQp3R1_CvZdCywExp6vSZgMZiimzt0ryrQxpOkfiFSMNZhkfwOROaaYLYT94eilV1ytMkjRPhsfuuZVzIQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong class="">Canada: Have a Change of Heart, Bring Home Jack Letts and all the Detainees in NE Syria </strong></p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">DATE: Sunday February 13th </p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">TIME: 12:30pm</p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Canada House, Trafalgar Square, London, UK<br /></p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><em class=""><strong class="">Please could you let me know asap if you think you can make it so we can liaise and plan!</strong></em><br class="" /></p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong class="">BACKGROUND</strong></p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Before flower sellers and Hallmark Cards discovered it, St. Valentine's Day was a time to remember all those unjustly persecuted and jailed. St. Valentine was a priest who was persecuted, tortured, jailed and decapitated by Roman Emperor Claudius because Valentine defied the prohibition on conducting marriages for young people. Claudius was concerned that married men would be less willing to give their lives in battle. Valentine's last note from prison, "from your Valentine," eventually became the basis for Valentine greetings.</p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong class="">WHO IS JACK?</strong></p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">As an idealistic and compassionate 18-year-old, Jack traveled to Syria to assist victims of the Assad regime’s brutal war against its own people, and was caught up in the chaos that followed. He condemned ISIS in messaging from within the IS ‘state’, was prosecuted for opposing their teachings, and after risking his life to escape, was arrested, tortured and held in brutal conditions for 5 years by those he ran to for safety.</p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Jack has not been charged with any crime, and no evidence has been presented that he did anything wrong. In fact he has been victimized by the wrongs of others: a victim of a libelous press, slanderous politicians and an Islamophobic political climate under which horrific yet baseless allegations have been thrown against him with no meaningful and safe opportunity to respond; a victim of a cowardly UK government that illegally stripped him of his citizenship, and of a Canadian government that promised to bring him home and has subsequently spent years refusing to do so; a victim of arbitrary detention and conditions tantamount to torture; a victim of direct acts of torture, including extended periods of solitary confinement; a victim of a world that headlines hate and profits from dehumanization.</p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong class="">WHY THIS VIGIL</strong></p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">This vigil is a critical reminder that Jack Letts is loved. He is loved by his family, by his friends, by a growing community of international supporters who recognize that the desire to go abroad to try and fix the world’s problems is no crime whatsoever, but rather an expression of what many people aspire to be. It is also an opportunity to live out the prophetic words of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation, for those it calls ‘enemy’, for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers [and sisters].”</p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">This vigil is also a public expression completely in line with the long-standing and growing list of calls for repatriation of all detainees in Northeast Syria. In late January, 2022, the International Committee of the Red Cross clearly declared: “States must repatriate their own citizens. Not just children. Children, women and men.” Similarly, Abdulkarim Omar, co-chair of the Kurdish administration’s foreign office, reiterated in late January what the Kurds have been saying for years: “Every country should take its citizens back.”</p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations and the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development have all similarly called for repatriation of those arbitrarily detained.</p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">We also gather at Canada House because Jack’s UK citizenship has been illegally stripped away from him. His only option is to be repatriated by Canada.</p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong class="">BRING YOUR HEARTS</strong></p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Wear red, bring some large hearts with expressions like “Free Jack” and “Free the Detainees”, and help magnify the message that we refuse to ignore and forget about the plight of Jack and thousands of other detainees who need to be brought home.</p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br class="" /></p><p class="" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><em class=""><strong class="">Thank you all and hope that some of you can make it !</strong></em></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-73606856767940087032021-11-29T18:16:00.002-08:002021-11-29T18:16:13.849-08:00The Syrian Refugees That Time – and Canada – Forgot<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OcvRy2yA4Oc/YaWJFsVHRyI/AAAAAAAAA54/g7_CEZQoQ0II_wXN7urIcWocDkrORioQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/Yazan.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OcvRy2yA4Oc/YaWJFsVHRyI/AAAAAAAAA54/g7_CEZQoQ0II_wXN7urIcWocDkrORioQgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/Yazan.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This Syrian boy is afraid to turn 18, because that’s when the murderous Assad
regime will come to claim him for its blood-stained military. His refusal to be
forcibly conscripted into an atrocities-tainted army will <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">mark him for jail, torture
or death.</span></strong> With most of his <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">family in Canada</span></strong> –including a
father who is awaiting adjudication of his own refugee claim – he needs an
urgent Temporary Resident Permit to escape a regime condemned by Canada for its
</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://canadianinquirer.net/2021/03/05/minister-of-foreign-affairs-takes-action-on-syrias-human-rights-violations/"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“brutal and shocking attacks
on its own people.” </span></a></span>
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">By Matthew Behrens</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
lethal crisis of closed borders and xenophobic immigration policies made an
increasingly rare media <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/11/1106562">appearance</a>
last week with the drowning deaths of 27 desperate refugees attempting to cross
the English Channel. Since 2014, at least 166 asylum seekers have lost their
lives making that perilous journey; almost 23,000 have been killed or reported
missing crossing the Mediterranean during the same time period.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
inhumane lengths to which many nations will go to prevent migration was
documented this week in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New Yorker</i>,
which <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/12/06/the-secretive-libyan-prisons-that-keep-migrants-out-of-europe">reported</a>
that the European Union “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">has created a shadow immigration system that captures
[migrants] before they reach its shores, and sends them to brutal Libyan
detention centers run by militias…. It has equipped and trained the Libyan
Coast Guard, a quasi-military organization linked to militias in the country,
to patrol the Mediterranean, sabotaging humanitarian rescue operations and
capturing migrants. The migrants are then detained indefinitely in a network of
profit-making prisons run by the militias. In September of this year, around
six thousand migrants were being held.. International aid agencies have
documented an array of abuses: detainees tortured with electric shocks,
children raped by guards, families extorted for ransom, men and women sold into
forced labor.”</span><span lang="EN-US"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Meanwhile,
the world’s single largest refugee population has gone from being a headline
story to yesterday’s news, a magical transformation that has disappeared almost
14 million forcibly displaced Syrians. The United Nations <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/syria-emergency.html">reports</a> that this
population is almost evenly divided between those who sought asylum abroad and
the millions of internally displaced people who continue to face mass hunger,
homelessness, and continued political repression.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Conditions
for the millions who were able to get out of Syria – the majority of them in
Turkey – remain poor. In Lebanon, <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/lb/14025-nine-out-of-ten-syrian-refugee-families-in-lebanon-are-now-living-in-extreme-poverty-un-study-says.html">90%
of Syrian refugees</a> live in extreme poverty, and with no official refugee
camps, most are scattered throughout the country, crammed into small,
over-crowded lodgings that leave them vulnerable to Covid. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><strong><span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The situation inside</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></strong><strong><span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Syria remains dire.</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">Human Rights Watch <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/syria">reports</a>
a widespread “inability to procure food, essential drugs, and other basic
necessities. As a result, more than <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">9.3 million Syrians have become food insecure</span></strong>
and over 80 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line.” The group added
that on top of these deteriorating conditions, “human rights abuses in
government-held territory continued unabated. Authorities brutally suppressed
every sign of re-emerging dissent, including through arbitrary arrests and
torture.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Mass Disappearances</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US">According to the
Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), at least <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/syria">100,000
Syrians remain forcibly disappeared</a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">.</b>
The network also estimates that nearly <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">15,000 have died due to torture</span> </strong>since
March 2011, the majority at the hands of Syrian government forces.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s
a human rights catastrophe that has been mislabeled a “refugee crisis,” as if
those escaping persecution and desperate conditions are the root problem. In
fact, the crisis results from interconnected decisions of wealthy nations like
Canada. On the one hand, governmental and corporate policies give rise to a “<a href="https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/canada-brand-violence-and-canadian-mining-companies-latin-america">Canada
Brand</a>” of overseas violence, repression, and displacement. On the other,
Canadian policies of <a href="https://ccrweb.ca/sites/ccrweb.ca/files/static-files/interdictionab.htm">interdiction</a>
abroad (stationing officers in scores of countries to prevent refugees from
escaping and getting here) and deadly agreements like <a href="https://ipolitics.ca/2021/03/05/the-safe-third-country-agreement-hurts-refugees-canada-needs-to-ditch-it/">Safe
Third Country</a> (which allows for forced return of asylum seekers from the
Canadian border to the US on the outrageous claim that it is a safe country for
refugees) make it impossible for far too many to find safety.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
is the anti-refugee sentiment within Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Canada (IRCC) that leads directly to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/immigration-refugees-canada-1.6258067">findings</a>
by CBC that Canada is nowhere near hitting its refugee intake goals for 2021.
One cannot blame covid here; it is a result of systems that have been created
and sustained for decades in which Canada favours business class immigrants
over torture survivors and long-separated loved ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, IRCC’s own online <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/check-processing-times.html">processing
times calculator</a> reveals an average 6-month waiting period for economic
immigration applicants, whereas a privately sponsored refugee desperate to get
out of Uganda faces an average delay of 34 months.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>While
refugees were briefly mentioned during the 2021 pandemic election, it was
largely in response to the capture of Kabul by the Taliban and Canada’s
long-term, decade-long failure to provide safety for interpreters, fixers,
drivers, and others who assisted the Canadian military during its occupation of
Afghanistan. It was a far-cry from 2015, when the “sunny ways” Liberals took
advantage of a mean-spirited Harper regime and a photo that went around the
globe. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">6 Years After Operation Syrian Refugees</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Indeed, it’s been six years since the
world was transfixed by the heart-rending <a href="https://time.com/4162306/alan-kurdi-syria-drowned-boy-refugee-crisis/">image</a>
of lifeless, 3-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi washed up on a beach. In many
ways, it became a touchstone issue for the 2015 federal election, with the
Trudeau Liberals promising to welcome tens of thousands of Syrian refugees. <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/welcome-syrian-refugees.html"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Operation Syrian Refugees</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> helped resettle
25,000 asylum seekers in the space of 100 days, and while the bulk of this work
was undertaken by hard-working community members and civil society
organizations, it did represent a perfect example of how humanitarian action
can be enacted when the political will is there to see it through.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Last December, Justin Trudeau looked
back on that initiative by </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2020/12/10/statement-prime-minister-fifth-anniversary-operation-syrian-refugees"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">recalling</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> how “we opened
our arms and our hearts to people and families fleeing conflict, insecurity,
and persecution.” Trudeau called on Canada and its international partners to
“find ways to continue to protect refugees fleeing war or violence.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>While Trudeau’s sentiment is a
welcome one, it needs to find life in creative solutions to overcoming the
barriers faced by those fleeing such war and violence. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One such person who
desperately needs to join his family in Canada is 17-year old Yazan Al-Ali.
This Syrian boy is afraid to turn 18, because that’s when the murderous Assad
regime will come to claim him for its blood-stained military. His refusal to be
forcibly conscripted into an atrocities-tainted army will <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">mark him for jail, torture
or death.</span></strong> With most of his <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">family in Canada</span></strong> –including a
father who is awaiting adjudication of his own refugee claim – he needs an
urgent Temporary Resident Permit to escape a regime condemned by Canada for its
</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://canadianinquirer.net/2021/03/05/minister-of-foreign-affairs-takes-action-on-syrias-human-rights-violations/"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“brutal and shocking attacks
on its own people.” </span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US">Yazan is all
alone right now, hiding in Syria, as his step-mother passed away in October,
2021. His older brothers all escaped and sought asylum because they too refused
to be part of the brutal Assad military. Syrian military intelligence are
searching for Yazan’s father, both because he helped his other sons escape the
military and because he has claimed refugee status in Canada, an act viewed by
the Syrian regime as treasonous.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US">As a result,
Yazan’s family name is red-flagged by the regime, and there is great risk of
17-year-old Yazan being <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">targeted as a means of punishing those who have left.</span></strong><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>As a young man on his own, Yazan is
also at much greater <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">risk of sexual violence</span></strong> by Syrian government forces. (In
March 2018, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian
Arab Republic (the Syria COI) published a <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/SyriaReport.aspx">report</a>
with detailed evidence on sexual violence against men and boys in Syria.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Lives Like Death</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><strong><span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Yazan’s step-siblings and
extended family live a very successful life in Canada. </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">They have the resources to welcome, support and resettle Yazan when
he receives the required permission to enter Canada. But Minister for
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Minister Sean Fraser must
act quickly, as <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Yazan turns 18 in less than six weeks.</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><strong><span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Despite the recent </span></strong><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57277336">window-dressing
elections</a><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">
of Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad, conditions have not improved whatsoever for
the majority of the population. I</span></strong>n October 2021 Human Rights
Watch published a stomach-turning report, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/10/20/our-lives-are-death/syrian-refugee-returns-lebanon-and-jordan">Our
Lives are Like Death</a>, which detailed the horrific mistreatment of refugees
who voluntarily returned to Syria from Lebanon and Jordan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The report notes that conditions in host
countries have become so severe that growing numbers are willing to try a
return to Syria, despite their fears of what awaits them. Human Rights Watch
found “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that
returnees face many of the same violations that caused their flight from Syria.
These include persecution and abuses, such as arbitrary arrests, unlawful
detention, torture, extra-judicial killings, kidnappings, and widespread
bribery and extortion, at the hands of the Syrian security agencies and
government-affiliated militias.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On December 10 (which is also
International Human Rights Day), Trudeau will no doubt issue a
self-congratulatory message marking the 6<sup>th</sup> anniversary of Operation
Syrian Refugees. His government can actually provide some meaning to those fine
words by committing to opening the door to far more refugees from Syria and
other countries as well. A good start on the path would be granting Yazan
Al-Ali a temporary resident permit to allow him to come to Canada for his own
protection. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span lang="EN-US">(The story appears on rabble.ca the week of November 29, 2021)</span> </span><span lang="EN-US"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-84369366188604797142021-10-25T09:44:00.000-07:002021-10-25T09:44:09.813-07:00How Canadian Taxpayers Helped Murder an Afghan Family<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z6x6KvXQSls/YXbeMGB1zAI/AAAAAAAAA5c/mw_KUonAQT0E4RQou_eGEcUZg1DOiV4oACLcBGAsYHQ/s780/48194403-10012765-image-a-6_1632226046388.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="634" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z6x6KvXQSls/YXbeMGB1zAI/AAAAAAAAA5c/mw_KUonAQT0E4RQou_eGEcUZg1DOiV4oACLcBGAsYHQ/w520-h640/48194403-10012765-image-a-6_1632226046388.webp" width="520" /></a></div><br /> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Long-forgotten amid the chaotic
airlifts out of the Kabul airport in late August of this year is an incident in
which Canadian taxpayers contributed to the murder of 10 members of an Afghan
family, seven of them children.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Zemari Ahmadi, who worked
for the US Aid organization Nutrition and Education International and had
applied for refugee resettlement in the US, was the target of the lethal August
29 MQ-9 Reaper “hunter-killer” drone </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/21/us/politics/drone-strike-kabul.html"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">attack</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">.
The surveillance and targeting drone cameras that had been used to follow his
every move that deadly day are made by L-3 Wescam, a Canadian-subsidized war manufacturer
about to expand from its long-time Burlington, Ontario facility to a 330,000
square foot location in nearby Waterdown.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Initially </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-drone-strike-mistake-civilians-killed-pentagon/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">described</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> by
Joint Chief Chairman General Mark Milley as a “righteous strike,” the Pentagon </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/29/asia/afghanistan-kabul-evacuation-intl/index.html"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">claimed</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
its Hellfire missile attack on a residential street was justified because of an
alleged “imminent threat” to evacuation operations, even though the airport was
3 km away. Those killed were Mr. Ahmadi and three of his children (Zamir, 20,
Faisal, 16, and Farzad, 10); Mr. Ahmadi’s cousin Naser, 30; three of Romal’s
children (Arwin, 7, Benyamin, 6, and Hayat, 2); and two 3-year-old girls,
Malika and Somaya.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Most of those
killed were completely “</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/10/world/asia/us-air-strike-drone-kabul-afghanistan-isis.html"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">shredded</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">,”
leaving behind only “fragments of human remains.” We only know this because,
unlike most drone strikes – which tend to take place in rural areas where
fact checking Pentagon claims about the victims’ identities can prove difficult
– this one occurred in a densely populated Kabul neighbourhood.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>While the U.S.
military continued to spin its baseless justification for the attack based on
so-called evidence of terrorist threats, a </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">New York Times</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/10/world/asia/us-air-strike-drone-kabul-afghanistan-isis.html"><span style="color: windowtext;">investigation</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> countered Pentagon claims that the driving and behaviour of Mr.
Ahmadi were suspicious, noting “the evidence suggests that his travels that day
actually involved transporting colleagues to and from work. And an analysis of
video feeds showed that what the military may have seen was Mr. Ahmadi and a
colleague loading canisters of water into his trunk to bring home to his
family.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The Hunter-Killer Drone</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">MQ-9 Reaper (using the Canadian-produced </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.defenseworld.net/news/26465/MQ_9_Predator_Drone_Gets_Long_Distance_Targeting_Payload#.YXX38nkpASc"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wescam MX-20
Electro-optical/Infrared (EO/IR) tracking and targeting system</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">) allowed
the hunter-killer drone operators maneuvering joysticks from remote bases in
the U.S. to track Mr. Ahmadi’s vehicle as it drove around Kabul. The Americans
claimed that he had stopped at an ISIS safe house, but their own footage revealed
that in fact, it was where he worked, the long-established office of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nutrition and Education International. The Pentagon
says it decided to strike because of the “reasonable certainty” that no women,
children or noncombatants would be killed as Ahmadi returned home. Yet
relatives of Mr. Ahmadi said as soon as they saw him pulling into his driveway,
family members came out to welcome him home. They would have been seen clearly by
the drone operators via the Wescam system, but the order to fire went ahead
regardless. Because of a deadly airport attack the previous week, Joe Biden
reverted to the old stand-by of flexing muscles, no matter the civilian cost,
and the apparent “America won’t be pushed around” counter-action was to fire
first and respond to questions later. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Half a world away in the Golden
Horseshoe area that Wescam has long called home, it is unlikely that company
executives gave a second thought to the fact that their products had once again
proven their efficacy in bloodshed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For 20
years, protesters have gathered at the entrance to Wescam, setting up
graveyards with the names of hundreds of drone strike victims, illustrating in
vivid detail their parent company’s connections to torture, and ending up being
hauled off in handcuffs for trying to conduct citizens’ weapons inspections of
the facility.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">For two decades, drone
strikes have been the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>face of
long-distance, “over the horizon” warfare waged by soldiers who go to work at
video terminals, push buttons to fire Hellfire missiles as effortlessly as making
a move on Playstation, and return home in time for dinner and taking the kids
to soccer practice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Awash in Federal Funds</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Wescam prides itself on
being a world leader in drone technology, and Ottawa is only too pleased to keep
them awash in federal tax dollars. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In
2015, Wescam received a </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/ic/pdgc/prjctDtls.do?lang=eng&yr=2014&qrtr=4&po=27259"><span style="color: windowtext;">$75 million</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> “repayable contribution” (they call it a contribution because
it’s almost never repaid) to continue supplying technology used not only in
overseas war zones, but also by domestic police forces and border agents. Indeed,
there is no clearer Canadian example of a company that profits from the
intersectionality of state violence than Wescam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, their systems are used by border
agents to prevent migrants from gaining asylum, by </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/33756/customs-and-border-protection-predator-b-drone-appears-over-minneapolis-protests"><span style="color: windowtext;">police</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> to terrorize the racialized communities they occupy, by
militaries as a low-cost kill-chain alternative, and by </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-hamilton-spectator/20190708/281612421963019"><span style="color: windowtext;">Hollywood movies</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> that celebrate this violence. As then </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">federal Industry minister
James Moore </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/manufacturing/burlington-ont-defence-firm-l3-wescam-gets-75m-federal-loan-146465/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">said</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> in
distributing the cash, “WESCAM surveillance and targeting technology has been
used to help police forces conduct manhunts and track marijuana grow ops here
in Canada. Abroad, Canadian armed forces have used similar aerial systems
during Canada’s 10-year mission in Afghanistan to capture high-value targets.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Among numerous
other contracts, in July 2020, the blood-stained Crown entity Canadian
Commercial Corporation </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200722005473/en/L3Harris-Technologies-Awarded-380-Million-IDIQ-Contract-for-WESCAM-MX%E2%84%A2-Series-Products-and-Support"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">announced</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> a
$380-million contract to supply an “indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity”
of the MX-Series of Wescam’s surveillance and targeting products for the U.S.
army.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Wescam is also a proud
supporter of the brutal Saudi regime, </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/idex-2019-saudi-defence-firm-sami-and-l3-to-collaborate-on-projects-1.827135"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">announcing</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> a
deal in 2019 where “we can significantly broaden our support for Saudi
government and military forces.” Part of that arranged entailed the </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.militarysystems-tech.com/articles/l3-wescam-open-authorized-service-center-saudi-arabia"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">opening</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> of
a maintenance centre by L-3 Wescam in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The CEO of
Taqnia Defense and Security Technology Co., enthused: “<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">We look forward to maintaining L3
WESCAM’s portfolio of products while providing exceptional service to its
regional customers.” Wescam <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>technology
has been used as part of the unending war crimes campaign led by the Saudis
against the people of Yemen, as </span></strong></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://twitter.com/anthonyfenton/status/1191777990557831168"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">documented</span></a></span><strong><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> by the likes of
researcher Antony Fenton. </span></strong><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Canada is now
considering a new, $5 billion </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/05/06/canada-to-acquire-armed-drones/"><span style="color: windowtext;">purchase</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> of armed drones. There is little doubt that this will be a slam
dunk for Wescam to receive the contract. That inside knowledge is perhaps why they
have busy preparing a 330,000 square foot factory just north of Hamilton. But
even if they failed to win the Ottawa tender, they should have no trouble
keeping a positive balance sheet, with their products being exported to over </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.l3harris.com/newsroom/press-release/2020/07/l3harris-technologies-completes-delivery-its-5000th-wescam-mxtm"><span style="color: windowtext;">80 countries</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Wescam’s Overseas War Crimes</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Among
the recipients of Wescam’s hunter-killer technology is Turkey, which in
September 2020 was the focus of a Project Ploughshares report that found that the
Turkish military supplied by the Burlington company “has committed serious
breaches of international humanitarian law and other violations, particularly
when conducting airstrikes.” Turkey has also exported its purchased Wescam
technology to armed groups in Libya, “a blatant breach of the nearly decade-old
UN arms embargo.” These exports also violate the Canadian government’s own Arms
Trade Treaty obligations.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ploughshares’ research also revealed that Wescam maintains an
authorized service centre for the Turkish weapons company Baykar. Turkey is the
third-biggest recipient of Canadian weapons exports (valued at over $152
million). After having <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>temporarily <span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/www\.cbc\.ca\/news\/politics\/canada-turkey-arms-sales-suspended-1\.5322049\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman";">suspended</span></span></span>
weapons sales to Turkey in October 2019 after that country’s latest invasion of
Syria, Canada announced an extension of the embargo in spring 2020.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Turkish strongman Recep Erdogan was furious, and confronted
Trudeau about it. Erdogan was especially peeved, since at that time Trudeau had
lifted a pause on weapons exports to war crimes being produced by the Saudi
regime in Yemen. <span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/www\.middleeasteye\.net\/news\/canada-turkey-arms-embargo-extension-no-one-knows-why\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman";">According</span></span></span>
to one Turkish official, Trudeau “said they would take some steps to alleviate
Turkish concerns regarding the exports; that they would review everything case
by case.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Middle East Eye</span></em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/canada-turkey-arms-embargo-extension-no-one-knows-why"><span style="color: windowtext;">reported</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, “Turkey was giving utmost importance to the import of the optics
and surveillance systems from the Canadian firm Wescam for its military
drones.” It did not take long for Global Affairs Canada to <span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/www\.middleeasteye\.net\/news\/canada-turkey-drone-optics-sale-arms-embargo\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman";">grant
an exemption</span></span></span> for Wescam to continue those weapons exports
a month later.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Turkey was apparently worried that its capacity to wage drone
warfare would be limited, given battlefield losses in Syria and Libya. That
resumption of weapons sales came just as the group Genocide Watch <span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/www\.genocidewatch\.com\/single-post\/2020\/06\/08\/Turkey-is-committing-war-crimes-and-crimes-against-humanity-in-Syria\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman";">openly
questioned</span></span></span> why Turkey was not before the International
Criminal Court for war crimes committed during its multiple incursions into
Syria. They noted that:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 35.45pt; margin-right: 49.25pt; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In areas
under Turkey’s control, civilians have been subjected to horrific crimes
against humanity committed by Turkish forces and Turkish supported militias.
Kurdish towns have been bombed and destroyed, some with white phosphorus, a war
crime. Hundreds of civilians have been summarily executed. Kurdish and Yazidi
women have been kidnapped and subjected to sexual slavery. Secret prisons hold
hundreds of Kurds who are routinely tortured.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 35.45pt; margin-right: 49.25pt; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">During those incursions, schools and
hospitals were bombed, as were civilian convoys fleeing the violence, and
nearly 180,000 Kurds were <span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/news\.un\.org\/en\/story\/2019\/10\/1049761\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman";">forcibly
displaced</span></span></span> in an act that even U.S. officials <span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022https\:\/\/www\.nytimes\.com\/2019\/11\/07\/world\/middleeast\/us-envoy-william-roebuck-syria\.html\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman";">named</span></span></span>
as an act of “ethnic cleansing.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Similar genocidal attacks against Kurds have
been launched by Turkey in northern Iraq, with Ploughshares pointing out, “In
2018, Turkey began the practice of targeted killings in Iraq, becoming only the
second country in the region, after Israel, to undertake extraterritorial
targeted killings.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When one senior Kurdish leader was
assassinated by a Turkish drone in Iraq, footage of the attack was </span><a href="https://ploughshares.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/TurkeyWESCAMReportSept.2020.pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">proudly shared</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
on Wescam’s own website, though it was erased after the Canadian window
dressing embargo in spring 2020. Wescam’s MX-GCS EO/IR imaging system has also
reportedly <span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/www\.wescam\.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/L3-Wescam-Special-Report2_10-7-18_Web_Print\.pdf\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman";">been
integrated</span></span></span> into the Belgian-made Cockerill turret of the Turkish
FNSS Kaplan armoured fighting vehicle.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Meanwhile in Libya, where battling forces
have all committed <span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022https\:\/\/www\.hrw\.org\/world-report\/2019\/country-chapters\/libya\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman";">war
crimes</span></span></span>, Turkey is exporting its own drone technology with
Wescam targeting systems, in violation of a decade-old UN arms embargo.
Ploughshares </span><a href="https://ploughshares.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/TurkeyWESCAMReportSept.2020.pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shared</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
pictures of downed drones that had been built with Wescam targeting
cameras.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Constantly
Overhead the Kurds</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Turkey also employs Wescam drone technology
in ongoing domestic repression and murder by drone against Kurdish people,
including <span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/thebulletin\.org\/2019\/12\/turkeys-military-drones-an-export-product-thats-disrupting-nato\.\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman";">reports</span></span></span> in
December 2019 that Turkish drones “participated in airstrikes against
Kurdish organizations in at least 11 provinces in southeast Turkey.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The Intercept</span></em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> <span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022https\:\/\/theintercept\.com\/2019\/05\/14\/turkey-second-drone-age\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman";">noted</span></span></span>
last year as well that Turkish drones (which, notably, rely on Wescam
technology) are a “near constant presence in the skies in the country’s
southeast. Nearly every day, a Turkish drone, usually a TB2, either fires on a
target or provides the location of a target that is subsequently bombed by an
F-16 or attack helicopter.” Hundreds of people have been killed in these
strikes.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In 2019, Amnesty International <span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022https\:\/\/www\.amnesty\.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2019\/10\/syria-damning-evidence-of-war-crimes-and-other-violations-by-turkish-forces-and-their-allies\/\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman";">reported</span></span></span>
that Turkish operations demonstrate “an utterly callous disregard for civilian
lives, launching unlawful deadly attacks in residential areas that have killed
and injured civilians.” Ploughshares </span><a href="https://ploughshares.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/TurkeyWESCAMReportSept.2020.pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">concludes</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
that “there is a clear and demonstrable substantial risk that the further
export of Wescam sensors to Turkey could cause harm to civilians and facilitate
breaches of IHL [International Humanitarian Law].”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">While export permits to Turkey were </span><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2021/04/statement-fromminister-garneauto-announce-the-cancellation-of-export-permits-to-turkey.html"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt;">cancelled</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> in April, 2021, a week later, Global Affairs
produced a stunning </span><a href="https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/controls-controles/reports-rapports/exp-permits-turkey-licences-turquie.aspx?lang=eng"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt;">report</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> that essentially opened the door to the renewal
of the same weapons exports at a time when media and Parliament would not be
alert to such a reversal, with one </span><a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/content/Committee/432/FAAE/WebDoc/WD11171604/11171604/MinisterOfForeignAffairs-e.pdf"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt;">memo</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> advising the Minister: “The approval of the
specific permits mentioned in this memorandum is not expected to garner media
attention, as the process is not public. (...) Parliamentary scrutiny is
expected to be limited given the current COVID-19 crisis.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In a move that would make Orwell squirm, Global
Affairs acknowledged that “</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">credible evidence that certain Canadian
military goods and technology exported to Turkey, namely sensors equipped on
Turkish UAVs, have been used in the conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Libya and
Syria.” Remarkably, Global then declared that “there is no substantial risk
that Canadian military goods and technology exported to Turkey would be used to
undermine peace and security, or to commit or facilitate” human rights
violations and that “there is no reason to take any action in relation to the
remaining permits” for exports to Turkey. Further on, they claim that “there is
no substantial risk that Canadian exports of military goods and technology to
Turkey would undermine peace and security, either nationally or regionally.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Canada: A Pawn for Autocrats</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Lawyers <span class="markedcontent">Anaïs Kadian and Emilie
Béatrice Kokmanian produced a piercing critique of the Global Affairs report, </span></span><a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/432/FAAE/Brief/BR11305184/br-external/KadianAna%C3%AFsEtKokmanianEmilieB%C3%A9atrice-e.pdf?fbclid=IwAR35h5zcEC0_KBMBcKk3Xiovdz-iutKxrMK-CeQgJQf_yPIkbq7EHuf-ekg"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Canada:
Human Rights Champion or Pawn to Autocratic Regimes in the Global Arms Trade</span></a><span class="markedcontent"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">. Their response highlights the
inconsistencies and outright falsehoods peddled by a Global Affairs department which
plays a much stronger role justifying weapons sales than it does in promoting
peaceful diplomacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, the authors
point out that Global Affairs perfidy extends to a “troubling lack of
transparency in the process itself: permit approvals are not public, thus
escaping scrutiny from the media and Canadians.” They conclude that Canada
failed to abide even by its own fairly limited criteria in approving weapons
exports.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="markedcontent"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As Wescam executives relish the
booming business of warfare, drone resisters have blown the whistle on this
insidious process of killing. </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“The truth is that we could
not differentiate between armed fighters and farmers, women, or children, ”
Lisa Ling, a former drone technician with the US military, </span><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/10/07/1036456/opinion-afghanistan-drone-strike-warfare-failed/"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">told</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> <em><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Emran Feroz, an independent journalist, and the founder of </span></em></span><a href="https://www.dronememorial.com"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Drone Memorial</span></a><em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, a
virtual memorial for civilian drone strike victims.</span></em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
“This kind of warfare is wrong on so many levels.” </span></p>
<h2 style="margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Former intelligence analyst
Daniel Hale was </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/07/27/daniel-hale-drone-leak-sentencing/"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">condemned</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> last July to 45
months in the penitentiary for leaking documents that illustrated the global
network of drone warfare links and high rate of civilian casualties. He informed
the court at his sentencing, ““I am here because I stole something that was
never mine to take — precious human life. I couldn’t keep living in a world in
which people pretend that things weren’t happening that were. Please, your
honor, forgive me for taking papers instead of human lives.”</span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>While
thousands have been killed by drone warfare, their lives have been easily dismissed
because, as Hale told the court, the U.S. military labels everyone killed in
drone attacks – among them, some 2,200 children – as “enemies killed in action”
unless proven otherwise, just as Mr. Ahmadi’s family in Kabul were listed until
reporters uncovered the truth. “With drone warfare,
sometimes nine out of 10 people killed are innocent,” Hale said. “You
have to kill part of your conscience to do your job.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Rarely
addressed in such discussions is the fact that, even if the target is allegedly
guilty of some offence or another, killing them in the absence of a fair, open,
transparent trial is the gravest violation of due process. Drone warfare has
conveniently removed the judicial process, through which embarrassing details
about our own criminality could be brought to light. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
returns the spotlight to the provider of these hunter-killer weapons systems –
Wescam – and its government promoter, Global Affairs Canada. These are not
inaccessible organizations hiding away on remote islands producing illicit
goods. They are located in very visible buildings and seen by thousands of
travelers every day who drive by, perhaps never thinking about what goes on
behind their doors. Their work is made possible by our tax dollars. Their work
can be easily interfered with and shut down when we act on our conscience. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When Daniel Hale released his trove of documents illustrating the
extent of drone warfare criminality, New York magazine asked, “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Why
did no one seem to care?” In light of the relative silence of the Canadian
government and people following the murder of an Afghan family in Kabul in
which we are all complicit, we should be asking ourselves the same question. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This piece by Matthew Behrens appears on rabble.ca the week of October 25, 2021 <br /></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-34338046721555660442021-08-26T09:14:00.007-07:002021-08-26T13:24:55.333-07:00The Secrets They Keep: Why Canada Fears Afghan Interpreters<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X4StXNL6KQc/YSe9rO6M_zI/AAAAAAAAA44/t2SVyrfAYyg-JgaiNVcXZjObfQ_5L2yHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1365/Afghan%2Btorture%2BCanada%2BGlobe%2Band%2BMail.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X4StXNL6KQc/YSe9rO6M_zI/AAAAAAAAA44/t2SVyrfAYyg-JgaiNVcXZjObfQ_5L2yHgCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/Afghan%2Btorture%2BCanada%2BGlobe%2Band%2BMail.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">When the first planeload of former
Afghan interpreters disembarked at Toronto’s airport the evening of August 4,
they were greeted by a number of Trudeau cabinet ministers. Conspicuously
absent from the welcome party was War Minister Harjit Sajjan. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Sajjan’s absence was telling for
a government so focused on photo-ops celebrating its alleged benefaction. During
the following weeks, as thousands more have desperately sought refugee flights
to Canada, there are quiet whispers that could point to why Sajjan was, and
remains, far away from the cameras with each new arrival. Those whispers could
be crystallized in two words. “Everybody knew.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">What does everyone know? Afghan
refugees in Canada are not likely to go on record at this time, but a number
have shared with me what is common knowledge both in their diasporic communities
and back home. In essence, among the individuals Canada is bringing here
– those who worked so closely with Canadian Forces during the occupation
of that country – there will be interpreters, fixers, drivers, liaisons, and
others who were “in the room” or knew what was going on there when Canadians
were knowingly transferring farmers, shopkeepers, teachers, and countless other
Afghan civilians into the hands of torturers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Of course, Canada does have a
responsibility to evacuate as many of its former Afghan contractors and their
families as possible. These are individuals who were placed in an impossible
situation: to feed their families, they took on relatively well-paying,
high-risk <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gigs facilitating the work of
a brutal NATO occupation force which killed, tortured, and injured hundreds of
thousands of people. While many Canadian veterans have led a valiant </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/canadian-vets-take-action-as-feds-won-t-give-timeline-on-extracting-afghan-interpreters-1.5515661"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">struggle</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> for well over a decade to help get these
individuals and their families out, that campaign does not appear to have received
one iota of support from the generals, other military brass and politicians who
have a vested interest in keeping out potential witnesses to Canadian war crimes
in Afghanistan. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">It has been heartbreaking watching
the crush at the Kabul airport. But few seem to recall that this last-minute
dash – as the Taliban attempt to take control of Afghanistan – could have been
prevented if there had been a serious commitment to the lives of those in
Afghanistan who enabled the Canadian military occupation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Canada Never Cared</span></b></p>
<p class="text-block-container" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">In 2009, then Immigration Minister Jason Kennney </span><a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/afghan-interpreters-have-high-hopes-for-relocation-plan-1.436244"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">announced</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> with much fanfare a program to
accept interpreters on a fast-track, yet two years later, the Canadian
Press<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/09/11/canada_turns_away_most_afghan_interpreters_seeking_refuge.html"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">reported</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> that over two thirds of Afghans
who worked with the Canadan military in Kandahar had been turned away. “</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Working as an interpreter for
NATO forces in southern Afghanistan was akin to having a Taliban bull’s-eye on
your back,” the report noted. “Stories of night letters, threatening phone
calls, abductions and even hangings were part of the job. As interpreters also
travelled with soldiers and diplomats, at least six were among those killed
during the IED strikes that claimed 161 Canadian lives.”</span></p>
<p class="text-block-container" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Then
as now, the rules of the immigration program were hopelessly labyrinthine. For
example, one could only qualify to come here if they served a consecutive 12
months, but if that period started before the arbitrary marker of 2007, they
were deemed ineligible, even though they would have been among the first to
step up and assist Canadian soldiers.</span></p>
<p class="text-block-container" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The racist contempt the federal
government has shown to its former Afghan contractors (who notably were forced
to use </span><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/natos-potty-rules-shut-out-afghans/article17994076/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">segregated
washrooms</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> in a scene out of 1940s Alabama)
is similar to the disrespect Ottawa regularly shows the veterans who have been
lobbying so long on their behalf. These soldiers know first-hand the dangers
faced by those left behind. It’s not a new risk at all, but rather one that has
always existed, because the Taliban and other forces opposed to the occupation
never went away. To call out Ottawa’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>failure to act much sooner as criminal
negligence is an understatement.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="text-block-container" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Canadians with tender ears don’t want to hear this at a
time when we want applause as the rescuers of those who were complicit in our
dirty work. But it is part of a lengthy record that is limited in disclosure by
those with the most to lose.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">When the issue of Canadian
transfer of detainees to torture was major headline news 15 years ago, former
translator Ahmadshah Malgarai, a cultural and language advisor with secret
clearance and commendations to his name, bravely </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/40-3/AFGH/meeting-5/evidence"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">told</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Special Committee on the Canadian
Mission in Afghanistan in April, 2010</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">: “There was no one in the Canadian military
with a uniform who was involved in any way, at any level, with the detainee
transfers <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">who did not know what was going
on</i> and what the NDS [Afghanistan’s tortured-tainted National Directorate of
Security] does to their detainees.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By extension, that would have to include the
other translators, fixers, and liaisons. Critically, it would also include
Minister Sajjan, his predecessors, and the military decision makers in Ottawa. In
fact, it was this group of military brass and political operatives who intended
that certain Afghans be tortured in order to gather “intelligence,” as
University of Ottawa professor and lawyer Amir Attaran (who played a front-line
role in exposing such crimes in the 2000s) pointed out in 2010. In the battle
to secure unredacted documents related to the transfer of detainees to torture,
Attaran </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-wanted-afghan-prisoners-tortured-lawyer-1.937169"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">told</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> CBC, “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If these
documents were released [in full], what they will show is that Canada partnered
deliberately with the torturers in Afghanistan for the interrogation of
detainees. There would be a question of rendition and a question of war crimes
on the part of certain Canadian officials. That's what's in these documents,
and that's why the government is covering up as hard as it can."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Canada In Factual Cleansing Mode</b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As Canada closes its embassy in Kabul, there
is no doubt a great deal of paper shredding going on. At home, <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">the government is in full factual
cleansing mode, using the dramatic evacuations as a starting point for
completely rewriting the deadly and illegal Canadian occupation as a feel-good,
well-intentioned, noble narrative about feminism and peaceful development that
attempts to paper over the geopolitical violence that undergirded the original
decision to invade.</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Indeed, the mission
itself was part of a larger, brutal purpose, in which the lives of the Afghan
people were mere "collateral damage" in big power games, and the
lives of the on-the-ground soldiers were </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4463518/veterans-with-ptsd-denied-service-dogs-despite-positive-study/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">equally expendable</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> in
the eyes of the generals and political leaders. It is those on-the-ground
soldiers, and not the generals, who have had the dignity and honour to </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/07/20/canadian-military-vets-are-using-their-own-money-to-rescue-afghan-interpreters-as-pleas-for-help-from-ottawa-continue.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">be paying out of pocket</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> in
an effort to speed the evacuations of their former contractors. Notably, s</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">uch
veterans, who have spent years advocating for the contractors’ transfer out of
Afghanistan, have </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8082730/singh-afghan-interpreters-families/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">complained</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> of being locked out of the process, despite
having gathered folders filled with critical information needed to help
identify and protect those most at risk. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Meanwhile as each
planeload lands in Canada, Sajjan, among others, is no doubt up nights
wondering who among them might be called as a witness in a war crimes inquiry. At
the end of 2017, law professor and former MP Craig Scott submitted a war crimes
</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/afghan-detainees-icc-1.4418269"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">brief</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> to
the International Criminal Court (ICC), in which there is ample documentation
that Canadian political and military officials “may have aided, abetted or
otherwise assisted the commission of war crimes or crimes against humanity.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Scott argued that an
ICC inquiry would open up space for whistleblowers in the Canadian government,
noting, “I am quite confident there are multiple persons across various
departments in the Canadian federal civil service who know much but who are
wary of coming forward until there is a credible investigative process that
stands a chance of not being stymied in the way of every other process in
Canada regarding detainees to date – and thus would be more likely to come
forward to investigators within an ICC process they perceive as serious.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Scott’s meticulous
brief documents “off the books” detainee transfers as well as a perfidious
pattern of deceit at the highest levels of the Canadian military. Notably,
Scott, among the most well-versed on this subject, points out that “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">a lack of concern for the well-being of
transferees need not have been – and likely usually was not – shared by the
ground-level soldiers and military police who carried out the actual handovers.
There is good reason to believe that many of those under orders from superiors
to transfer did worry for the fate of transferees given rumours they had heard
about treatment of prisoners in custody … even as they did not generally have
access to the firm evidence that would prove such rumours (as would key command-level
officials) and even as they may well have assumed that Canada had set up
effective monitoring so that at least Canadian transferees were less likely to
be abused.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Scott confirms the comments of Amir Attaran from 2010, pointing
out that “there are reasonable grounds to suspect that certain Canadian
officials ran a system of sending people to the real risk of torture despite
knowing (or having the legally requisite basis to know) of the real risk of
torture.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Someone was in the Room</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In 2007, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Globe and Mail</i>
famously </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/from-canadian-custody-into-cruel-hands/article585956/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">reported</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> on
the fate of many detainees, such as <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a
33-year-old farmer whose teeth were knocked out by Afghan interrogators. In a
legal brief prepared by Amnesty International and the BC Civil Liberties
Association, they noted that this farmer “claimed that Canadians visited him
between beatings, heard his screams, and urged him to provide his Afghan
captors with intelligence.” Given that a rural Afghan farmer was unlikely to be
fluent in English or French, a Canadian-contracted interpreter must have been
on-site to translate for the now bloodied detainee. The translator(s) –
wherever they might be – could now be called as witnesses at a war crimes
inquiry. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Meanwhile, in a </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/itemsDocuments/200305-afghanistan-q_a-ENG.pdf"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">move</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> that may
have had many quaking in their boots, in March 2020, the ICC unanimously
authorized </span><span class="markedcontent"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“the Prosecutor to commence an investigation
into alleged crimes under the jurisdiction of the Court in relation to the
situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.” While there has yet to be
further news on this front, the fact that the door remains open provides hope
for some measure of the accountability so many Canadian officials hope to
avoid.</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Among those with the most to lose here would be Sajjan</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">,
whose 2015</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">
appointment as war minister was at the time widely celebrated. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Foreign Policy</i> </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/05/canadas-new-defense-minister-made-his-own-gas-mask-to-work-with-his-sikh-beard/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">gushed</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">,</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> “Canada’s New Defense Minister Made His Own Gas Mask to
Work With His Beard,” while the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">National</i>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Observer</i> </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/11/04/opinion/you-have-no-idea-how-badass-trudeaus-defence-minister-really"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">enthused</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">: “You don't know how badass Trudeau’s
Defence Minister really is.” </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Sajjan was </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/11/06/harjit-sajjan-defence-min_0_n_8486412.html"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">hailed</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> as “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">some
kind of next-level Spy vs Spy war hero” who had done three tours in Afghanistan
and was praised by his superiors as “the best single Canadian intelligence
asset in [the Afghan war] theater.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Despite all the celebratory news
pieces, Sajjan’s appointment by Trudeau may have unintentionally opened a
Pandora’s box that former PM Stephen Harper thought was sealed shut when he
prorogued Parliament in 2009 to avoid stinging questions about Canadian
complicity in the torture of Afghan detainees. Indeed, Sajjan’s overseas tours
as a key Canadian asset and liaison with torture-tainted Afghan authorities
dovetailed with an era when significant human rights concerns had been quietly
raised by Canada’s foreign affairs representatives. This included a 2005
Canadian </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2015/09/Torture_of_Afghan_Detainees.pdf"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">report</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> that noted
Afghanistan’s “military, intelligence and police forces have been involved in
arbitrary arrests, kidnapping, extortion, torture and extrajudicial killing of
criminal suspects.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">In 2006, as Harper’s Conservatives took over
direction of a war begun by the Liberals, Graeme Smith’s remarkable <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Globe and Mail</i> investigative reporting –
along with the courageous statements of Canadian whistleblower Richard Colvin,
a diplomat in Afghanistan – brought to light a side of the Afghanistan
occupation that most Canadians could not square with their traditional
perceptions of the military. Terms like “war crimes” were openly used to
describe Canadian transfers of detainees to the torture-stained Afghan National
Directorate of Security (NDS), and the Harper government faced potential
contempt of Parliament proceedings over its refusal to release thousands of
documents related to the scandal.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Torture Was Standard Operating Procedure</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Colvin, who had served 17 months on
the ground in Afghanistan, had </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://contrarian.ca/2009/11/19/colvin-torture-testimony-the-full-transcript/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">testified</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> in 2008 that Afghans
transferred from Canadian Forces to the NDS commonly faced “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">beating, whipping with power cables, and the use of electricity. Also
common was sleep deprivation, use of temperature extremes, use of knives and
open flames, and sexual abuse—that is, rape. Torture might be limited to the
first days or it could go on for months. According to our information, the
likelihood is that all the Afghans we handed over were tortured. For
interrogators in Kandahar, it was standard operating procedure.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Colvin pointed out that
many detainees had nothing to do with the Taliban: “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">many were
just local people: farmers, truck drivers, tailors, peasants, random human
beings in the wrong place at the wrong time, young men in their fields and
villages who were completely innocent but were nevertheless rounded up. In
other words, we detained and handed over for severe torture a lot of innocent
people.”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">While ongoing inquiries into the
detainee scandal and the role of key Canadian decision makers were effectively
shut down with the 2011 election of a Harper majority, the issue was raised
again in the fall of 2015 a week before the Trudeau team officially took charge
in Ottawa. But amidst what seemed the national lifting of a grim mood following
a nasty election (in which Harper’s team had questioned the loyalty of
niqab-wearing Muslims and proposed a Barbaric Cultural Practices Hotline),
little attention was paid to the Military Police Complaints Commission
announcement that it would investigate a new case in which Canadian soldiers
allegedly abused and “terrorized” Afghan detainees at their Kandahar base. That
same week, researcher Omar Sabry and the Rideau Institute think tank released a
new report calling for a “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">transparent
and impartial judicial Commission of Inquiry into the actions of Canadian
officials, including Ministers of the Crown, relating to Afghan detainees.” </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But who would decide whether to
proceed with such an inquiry? It seemed that Sajjan, Canada’s hip new War Minister,
might have to recuse himself from any role in considering the issue, given he
could be compelled to answer some very difficult questions. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">As a
high-level intelligence officer who appears to have taken an active role in
combat operations, it seemed implausible that Sajjan was not familiar with the
torture rampant throughout the Afghan detention system. Indeed, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">in 2006, Sajjan became the
Canadian “intelligence liaison” to Kandahar governor Asadullah Khalid. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">According to Colvin’s Parliamentary </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://contrarian.ca/2009/11/19/colvin-torture-testimony-the-full-transcript/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">testimony</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">, Khalid “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">was known to us very early on, in May and June 2006, as an unusually bad
actor on human rights issues. He was known to have had a dungeon in Ghazni, his
previous province, where he used to detain people for money, and some of them
disappeared. He was known to be running a narcotics operation. He had a
criminal gang. He had people killed who got in his way. And then in Kandahar we
found out that he had indeed set up a similar dungeon under his guest house. He
acknowledged this. When asked, he had sort of justifications for it, but he was
known to personally torture people in that dungeon.” (Khalid went on to become
Afghanistan’s national intelligence chief). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Torturing
a 90-Year-Old Man</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Sajjan is also </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/afghan-service-puts-defence-minister-sajjan-in-conflict-of-interest-on-detainees-say-lawyers"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">credited</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> with the intelligence gathered for
operations that led to the “kill or capture” of some 1,500 alleged Taliban
members, a military claim that must be measured against the commonplace
reference to any detainees as potential Taliban, as opposed to the broader
categories of detainees translator Malgarai referenced in his </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/40-3/AFGH/meeting-5/evidence"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">testimony</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">: “They went from 10 years old to 90 years
old. With all due respect, I would ask retired General Hillier to tell me and
explain to me how a 90-year-old man.... He was a 90-year-old man. He couldn't
even walk without help. His hands were tied. His foot was shackled. He was
blindfolded. Sometimes, when he couldn't walk fast enough, they pushed him. He
fell many times, and he had injuries on his body. Could he please explain to me
how this 90-year-old man, who couldn't even walk, who needed help when you
tried to pick him up, could be a fighter?” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">As Ottawa celebrated the new
Trudeau government, serious questions were raised but unanswered. Would Sajjan
discuss whether he undertook </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">precautionary
measures to ensure that he was not passing on to his superiors information
gleaned from torture (especially given his liaison role with Governor Khalid
and the widespread and well-known use of torture by the NDS in Afghanistan by
the time of Major Sajjan's first tour of duty in 2006)? Alternatively, was such
information caveated to the effect that its source may have been the fruits of
torture?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Equally compelling, in the small,
circular world of intelligence operations, was information gleaned from NDS
torture of detainees used in the Canadian round-up of individuals who, upon
detention, were transferred to the hands of NDS torturers? Ultimately, given
his likely awareness of torture in Afghanistan, did Sajjan refuse to take part
in any operational activity that may have led to the transfer of detainees to
torture?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When the Harper government closed
the case in 2011, Liberal MP Stéphane Dion<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/afghan-detainee-records-still-hold-questions-mps-say-1.980794"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">told</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> the CBC “t</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">he likelihood is very high” that
Afghan detainees were abused while in the custody, adding, “I don't think
Canadians will accept that it's over.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">But Dion
was silent when, in June 2016, Sajjan rejected public calls for an inquiry
which, by this time, had received the </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://opencanada.org/afghan-detainee-case-unfinished-business/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">support</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> of everyone from former Conservative
Prime Minister Joe Clark and leading Canadian law faculty to former NDP leader
Ed Broadbent and Amnesty International.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Ever since
the 2015 election, Sajjan has seemed to run away from any association with
Afghanistan. In 2017, he was </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/harjit-sajjan-accused-of-downplaying-role-in-afghan-war-in-an-attempt-to-thwart-investigation-by-watch-dog"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">accused</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> of falsely downplaying his role
in the war, as Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson sought to determine why he would
not consent to an inquiry. In a response to Simon, Sajjan beggared belief by
claiming, according to Dawson’s </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/harjit-sajjan-accused-of-downplaying-role-in-afghan-war-in-an-attempt-to-thwart-investigation-by-watch-dog"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">notes</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">, that “[a]</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">t
no time was he involved in the transfer of Afghan detainees, nor did he have
any knowledge relating to the matter.” He may have been the only one in
Afghanistan not to know. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It was a remarkable walk back from the public
record, in which his commanding office, Brigadier General David Fraser,
described him as someone who “singlehandedly changed the face of intelligence
gathering and analysis in Afghanistan.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ultimately, Dawson meekly concluded, based
only on interviewing Sajjan and speaking with no one else, that there were no
grounds for an investigation. On such a weak foundation Sajjan was then able to
reject an inquiry.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Sajjan’s </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sajjan-conflict-detainees-1.3874480"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">dismissive</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> dispatch of the issue shocked many in the
legal community who held out hope that campaign commitments to transparency and
accountability would survive beyond election day. Four years and two elections
later, Sajjan is on the campaign trail once again, trying to burnish his image
as the wise saviour of a people in whose torture he may well be complicit. As
we welcome Afghan refugees and work to save as many as possible from the likely
retaliation they face if left in Afghanistan, the failure of Ottawa to take
care of its former contractors for well over a decade may well warrant an
inquiry in itself. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meanwhile, the manner in which Canadian
complicity in Afghan torture has corroded basic democratic principles and put
thousands of lives at risk continues to reverberate here and around the globe.
As those most responsible for these crimes continue to run away from them, they
rely on exercising the levers of governmental secrecy to protect their paycheques,
pensions, book deals, and the other perks that come with the sick celebration
of militarism that was a mainstay of the Afghan occupation. by Matthew Behrens. An edited version of this story appears in rabble.ca<br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-3129425368678556592021-08-08T11:08:00.000-07:002021-08-08T11:08:32.373-07:00The Soleiman Faqiri Case: End the Consistency of Cruelty in Canadian Jails<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fGdbpWNx53E/YRAdU3UbXDI/AAAAAAAAA4c/dQPLlmzesqEe-CfErm1885curH2Ie1z3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s900/justice-for-soli-vigil-feature.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fGdbpWNx53E/YRAdU3UbXDI/AAAAAAAAA4c/dQPLlmzesqEe-CfErm1885curH2Ie1z3ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/justice-for-soli-vigil-feature.jpg" width="400" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">By Jozef Konyari</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">For over five years, the
tragic death of Soleiman Faqiri in a Canadian prison has received widespread
attention in press coverage, demonstrations, and teach-ins. The case has posed
a challenge to our collective conscience over how we incarcerate people living
with mental illness. With the recent commemoration of </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.un.org/en/events/mandeladay/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nelson Mandela International Day</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">, Faqiri’s case remains on the minds of
many as the latest in a centuries-long list of shame from Canadian prisons.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The consistency of cruelty</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In 1993, the late Canadian
poet, writer, and prison guard, Joel Michael Yates (1938-2019) wrote, “In my
opinion there is not one well-managed correctional institution in North
America. Not one (</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.jmichaelyates.com/linescrew/Line%20Screw%20by%20JMYates%20(Complete).pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">316</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">).” Arguably, Yates’ insight continues to be true
nearly 30 years after he published <i>Line Screw: My Twelve Riotous Years
Working Behind Bars in Some of Canada’s Toughest Jails</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In the mid 19<sup>th</sup>-century,
cruel, inhumane, and degrading punishment was routinely applied to prisoners in
Canada’s notorious Kingston Penitentiary. As documented in Peter H. Hennessy’s
1999 book, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/962343.Canada_s_Big_House"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Canada’s Big House: The Dark History of the Kingston
Penitentiary</span></i></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">,
prisoners that transgressed behind the infamous Warden Henry Smith’s bars would
be subjected to various coldblooded and ruthless punishments such as, “Meals of
Bread and Water,” “The Box,” “The Cats,” and “Confinement to Dark Cell.” In the
case of “The Box,” the Warden’s Report states, transgressors were placed into a
coffin-shaped wooden box, forced to stand for nine hours straight, and often
jabbed with a stick through an air hole. In “The Cats,” the surgeon on duty
would oversee the execution of a brutal whipping that included anywhere between
thirty-six and fifty lashes with lengthy strands of intertwined rawhide while
other prisoners witnessed the pain, cuts, and seeping blood. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">According to the Warden’s
Report, 1847 was a particularly ruthless year with the following applications:
“Meals of Bread and Water” (5,104), “The Box” (759), “The Cats” (58), “Confined
to Dark Cell” (69). Two years later a commission of inquiry conducted by George
Brown suggested that the “official” records were significantly less in
comparison to the actual figures. No matter how many commissions of inquiry are
launched, the undignified and harsh reality of life behind bars can never be
truthfully captured.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">At the intersection of
childhood and mental illness, Warden Smith’s approach was anything but
sympathetic. According to a testimony in the Brown Commission of 1849, which
led to the removal of Warden Smith, children with “disordered” minds should
have received better treatment; however, under Warden Smith’s evil watch
children with “disordered” minds were subjected to “The Cats.” On one account,
a boy between the ages of 12 and 14 years named, Beauche, was punished severely
for making sounds, screaming, and claiming that there was something under his
bed in the middle of the night. Upon the Warden’s arrival, the boy was referred
to as a “scoundrel,” brought out of his cell practically naked and nearly
silenced with a gag. In the end, the young boy was brutally flogged and, once
covered in blood, he was taken back to his cell. According to witness
testimony, the boy was eventually diagnosed as “insane” and transported to the
Lower Canada Lunatic Asylum (as it was referred to).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Surely, much has changed
since the sadistic rule of Warden Smith, right? Perhaps, but in some ways the
situation has become much worse – through the formation of a duplicitous system
that recognizes the notion of human rights but fails to protect them. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Since the days of Warden
Smith’s atrocious rule, countries around the world and international bodies
alike have cultivated numerous standards (e.g., </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cat.aspx"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The United Nations Convention Against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.un.org/en/events/mandeladay/mandela_rules.shtml"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
or Mandela Rules</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">,
and the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.unodc.org/pdf/criminal_justice/Handbook_on_Prisoners_with_Special_Needs.pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">United Nations’ Handbook on Prisoners with Special
Needs</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">) aimed at
protecting those subjected to the inhumanity of prison life. Despite these
developments, the consistency of cruelty persists. As a case in point, consider
the appalling steps that led to the preventable death of Soleiman Faqiri in a
Canadian jail. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jail instead of diversion </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">According to the
Schizophrenia Society of Canada’s 2005 paper, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.schizophrenia.ca/docs/DiversionPositonPaperENG.pdf"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Diversion, Mental Health Courts and Schizophrenia</span></i></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">, “Jails are not the place to treat
individuals with a mental illness.” Unfortunately, this advice is routinely
ignored. But is there an alternative? The answer is a resounding yes and it is
called diversion. In the words of the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.schizophrenia.ca/docs/DiversionPositonPaperENG.pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Schizophrenia Society of Canada</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">, </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Diversion offers the opportunity to treat individuals
effectively while meeting overall societal objectives of protection and
justice. For governments concerned about budgets, treatment in the community is
a more cost-effective option to incarceration or inappropriate interaction with
the judicial system.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Unfortunately, far too many
people with mental illness experience the latter – an appalling social
phenomenon aptly described as the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.schizophrenia.ca/docs/DiversionPositonPaperENG.pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">criminalization of the mentally ill</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">On December 4, 2016, a
30-year-old man with no criminal record and diagnosed with schizophrenia was
apprehended by police in Ajax, Ontario. The man’s name was Soleiman Faqiri.
Soleiman was no stranger to police as he had been taken into custody 10 times
under </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://ontario.cmha.ca/documents/justice-services/"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Ontario’s Mental Health Act</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> and cared for by medical professionals.
Unlike previous encounters with the police, December 4 was considerably
different with respect to legal-medical decisions and outcomes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Upon Soleiman’s apprehension
by police, he was taken to Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ontario
(also referred to as the Lindsay superjail), which was the first wrong step in
a series of moves that led to Soleiman’s death.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.schizophrenia.ca/docs/DiversionPositonPaperENG.pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Schizophrenia Society of Canada</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> clearly states, “Effective diversion
focuses on intervention at the earliest possible opportunity […]” and in
situations where this cannot be achieved, there is a basic requirement for
“Timely and high quality in-prison mental health services access to visiting
psychiatrists and suitably trained mental health workers, nurses and guards;
appropriate treatment environments such as hospital units within the prison and
specialized forensic psychiatric facilities.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Not only did police fail to
implement an effective diversion strategy, Soleiman was taken to one of the
worst prisons in Ontario. As a testament to Central East Correctional Centre’s
dysfunction, the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/Corrections/CommunityAdvisoryBoards/CentralEastCorrectionalCentre/CABReport2015CentralEastCorrectionalCentre.html"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Community Advisory Board’s (CAB) Annual Report of 2015</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> describes mounting concerns linked to
countless lockdowns, staff shortages, ineffective family visiting and support
systems, increasing presence of ceramic knives, drugs and gangs,
inmate-on-inmate assaults, and a lack of mental health training (many of these
concerns resurfaced in the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/Corrections/CommunityAdvisoryBoards/CentralEastCorrectionalCentre/CABReport2016CentralEastCorrectionalCentre.html"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">CAB 2016 Annual Report</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In addition to these
conditions, the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/resources/reports-and-case-summaries/annual-reports/2015-2016-annual-report"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Ontario Ombudsman’s Annual Report of 2015-2016</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">, which was released by Paul Dube, declared
that the Lindsay superjail received 647 complaints ranging from assaults, lack
of medical care, lockdowns, and other issues – that is, the highest number of
complaints linked to a correctional facility next to Toronto South Detention
(455), Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre (394), Central North Correctional
Centre (370), and Maplehurst Correctional Complex (267).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Segregation cell instead
of a hospital bed</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The next unspeakable step
involved placing a vulnerable person like Soleiman in segregation (also
referred to as solitary confinement). It is important to stress that for years
leading up Soleiman’s experience the use of segregation was painstakingly
scrutinized. According to the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General’s 2017
review, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/Corrections/IndependentReviewOntarioCorrections/SegregationOntarioLiteratureReview.html"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Segregation In Ontario</span></i></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">, </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Over the last several years, segregation in
correctional institutions in Ontario has been a matter of growing concern.
Viewed as the most restrictive form of custody available, segregation is known
to have damaging effects on prisoners’ mental health and overall well-being. It
is so damaging, in fact, that it has been reported as ‘cruel and unusual
treatment’ by the United Nations, and can even amount to torture. Concerns have
been raised over the harsh, harmful and deleterious effects of segregation, as
well as its lack of external oversight and accountability.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Two years before the Ministry
of the Solicitor General’s review, Public Services Foundation of Canada
released a 2015 report titled, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/bcgeu/pages/1082/attachments/original/1580230315/Crisis_in_Correctional_Services_April_2015_2_.pdf?1580230315"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Crisis in Correctional Services: Overcrowding and
Inmates with Mental Health Problems in Provincial Correctional Facilities</span></i></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">. The report drew specific attention to the
influx of inmates suffering with mental health issues and the link between
deficient mental health services and increasingly hazardous living and working
conditions for inmates and prison guards. The report also points out that the
system commonly detains people who need treatment, which goes against basic
Canadian human rights and health standards articulated in the Canada Health Act
(CHA). In terms of segregation, the report unequivocally states, </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“There are numerous reports from across the country
where segregation […] is used to isolate and contain inmates with mental health
or addictions issues. But segregation is the worst possible response to the
overwhelming majority of inmates with these problems” (</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/bcgeu/pages/1082/attachments/original/1580230315/Crisis_in_Correctional_Services_April_2015_2_.pdf?1580230315"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">45</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In addition, the report draws
attention to the fact that,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“[…] involvement with a prison system where they
[people with mental illness] often do not receive the treatment and support
they need may result in more severe iterations of their illness. Behind bars,
they are often targets of violence and abuse. Given the tension and multiple
potential triggers posed by prison, these inmates can also present a threat to
other inmates and workers in the system” (</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/bcgeu/pages/1082/attachments/original/1580230315/Crisis_in_Correctional_Services_April_2015_2_.pdf?1580230315"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">46</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Public Services
Foundation of Canada was clear with their assessment and warning that, </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“We must stop using our police and jails as the
default treatment option for people with mental illnesses. Our governments must
act swiftly to address the serious deficiencies in the delivery of mental
health services to ensure these vulnerable Canadians get the treatment and
support they need on the outside, rather than being warehoused in correctional
facilities” (</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/bcgeu/pages/1082/attachments/original/1580230315/Crisis_in_Correctional_Services_April_2015_2_.pdf?1580230315"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">46</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Unfortunately, our
governments did not act quickly enough to prioritize these issues, which sends
a clear message to Canadians and our global community: <i>People suffering with
mental illness in Canadian prisons system are undeserving of basic human rights
and dignity</i>. What type of a society would deprive its most vulnerable
members of such basic rights and services? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As far back as 2012, a report
conducted by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) titled, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/MHStrategy_Strategy_ENG_0_1.pdf"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Changing Directions Changing Lives, Mental Health
Strategy for Canada</span></i></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">, points out that Canada’s 2010 ratification of the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-2.html"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
(CRPD) created an opportunity to articulate and put into practice all the
legal, policy, and regulatory measures that would promote and protect the human
rights of all persons with disabilities. As mentioned in the report, </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“A key principle of both the CRPD and
recovery-oriented mental health policy and legislation is to always employ the
least intrusive and least restrictive interventions possible. Instances when
people living with mental health problems and illnesses are placed in
seclusion, physically restrained or restrained with medications should be
examined to see if they represent a failure of the system” (</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/MHStrategy_Strategy_ENG_0_1.pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">43</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Furthermore, the report
states,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“People living with mental health problems and
illnesses – whatever their age and however severe their mental health problem
or illness – and their families should be able to count on timely access to the
full range of options for mental health services, treatments and supports, just
as they would expect if they were confronting heart disease or cancer” (</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/MHStrategy_Strategy_ENG_0_1.pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">58</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Given Soleiman’s identity, as
a racialized person, devout Muslim and immigrant from Kabul, Afghanistan, the
MHCC’s report is particularly insightful when it states, “People who are
immigrants, refugees, members of ethno-cultural groups or who are likely to be
racialized (that is, to have others make assumptions about them based on
perceptions about race) face particular challenges that put their mental health
at greater risk” (</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/MHStrategy_Strategy_ENG_0_1.pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">82</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Despite countless reviews and
reports detailing the need to keep people with mental illness out of
segregation and the necessity of providing timely mental health services,
Soleiman was placed into segregation and denied access to a hospital bed – a step
in the course of events that cannot be minimized.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A beating and death instead
of care and treatment</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">On December 15, Soleiman was
taking a shower and started to toss shampoo bottles and spray guards with
water. After refusing to leave the shower area the guards attempted to
physically remove him despite </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/MHStrategy_Strategy_ENG_0_1.pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">MHCC recommendations</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> to “always employ the least intrusive and
least restrictive interventions possible.” Another escalation point, in an
already calamitous situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In the process of removing
Soleiman from the shower he was struck by one of the guards, pepper-sprayed
twice directly in the face and eventually shoved back into his cell, which
contained no security camera. It was here where the abuse and torment spiralled
even further out of control. With a code blue alert, several more guards
entered Soleiman’s cell. While some guards pinned his limbs to the ground other
guards placed a spit hood over his head and pressured his body to the floor
with leg irons. On top of the already excessive measures, which went on for an
agonizing three hours, Soleiman was handcuffed behind the back in the prone
position. After all the trauma, Soleiman was found to be unresponsive and
pronounced dead in a cold bloody cell far away from those who truly cared for
him.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">According to a </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://ccla.org/ccla-concerned-by-coroners-report-findings-soleiman-faqiris-death/"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">2017 coroner’s report</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">, Soleiman’s body was filled with over 50
cuts and bruises and contained many other clear signs of blunt impact trauma.
Why was a person with a serious mental illness beaten to such a degree by the
very people and institution responsible for his well being and safety? Soleiman
was not only a vulnerable person that was brutally struck, pepper-sprayed,
shoved, pinned down, hooded, cuffed, cut, bruised, and traumatized by a group
of guards, he also lost his life in a legal-medical apparatus that
astonishingly concluded the cause of death was “unascertained?” How could this
be? In response to such bizarre assessment, Yusuf Zine, has attempted to piece
together the chain of events in a 2021 six-part TVO podcast series titled, “</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.tvo.org/about/premiering-april-7-tvo-podcast-unascertained-sheds-light-on-the-mysterious-death-of-a-young-man-in"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Unascertained</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Bureaucratic re-traumatization</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As any family would do after
such horrifying chain of events, the Faqiri family attempted to get some
answers and accountability for what happened to their beloved </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.justiceforsoli.com/about-soli/"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Soli</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> (as family and friends called him). So much more than
his illness, Soli was a kind, loyal, intelligent, and warm soul with an
outstanding sense of humour. He was also the precious son of Ghulam and Maryam
and a brother to Yusuf, Sohrab, Ali and Pelatin and an uncle to a number of
nieces and nephews. Even though Soli’s life changed dramatically after a
traumatic car accident in university and a subsequent diagnosis of
schizophrenia, with the love and support from his family Soli continued to live
a meaningful and productive life until the day of his undeniably preventable
death inside a legal-medical system and culture that dishes out trauma as
opposed to safety, protection, transparency, and accountability. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The initial trauma to the
Faqiri family is clear: The premature death of their adored Soleiman. But to
make matters worse the legal-medical system has made healing among the Faqiri’s
an unattainable goal. At every level of analysis, the very systems responsible
for so-called justice have failed the family, which forces them to relive the
pain and suffering they yearn to start healing from.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As a case in point, the
nearly one-year initial investigation, which was conducted by the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/news/peterborough-region/2019/01/21/opp-reopen-investigation-into-soleiman-faqiri-s-death-at-the-lindsay-superjail.html"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Kawartha Lakes Police Service</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">, stated that no charges would be laid
against those involved with Soleiman’s death. While the initial investigation
included almost 70 interviews with prison guards, inmates, and medical
personnel, a known eyewitness named, John Thibeault, located in a cell across
Soleiman’s, was never questioned. According to Thibeault’s account, which was
captured by, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/soleiman-faqiri-lawsuit-sues-eye-witness-1.4997830"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Fifth Estate</span></i></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">, the guards were yelling at Soleiman to
“stop resisting” even though there were no signs of life. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">After the failure of the
Kawartha Lakes Police Service investigation, the Ontario Provincial Police
(OPP) launched a reinvestigation into Soleiman’s death. Similar to the Kawartha
Lakes Police Service, the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/soleiman-faqiri-no-charges-organizations-support-1.5687539"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">OPP</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> declared that it was not pressing any charges against
those involved in Soleiman’s final moments. Even though charges linked to group
assaults are regularly dished out in Canada, the OPP claimed that no charges
would be laid because they could not determine which guard executed the final
strike to Soleiman’s body.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In terms of the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/12/20/two-of-three-guards-fired-in-wake-of-2016-death-of-soleiman-faqiri-at-lindsay-ont-super-jail-counter-sue-province.html"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional
Services’</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> (MCSCS)
response, MCSCS initiated a host of blame tactics, suspensions, and dismissals
geared towards abolishing the claim of negligence. As opposed to a deeper
analysis of institutional deficiencies linked to incident investigations,
psychiatric assessments, and staff training in the areas of, use of force,
negotiators, Institutional Crisis Intervention Teams (ICIT), pepper spray, spit
hoods, and escort, MCSCS maintains that their employee training and processes
are anything but flawed. Instead of receiving concrete answers that would
assist in a long overdue psychological and emotional healing process, the
Faqiri family remains caught in a blame game between MCSCS and terminated
guards.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">With minimal options on the
table, the Faqiri family has turned their attention to a </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/12/20/two-of-three-guards-fired-in-wake-of-2016-death-of-soleiman-faqiri-at-lindsay-ont-super-jail-counter-sue-province.html"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">civil lawsuit</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> that names MCSCS, the superintendent of the Lindsay
superjail and several correctional staff as well as the Kawartha Lakes police
in their failure to interview a key eyewitness. In the year 2021, the Faqiri
family continues to seek full transparency and accountability in a
legal-medical system saturated in bureaucratic<b> </b>re-traumatization in the
form of inaccuracies, coverups, waiting games, and blame tactics.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The insanity of the system</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">While one might be tempted to
think of Soleiman’s death as an institutional anomaly, the concrete reality
suggests that solitary confinement, institutional brutality, and racial
profiling are linked to a long list of – and in many cases forgotten – names: Ashley
Smith, Edward Snowshoe, Abdurahman Hassan, Justin St. Amour, Moses Amik Beaver,
Matthew Hines, Jordan Sheard, Cleve Geddes, Yousef Hussein, Adam Kenneth Reed,
Adam Capay, and Clayton Cromwell. How many more preventable deaths under
government care will we tolerate? How many more avoidable deaths will we,
literally, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://johnhoward.ca/blog/financial-facts-canadian-prisons/"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">pay</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> for? How many more Faqiri’s will it take before we
radically transform a severely broken system euphemistically classified as
“corrections?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">According to the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/negligence"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Legal Information Institute</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">, negligence refers to,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“A failure to behave with the level of care that
someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances.
The behaviour usually consists of actions, but can also consist of omissions
when there is some duty to act.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">With this legal definition in
mind, a few questions arise: Would a reasonable individual take a person diagnosed
with schizophrenia to a jail, let alone a disreputable jail? Would a reasonable
individual place a person diagnosed with schizophrenia into segregation? Would
a reasonable individual participate in a gang-like beating of a person with a
serious mental illness? We must also ask: Did the institution and employees of
the jail fulfill their duty of care, or did they fail to act in ways that
worked in the best interest of the human being in their custody? Cases like
this scream insanity – that is, the insanity of the system. As a means of
understanding this recklessness, it helps to examine a report published three
years before Soleiman’s needless death. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In the Ombudsman Ontario
report of 2013 titled, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/resources/reports-and-case-summaries/reports-on-investigations/2013/the-code"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Code: Investigation into the Ministry of Community
and Correctional Services’ Responses to Allegations of Excessive Use of Force
Against Inmates</span></i></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">,
Ontario’s watchdog, Andre Marin, maps out a system oozing in concealment,
silence, denial, and sanitization of undesirable incidences. The report
documents the ways in which some guards use lies, annihilate records, make
deals with inmates, and strategically conceal facts as a means of protecting
themselves and their co-workers. As mentioned in the report,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“[…] the “code of silence” is a persistent, recurring
factor in cases of excessive use of force. It is essentially an unwritten
social incentive for staff to conceal information that might have negative
consequences for a co-worker. As in policing, in the world of correctional
services, where personal safety and security often depends on the support of
other officers, the pressure to keep silent and even lie to protect colleagues
can be prevailing and pernicious” (</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/Files/sitemedia/Documents/Investigations/SORT%20Investigations/The-Code-EN.pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">64</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Marin’s report spells out the
fact that the application of excessive force by some guards, is not only illegal
and inexcusable, but also an enduring aspect of a dysfunctional prison culture
that needs to be addressed with a sense of urgency. The report goes into
disturbing detail concerning cases in which restrained and controlled inmates
suffering from mental illness were subjected to head kicks and other harsh
attacks that resulted in countless abrasions, contusions, and lacerations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Under the section, <i>Dealing
with Inmates with Mental Illness and Special Needs</i>, the report states,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“The Ministry’s latest Use of Force policy
specifically directs that when inmates exhibit signs of mental illness or are
known to have mental health issues, correctional staff should consider getting
health care staff involved, moving the inmate to a quieter environment and
invoking de-escalation techniques. However, without specialized training
relating to mental illness and other disabilities affecting behaviour,
correctional staff can misinterpret inmate conduct and mismanage or precipitate
conflict situations” (</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/Files/sitemedia/Documents/Investigations/SORT%20Investigations/The-Code-EN.pdf"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">102</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The report also mentions that
most of the abuse that inmates experience occurs in areas like a cell, which
contain no video surveillance. As demonstrated in Marin’s report, the writing
was on the wall and clear steps needed to be taken to prevent the ongoing
victimization of people suffering with mental illness. Unfortunately, the
issues of excessive force were not addressed in time, and as a result,
Soleiman’s name would be added to the list of preventable jailhouse victims. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">What adds to the already
disturbing nature of Soleiman’s case is the fact that all the reports and
papers that informed Canadian officials and the public about the possibility of
more brutal outcomes were simply not implemented in such a way as to prevent
Soleiman’s death. While the determination of Soleiman’s death and the
accountability of guards is imperative, it is also essential to recognize that
what lies beyond these narrow applications of law is a socio-historical
legal-medical apparatus of cruelty and a dense track record of failing to
implement evidence-based measures with the capacity to truly protect, support,
and rehabilitate those with mental illness. This perpetual failure can be
conceptualized as an overarching negligence of a dysfunctional system. A
failure to see and understand this is yet another expression of denial. The
question is: Can an effective evidence-based approach be implemented in our
existing prison system? If not, perhaps it is time to disassemble the monstrous
system that we constructed and rebuild from the ground up.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">No body is immune</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mental illness can affect
anyone.</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> According to the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://cmha.ca/mental-health/understanding-mental-illness/schizophrenia"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Canadian Mental Health Association</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> (CMHA), schizophrenia is a complicated
biochemical brain disorder that affects a person’s capacity to differentiate
between reality and false perceptions. People who live with this complex brain
disorder may be seriously impacted by delusions, hallucinations, social
withdrawal, and unclear thinking. Like other mental illnesses, there is no
universal experience; but rather, a unique trajectory, one of which should never
include an experience such as Soleiman Faqiri’s.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As a high school teacher and
parent of two young children, I was deeply concerned about the prevalence rates
linked to children, youth, and mental illness prior to the pandemic (roughly 1
in 5), let alone under pandemic conditions. During the first wave, an article
written by Liam Casey titled, <i>‘</i></span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-kids-not-ok-1.5898715"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Kids Are Not All Right’: Mental Health Among Ontario
Children Deteriorating Amid COVID-19</span></i></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">, revealed that “70% of children experienced
deterioration of mental health.” All this to say, when I first joined the
Justice for Soli Movement in August 2020, I instinctively understood the short-
and long-term consequences of not getting involved. Without some degree of
political participation and sustained public pressure geared towards rapidly
changing the existing prison system, there is nothing in place to guarantee
that the type of brutality that occurred to Soleiman will not occur in the
adult years of one of the children or youth that are currently growing up in
our schools, families, and ultimately, society. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Like many Canadians, I had no
idea about this chilling case until I stumbled across <i>a Toronto Star</i>
article in the late summer of 2020 titled, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/08/05/tragic-preposterous-family-of-soleiman-faqiri-reacts-as-opp-says-it-wont-charge-jail-guards-in-mentally-ill-ontario-mans-death.html"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">‘<i>Tragic, preposterous’: Family of Soleiman Faqiri
reacts as OPP says it won’t charge jail guards in mentally ill Ontario man’s
death</i></span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">. The
article was terribly moving and put me into instant tears as I could not bring
myself to comprehend what the Faqiri family was going through to achieve some
form of justice in a clearly unjust system.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">My immediate reaction was to
contact Soleiman’s brother Yusuf Faqiri to see if there was anything I could do
to support his family’s struggle. After a quick search online, I messaged Yusuf
and he called me back almost immediately. Within the first five minutes of our
phone call, I realized that I was talking to someone that was, on one hand,
deeply shattered by the circumstances of his brother’s death, and on the other,
filled with a unique love for humanity and an unshakable passion to drastically
transform a dehumanizing prison system incapable of protecting the most
vulnerable members of our society.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Till this day, I remain
committed to the Justice for Soli Movement and believe, alongside countless
other people and organizations such as, the McMaster Muslims for Peace and
Justice, The Schizophrenia Society of Canada, Naseeha Mental Health, Muslim
Medical Association of Canada, Across Boundaries, Elizabeth Fry Society, Bar
None, East Coast Prison Justice Society, No One Is Illegal, B.C. Civil
Liberties Association and the National Council of Canadian Muslims, that people
with mental illness like Beauche in the 19<sup>th</sup>-century or Faqiri in
the 21<sup>st</sup>-century, deserve so much more than jails, flogs, handcuffs,
spit hoods, beatings, and premature death. It is time to end the consistency of
cruelty. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">For more information on
getting involved please visit: </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.justiceforsoli.com/"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">https://www.justiceforsoli.com/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p><br />TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-11139548026105048112021-07-23T15:15:00.002-07:002021-07-23T15:24:54.272-07:00 The Silence of the Dams: Canada’s Faux-Green Genocide<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zEEr15B80BQ/YPs-6QBYiVI/AAAAAAAAA4E/ewzkqg8luOcl6o6rHx4pIopM32-FwZbNQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1817/Rita%2Band%2BFlora%2Bon%2Bthe%2BHIll.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1817" data-original-width="1728" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zEEr15B80BQ/YPs-6QBYiVI/AAAAAAAAA4E/ewzkqg8luOcl6o6rHx4pIopM32-FwZbNQCLcBGAsYHQ/w608-h640/Rita%2Band%2BFlora%2Bon%2Bthe%2BHIll.jpg" width="608" /></a></div><br />
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">By Matthew Behrens</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Across
the land known as Canada, a growing number of Indigenous nations are under
renewed attack by colonial governments conducting devastating invasions in the
name of green energy and “reconciliation”. While forced relocations, flooding
of traditional territories, destruction of traditional country food webs, a
legacy of poisoned water, and criminalization of land and water defenders have
a lengthy history, the 2020s represent a dangerous decade in which the growing
demand for non-fossil fuel-based energy sources is being played off against the
creation of </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://lawjournal.mcgill.ca/article/sacrifice-zones-in-the-green-energy-economy-toward-an-environmental-justice-framework/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">national sacrifice zones</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> in Indigenous territories.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Last summer, Manitoba Hydro began the
flooding of 45 square km of Cree lands at the massive Keeyask dam, which the
energy utility </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://keeyask.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Pre-Impoundment-InfoSheet-082120.pdf"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">acknowledges</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
will result in “loss of inland and shoreline habitats. Birds and animals will
be displaced from flooded areas. …[There will be] changes to traditional
harvesting areas and travel routes on both water and land, a loss of culturally
significant areas, and there is a potential for loss of unknown heritage
resources.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In a sickening new twist, this was done in
the name of solemnly acknowledging the genocidal acts it was about to
undertake. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“Manitoba Hydro recognizes and values that
Cree culture, spirituality and wellbeing is grounded in respecting the
relationship and balance between people, land and water, and all other living
things, and that [dam] impoundment and its impacts cannot be separated from the
larger environment,” the massive energy utility explained in a </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://keeyask.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Pre-Impoundment-InfoSheet-082120.pdf"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">press release</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">.
“We acknowledge that there will be environmental and cultural loss to our
partner First Nation communities as a result of the required changes to the
land. We will continue to work with the communities to understand and share
knowledge of project effects from both Indigenous and technical science
perspectives.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A
glossy </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://keeyask.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Pre-Impoundment-InfoSheet-082120.pdf"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">handout</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> from
Manitoba Hydro takes great efforts to claim that these losses are “being
acknowledged,” which appears to be the new governmental rationale for invading
and destroying Indigenous nations. Because “cultural ceremonies” have been held
at the Keeyask site “to acknowledge the changes to the environment and
surrounding ancestral lands,” Manitoba Hydro seems to conclude that these
devastating changes are in fact beneficial. There is even a subsection titled
“Honouring the Water Element” that explains the Nelson River, which is being
destroyed by Manitoba Hydro, “is a significant part of everyday life for the
partner First Nation communities…and has sustained a way of life for
centuries.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Gaslighting Partnerships</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Beneath
the noble sounding, gaslighting language of “partnerships” and “honour” is a
very different reality. Earlier this year, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Tataskweyak Cree Nation
(TCN) </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/tataskweyak-cree-nation-united-nations-drinking-water/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">asked</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
the United Nations to undertake action to fix the nation’s drinking water,
which has been under a water advisory since 2017. Among the reasons the water
is undrinkable is because of the presence of cyanobacteria, which the Centres
for Disease Control </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/habs/pdf/cyanobacteria_faq.pdf"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">note</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
are “are among the most powerful natural poisons known.” In a support letter,
NDP MP Niki Ashton </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://nikiashton.ndp.ca/news/letter-un-special-rapporteurs-tataskweyak-cree-nation-all-first-nations-deserve-clean-drinking"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">reminded</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
the UN that “COVID-19 has made action more urgent now than ever. COVID-19 has
compounded the impacts of the chronic infrastructure deficits which fuel the
water crises in First Nations. Many First Nations across the country are unable
to comply with public health directives, as clean water is not available from
the tap. Again, First Nations have been forced to pay the price of Canada’s
inaction, as the virus has disproportionately impacted First Nations.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 50.2pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">TCN,
along with Curve Lake First Nation and Neskantaga First Nation, are all part of
a class action </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.mccarthy.ca/en/class-action-litigation-drinking-water-advisories-first-nations"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">lawsuit</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
against Canada for “failing to address prolonged drinking-water advisories on
First Nations reserves across Canada.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Last summer, a number of Indigenous women
from TCN </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/leon-kitchekeesik-tataskweyak-cree-nation-memorial-manitoba-hydro-1.5700577"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">occupied</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> a
piece of land that was about to be flooded. It hosted the sacred site of a
monument to Leon Kitchekeesik, who at age 7 fell through the Nelson River ice
and whose remains were never found. A monument had been placed at the last
place loved ones had seen Leon, and while community members did plan on moving
the monument to higher ground, the Keeyask dam builders began plans to flood
the area around the sacred site, and, without checking in with the community,
removed the memorial and put it into storage. Leon’s sister, Marilyn Mazurat, </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/leon-kitchekeesik-tataskweyak-cree-nation-memorial-manitoba-hydro-1.5700577"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">told</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
CBC that “We needed our time with Leon. My heart broke because it was like
losing him all over again. I was so angry. They basically desecrated his
resting place.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Manitoba Hydro wrote<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to MP Niki Ashton – who had raised the urgent
concerns regarding impoundment while the families were gathered in the flood
zone – that it “acknowledges that the removal of Leon’s cross is a deeply
emotional and difficult process for the family, and we have taken care to
demonstrate understanding and respect in all interactions on this matter.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Members of Leon’s family called for the
memorial cross to be returned to its original home, “Leon’s Island,” declaring
they would move it when they were ready to do so, and a more suitable location
could be prepared. To prevent any further desecration, a number of them
occupied the area to try and prevent the flooding. They asked Manitoba Hydro to
delay flooding, but the utility refused. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The
pain the community suffered was almost incalculable. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Janet McIvor, another of Leon's siblings, </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/leon-kitchekeesik-tataskweyak-cree-nation-memorial-manitoba-hydro-1.5700577"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">referenced</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> a
Keeyask Dam site sign that included the word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">respect</i>. "Why are they writing that word when they haven't
shown respect to us? They should remove that sign.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Colonial Divide and Rule</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I
spoke with a group of TCN members the night the occupation began. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Impoundment of Keeyask had already begun,
and there were urgent messages being sent to Manitoba Hydro to stop, as any
further release of waters could drown Leon’s loved ones. Crowded around a cell
phone, community members shared their stories about the lack of consultation,
their frustration at being treated as mere tokens, and the rifts that had been
created in the community by the colonial corporation’s divide-and-rule gamesmanship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An example of Manitoba Hydro’s wolf in
sheep’s clothing approach was </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">holding
ill-attended meetings where Manitoba Hydro acknowledged in advance of this
project that there would be significant harmful effects. These include major
impacts on their right to hunt, trap, and fish; there’d be a loss of their
historical connection to the land; a loss of traditional food previously
harvested in the impacted areas; and a loss of sharing and traditional
practices connected to the land.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Also
in attendance at that meeting was Meg Sheehan of the <span class="d2edcug0">Northeast
MegaDam Resistance Coalition</span>, who noted</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> “we were told [by TCN members] that when Hydro looks at their
communities, they don’t see human beings, only dollar signs. Because of Hydro’s
unaccountable and dangerous practices, the water and fish in their lakes is
unfit for consumption and dangerous for swimming, with anyone going into the
water suffering a punishing skin reaction.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sheehan pointed out that in addition to the
significant impact on traditional ways of life and the country food web at a
time of major food insecurity, Manitoba Hydro adds insult to injury by sending
exorbitant hydro bills that are beyond the reach of community members. “Imagine
someone who never gave their consent to Hydro to invade their lands now
receiving a monthly bill that can be over $1,000 just because they use some of
the energy that was, in many respects, stolen from right out under them,” she
said. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Notably, Keeyask was initiated by the former
NDP government of Gary Doer, who at the time </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-reports-on-hydro-fiascos-in-manitoba-and-bc-expose-the-rot-at-crown/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">exulted</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> that “</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“hydroelectricity is Manitoba’s oil.” Such green energy triumphalism,
however, cannot hide the devastating impacts of megadams, especially on the
Indigenous peoples disproportionately impacted. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Blood Megawatts</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Across
Canada, the construction and operation of megadams has caused and will cause
even more methylmercury poisoning of traditional country foods relied upon by
local communities. Canadian dam builders – engineers, financiers, cement and
construction companies - have a similarly destructive record around the globe.
Electricity from large (over 30 MW) hydrodams is dirty energy, what Sheehan
calls “blood megawatts.” </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/nov/14/hydroelectric-dams-emit-billion-tonnes-greenhouse-gas-methane-study-climate-change"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">Science</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
shows they are a major source of methane, a greenhouse gas accelerant far more
dangerous than carbon dioxide. They destroy Indigenous cultures, biodiversity,
and carbon-sequestering forests. They have disrupted and disturbed millenia-old
migratory patterns of fish and other wildlife that make up the country food
webs of millions of people worldwide.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The
1997 </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.rivernet.org/general/wcd/welcome.htm"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN-US">report</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> of the World
Commission on Dams concluded: “At the heart of the dams debate are issues of
equity, governance, justice and power – issues that underlie the many
intractable, problems faced by humanity….In too many cases an unacceptable and
often unnecessary price has been paid to secure those [dams’] benefits,
especially in social and environmental terms, by people displaced, by
communities downstream</span><span class="d2edcug0"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, by taxpayers and by the
natural environment."</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">During last summer’s standoff at Leon’s
Island, Manitoba Hydro was eventually forced to back down on impoundment until
the family could gather one last time at the sacred site. Canadian Mennonite
magazine </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://canadianmennonite.org/keeyask"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">interviewed</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
Mazurat shortly afterward. She said at the time, "I have a hard time
accepting the fact that the next time I go down it won’t be there. All that
I’ve known and loved will all be under water.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The $13.4 billion Keeyask dam, like its
brother dams at Site C and Muskrat Falls, is an exorbitant financial sinkhole,
known to locals as </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/keeyask-workplace-culture-assessment-report-racism-1.4802971"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Keeyask-atraz”</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> for
workers because of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">a
prison-like environment plagued by fear, intimidation, drug and alcohol abuse
and discrimination.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/abuse-racism-report-hydro-1.4793749"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">report</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
from the province’s Clean Environment Commission described the effects of the
Manitoba Hydro man camps that invaded northern Manitoba beginning in the 1960s and
the subsequent epidemic of sexual abuse against Indigenous women. The report authors
heard from many members of Makeso Sakahikan Inninuwak (aka Fox Lake Cree
Nation), including Franklin Arthurson, who testified that his late wife
had endured a decade of residential school abuse only to return to her occupied
homeland: “She came home from a hellhole called residential school to another
hellhole called Hydro project.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"They just came in and took over. We
were pushed aside," Marie Henderson </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/abuse-racism-report-hydro-1.4793749"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">told</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> the
hearing. "It even got to the point where they said we were squatters in
our own land, because they wanted the construction to be built."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The report also </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/abuse-racism-report-hydro-1.4793749"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">quoted</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> a member of
the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Tataskweyak Cree Nation who </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“stated that in the pre-development era, residents had everything
they needed. Fish were abundant, the water was healthy, and the land was
teeming with wildlife. The community was self-sufficient. She recalled how
community members had been promised that hydroelectric development would bring
them low-cost electricity. Now, she said, the water is polluted; the cost of
power, astronomical. She felt that Manitoba Hydro played with people like a
‘predatory animal.’”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The predatory animal known as Manitoba Hydro
has played a significant role in promoting similarly devastating projects like
Labrador’s notorious Muskrat Falls megadam. An inquiry into the Muskrat Falls
disaster </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-nl-government-to-release-final-report-from-muskrat-falls-inquiry/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">concluded</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
that a key report commissioned by Manitoba Hydro was </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“plainly and obviously
improperly influenced and biased in favour of the project.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Martial
Law at Muskrat Falls</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Muskrat
Falls became the remarkable site of sustained resistance to the megadam, and
the jailing of Indigenous elders sparked international outrage. Opposition was
so strong that the only way the government of Newfoundland and Labrador (backed
with $9.2 billion in support from Ottawa) could push the project through was to
essentially declare a judicially-stamped state of martial law via a draconian
injunction </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/labrador-canadian-forces-muskrat-1.4508634"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">enforced</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
with the firepower of the RCMP and Canadian military. For over four years,
Inuit and Innu water and land defenders were delivered a clear message through
the barrel of a gun: you will be indefinitely jailed if you return to protect
your traditional territories. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In
June 2019, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">the United
Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous substances
and wastes, Baskut Tuncak, </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2019/06/united-nations-calls-on-trudeau.html"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">called</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> on the federal government to use its leverage to
address concerns about lack of proper consultation with Indigenous people
as well as the expected methylmercury poisoning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“I urge
the Federal Government to use its leverage as the largest investor in
the project to review whether UNDRIP compatible procedures were followed
for all affected indigenous peoples, and to prevent the release of methyl
mercury,” the rapporteur said.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">While
colonial bean counters’ main concern seems to be the doubling of Muskrat Falls
megadam’s cost – over $13 billion – those on the ground continue to raise
a substantial list of objections, pointing out that governments ignored </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">key recommendations from a Joint Review Panel
composed of provincial and federal representatives. The project proponent
Nalcor (a provincial crown corporation) submitted an incomplete Environmental
Assessment that excluded a major downstream area, Lake Melville (a significant
cultural and nutritional source sustaining Inuit life since time immemorial,
Labrador’s largest body of water and one designated an </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ecologically and Biologically Significant
Area by the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A major source of worry is the documented
concern from a four-year Harvard University </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://bgc.seas.harvard.edu/assets/sciencereport-low1.pdf"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">study</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> that a
failure to clear the 101 sq. km reservoir impoundment area of vegetation,
trees, brush and topsoil would exacerbate the already significant risk of the
neurotoxin methylmercury bioaccumulating in the Indigenous country food web,
rendering it unsafe for consumption for 30-35 years. This was followed by a
failure of the federal and provincial governments, as well as Nalcor, to abide
by the majority </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://ieaclabrador.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Letter-IEAC-Chair-to-Responsible-Minister-April-10-2018.pdf"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">recommendation</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> of
their own Independent Experts Advisory Committee to mitigate methylmercury
poisoning by requiring that “Nalcor undertake targeted removal of soil and
capping of wetlands for the reduction of both the amount and duration of
methylmercury production in the Muskrat Falls Reservoir.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Additional concerns include the worry about
mass-casualty flash flooding from a catastrophic dam break. The conclusion of a
</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.pub.nl.ca/applications/IslandInterconnectedSystem/phasetwo/files/correspondance/From%20GRK%20-%20Dr.%20S.%20Bernander%20-%20Safety%20and%20Reliability%20of%20the%20Muskrat%20Falls%20Dam%20-%202016-10-13.PDF"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">study</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> by Swedish
quick clay expert Stig Bernander on the North Spur (an unstable natural
formation being relied upon to hold back the full reservoir) cautions that “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">the safety and
reliability of the Muskrat Falls dam have not been demonstrated.” Were such a
flash flood to occur, it would also have longer-term effects that would poison
the area for centuries, given it would dredge up and spread toxics from already
existing contaminated sites.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A Failure to Seek
Consent</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ultimately, as at
Keeyask and other major megadams, Muskrat Falls proponents failed </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">to engage in the process of free, prior and
informed consent with all Indigenous peoples affected, as prescribed by the
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">From the very beginning, project proponent
Nalcor and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador have also sought to </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.nunatsiavut.com/article/nunatsiavut-government-outraged-by-nalcors-response-to-harvard-mercury-study/,"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">downplay</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> the
threat of methylmercury poisoning in the traditional country food web of
Indigenous peoples affected. The issue has always been addressed by project
proponents and funders through the language of mitigation – containing or
avoiding a risk that will result from the dam’s construction and operation –
instead of asking whether the risk is too great to begin with.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Last fall, one of the authors of the Harvard
report, Ryan Calder, who has continued to monitor the project’s effects, </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/muskrat-methylmercury-increase-1.5809439"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">found</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> that the
methylmercury levels were rising, as expected, to concerning levels, but
Muskrat Falls defenders again downplayed the threat posed to the Inuit and Innu
who, as austerity is imposed on Labrador, will need to rely even more on their increasingly
poisoned traditional country foods.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Despite the ongoing disaster of Muskrat Falls
– which has saddled the province with such a crushing debt that there are now
recommendations to impose austerity on the residents who are also facing a
doubling or tripling of hydro bills – there are disturbing signs that the
federal and provincial governments are teeing up yet another megadam that would
further desecrate Labrador. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The proposed Gull Island Megadam project on
the Grand (Mistashipu) River is slated to be three times the size of Muskrat
Falls. flooding 232 square kilometers of pristine boreal forest and
exposing<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>communities to the third
highest levels of methylmercury of 22 proposed new dams across the land. Gull
Island’s primary purpose would be to meet the “green energy” demands of the
Northeast U.S. and will require controversial new transmission corridors that
have prompted significant protest south of the border. A </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/atlantic-loop-throne-speech-offshore-oil-1.5736740"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">reference</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> in
last fall’s throne speech to a so-called Atlantic Loop (a hypothetical regional
electricity grid ) is a worrying sign that Gull Island, despite opposition from
Indigenous people and many settler residents, is going to be forced through in
the same brutal manner as Muskrat Falls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Where Colonial Judges Sit</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As if to pave the way for Gull Island, the
last of the arrested Labrabor Land Protectors – Indigenous and non-Indigenous
land and water defenders – were sentenced for “civil contempt” in January.
The same colonial judge who had issued the draconian injunction in 2016
expressed his incredulity that those trying to maintain their lives, their
livelihood, their culture, their very identity, would somehow thumb their noses
at the so-called “rule of law” that allegedly undergirded the prohibition on
trying to stop the impending disaster.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">To ensure the continued operation of Muskrat
Falls – what many have called an act of genocide in the making, one
similar to the mercury poisoning at Grassy Narrows – the judge demanded
undertakings that all would continue to obey the draconian terms of the
injunction for an additional two years, on top of the four years that this
group had already been under strict conditions. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Like the Manitoba Hydro PR team that insisted
the destruction of Indigenous territories at Keeyask was done in the spirit of
reconciliation, so the judge in Labrador echoed such rhetoric. As CBC </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/muskrat-falls-suspended-sentences-1.5862083"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">reported</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">the
judge “said the protesters did not seem to understand that the contempt of
court was nothing to do with Muskrat Falls, the environment, Indigenous rights,
reconciliation or ownership of land — issues he said that are very
important to the court and to society — but rather, the charges had to do
with the actual actions, not the motivations of the protesters.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">But
as one of the protectors, Denise Cole, responded, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“That’s not reconciliation; that’s like a tap on the
head saying, ‘I appreciate that you think that you’re right. I’m here to tell
you you’re wrong and in my era of reconciliation I won’t punish you as much as
I could.’ That's really the breakdown of it. I'm not arrogant, but I'm aware this
is a very broken system and there's still a tremendous amount of work for us to
do."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Cole </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/muskrat-falls-suspended-sentences-1.5862083"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">told</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> CBC that
"two worlds collide" when a colonial court feels threatened by
Indigenous people trying to protect themselves from genocidal projects. “We all
sort of go under the belief that we have these constitutionally protected
rights as Canadians, and then we realize that there's a lot of ifs or buts.
From him, it’s that I don’t respect him and the court enough, but for me he’s
talking about my creator who has given me a responsibility to next generations
and to my culture, to the land and to the water — there's a responsibility
that I hold there, and it tells me that he still doesn’t get that. Which is a
shame.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In the same manner genocidal actions are
ongoing with the complicity of Labrador’s colonial courts, the government of
Manitoba is following in the footsteps of draconian legislation passed in
Alberta. Legislation is being considered that would criminalize Indigenous land
and water defenders and supporters when they raise their voices against the
green genocide of Manitoba Hydro. Bill 57, the </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://web2.gov.mb.ca/bills/42-3/b057e.php"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Protection
of Critical Infrastructure Act</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, broadly defines as infrastructure anything that makes a “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">significant
contribution to the health, safety, security or economic well-being of
Manitobans” and can include projects under construction. To prevent protests,
megaproject profiteers can get from any provincial court a “critical
infrastructure protection zone” declared that would prevent access to the sites
or blockades while creating the infamous and useless protest bubble that has a
history at various sites across North America. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"[Bill]
57 would silence our voices and just make us conveniently protest over
there in the corner far away from where the heart of the issue is," </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-bill-57-legislation-illegal-protests-1.5961361"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">said</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
Lisa Currier, with Idle No More and an organizer of a protest against the
legislation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notably, members of Tataskweyak Cree
Nation </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/keeyask-manitoba-hydro-first-nations-blockades-1.5577185"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">blockaded</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
access to Keeyask earlier during the pandemic out of concern that 1,000 outside
workers coming into the region would be spreading Covid-19.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">UN
Says No to Site C</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Meanwhile, the NDP BC government of John
Horgan is continuing with similarly disastrous plans at Site C, a megadam which
the United Nations </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/united-nations-instructs-canada-to-suspend-site-c-dam-construction-over-indigenous-rights-violations/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">insists</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> should be
stopped due to its violation of Indigenous rights. When Horgan announced that
BC would forge ahead despite massive opposition and the failure to secure the
consent of Indigenous peoples, he famously </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/breaking-site-c-dam-approval-violates-basic-human-rights-says-amnesty-international"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">declared</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When
it comes to reconciliation and working with Indigenous leadership, look,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there has been over 150 years of
disappointment in BC. I’m not the first person to stand before you and
disappoint Indigenous people.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Hence,
Horgan fell back on the Manitoba Hydro strategy of acknowledging the harm he
was committing to because, well, that’s always been the way, so one more attack
on Indigenous rights shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">E</span><span class="hgkelc"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">arlier this year, West
Moberly First Nations Chief Roland Wilson wrote to Horgan, demanding a halt to
Site C construction and calling for the NDP to “abandon the pretext that the
Site C dam can be constructed and operated with infringing” the nation’s treaty
rights. Wilson pointed out that Site C, like Muskrat Falls, faces major
geotechnical issues, is wholly unnecessary, and violates Treaty 8, which is
supposed to be in effect “as long as the river flows.” Wilson pointed out that
at the time of the treaty being signed, “it would have been incomprehensible
that the agreement would later be argued to authorize the blockage of the Peace
River with a series of three massive dams and sprawling reservoirs…the Indigenous
treaty partners would not, could not, and did not, agree to the destruction of
their lands.”</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span class="hgkelc"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If Site C goes ahead, it will flood 5,500 hectares of land,
desecrate sacred sites, destroy ancient forests, disrupt wetlands, contaminate
land-based medicines and poison fish with methylmercury. As Wilson mentioned,
this will compound the damage wrought by two previous dams upstream. Needless
to say, this does not square with the government’s 2019 passing of </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6222331/british-columbia-passes-undrip/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">legislation</span></a></span><span class="hgkelc"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> promising to respect the core principles of UNDRIP, which the BC
NDP has simultaneously celebrated and refused to respect ever since. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span class="hgkelc"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In Quebec, the Innu First Nation of Pessamit, the Atkamekw First
Nation of Wemotaci and the Anishnabek First Nation of Pikogan went </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/quebec-export-of-electricity-to-the-united-states-the-moment-of-truth-for-pessamit-and-wemotaci-first-nations-832638069.html"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">on record</span></a></span><span class="hgkelc"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> last summer in opposition to the New England Clean Energy Connect
Project, another Orwellian-named initiative that plans to profit from the
megadam power that relies on what the three Nations point out is a massive
infrastructure of “33 production structures, 130 dams and dikes, 10,400 km2 of
reservoirs, and tens of thousands of transmission, distribution and road lines
[that] have been illegally installed on our lands and waters.” The Nations have
never been compensated for Hydro-Quebec’s occupation, which “has destroyed
traditional family units and upended the socio-economic stability of” their
communities.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span class="hgkelc"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">While BC, Quebec and Labrador are traditionally viewed as the
major hydropower players, </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/news/peterborough-region/2021/01/13/indigenous-protesters-block-dam-project-in-burleigh-falls-over-lack-of-consultation.html"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">protests</span></a></span><span class="hgkelc"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> against the Burleigh Falls dam in Ontario erupted earlier this
year as well. As always, at the heart of protests was the utter failure to properly
consult, in this case with the </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Kawartha Nishnawbe. In a</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.change.org/p/kawartha-nishnawbe-first-nation-standing-with-kawartha-nishnawbe-land-defenders"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">petition</span></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">with over 30,000 supporters, they point out that when Burleigh Falls dam was
first built</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">in 1912, it
resulted in the forcible relocation of Kawartha Nishnawbe’s people. They have
never “been compensated for the theft of our land and we have been treated as
nothing more than “squatters” in our own land ever since. Despite numerous
court rulings recognizing that the Kawartha Nishnawbe is a Mississauga
community with Treaty rights under the Treaty of 1818, “Canada has ignored
these rulings and continued to act as if Kawartha Nishnawbe does not exist.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Back
in Manitoba, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">water defender
Angela Levasseur, from O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (aka South Indian Lake),
has been tirelessly campaigning to stop Manitoba Hydro from further flooding
her community. She too began a well-publicized </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.change.org/p/mp-marc-miller-mp-carolyn-bennett-save-the-churchill-river-the-land-and-indigenous-people-of-northern-manitoba-from-more-destructive-flooding"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">petition</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> that seeks to prevent the utility from winning
what she names a “licence to destroy”, and is urging the federal government to
intervene given the province’s failure to engage in any respectful dialogue,
much less seek free, prior and informed consent.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">But Canada’s largest federal political parties
refuse to touch the megadam issue. While the Conservatives were behind the
initial push for Muskrat Falls, the Liberals are more than willing to sacrifice
Indigenous rights in the mistaken belief that such dams will help them meet
climate change targets. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has refused to come out from a
self-imposed cone of silence on Muskrat Falls and Site C (perhaps to placate
the BC NDP), and has historically been missing in action on Manitoba Hydro
violations as well (again, perhaps a nod to his provincial NDP counterparts,
who approved Keeyask). Singh rightfully embraced the calls for justice at
Grassy Narrows, where a half century of mercury contamination has left profound
and lethal effects, but he won’t touch the very same issue where the
contamination is getting underway but easily preventable. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">With political parties unwilling to address the
dangers posed by megadams, it will fall as always to the Indigenous front-line
defenders who are refusing to allow further encroachments on and destruction of
their territories, as well as their allies, to expose the faux-green genocide
being undertaken so people can think that driving electric cars and running
their laptops on non-fossil fuel electric power are somehow contributing to a
better world. As governments will attempt to pit green energy advocates against
Indigenous peoples, the issue is not an either/or binary. Rather, we need a
more nuanced discussion about the kind of society we need to create in order to
fully honour and respect Indigenous rights while ensuring that we do not
continue to engage in the kind of megaproject fiascos that ultimately replicate
the very colonial violence to the earth that requires us to consider
alternative energy sources in the first place. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">(photo: from Peter Stockdale: Rita Monias and Flora Jane Ross before they arrested on Parliament Hill for demanding that the Canadian government and Manitoba Hydro end genocidal dam building in their traditional territories)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">A 3-part series of this piece appears in rabble.ca in July, 2021 </span></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></b></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span class="hgkelc"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span class="hgkelc"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="selectionshareable" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
<p style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -14.2pt; text-indent: 35.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>TASChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636437103636838462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2393699894870250534.post-53837996703221053212021-07-15T10:24:00.009-07:002021-07-15T10:24:57.046-07:00His Own Private Stasi: How Canada’s Police State Occupies the Harkat Home <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T2MDxkDySr0/YPBvGDFNxfI/AAAAAAAAA3w/utPK9irVlhYt-KGMI5VPPq7bnjWz_gnVQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/Sophie%2Ban%2BMoe.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T2MDxkDySr0/YPBvGDFNxfI/AAAAAAAAA3w/utPK9irVlhYt-KGMI5VPPq7bnjWz_gnVQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/Sophie%2Ban%2BMoe.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">By Matthew Behrens</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
Ottawa refugee Moe Harkat tries to enjoy the quintessentially Canadian
experience of visiting a family cottage, he has to stage an elaborate dance to
satisfy the requirements of one of the most intrusive and insidious state
interventions into anyone’s private life in Canadian history.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Each
day spent at the cottage, Moe has to check in with a surveillance team of
officers from the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA), who have been
following him since 2006. That’s when Moe was transferred to the strictest house
arrest conditions in Canadian history after being held 3.5 years without charge
on secret allegations he has never been allowed to see, much less contest. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The dystopian dance works like this: three times a day, Moe walks out
of the cottage and up a hill. Parked at the top of the hill is a car with
dark-tinted windows, and inside are two fully-kitted CBSA officers (bullet
proof vests, weapons at the ready) who <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sit
there all day to confirm he is at the cottage. He waves at them and they wave
back. Moe heads into town to search for a pay phone – never easy to find in an
age dominated by the cell phone – because he has to “report in” from a
landline. Once at that pay phone, he calls the guys in the surveillance car he
waved to a few minutes earlier, to confirm he is at the cottage. They thank
him, he hangs up the phone, drives back to the cottage, waves at the men in the
surveillance vehicle he just called to confirm he is at the cottage, and tries
to relax from this maddening bit of spirit-breaking repression. He has to do
this two additional times that day. It’s a cruel exercise straight out of the
legendary film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cool Hand Luke</i>, where such
repetitive, degrading punishments are meant to make someone’s “mind right.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This is but a fraction of the daily repression faced by the
Harkats, who married in 2001 and had never heard of International Human Rights
Day until Moe was arrested on that landmark occasion, December 10, 2002. As
self-described human rights superhero and Liberal MP Irwin Cotler proudly rose
in the House of Commons that day to </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/37-2/house/sitting-42/hansard"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">bloviate</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
about the Magna Carta, “the lifeblood of a democracy,” the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“right
to life, liberty and security of the person,” and celebrations of “not only of
who we are but what we aspire to be,” Moe wasn’t exactly basking in the
self-congratulatory glow of the foggy platitudes that normally pepper the House
floor with a nauseating odour. Instead, he had entered a made-in-Canada
Twilight Zone, a darkened room in which any attempt to brighten his
surroundings meant an endless search for a light switch that had long ago been
removed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2007, the Supreme Court
of Canada ruled that the “security certificate” regime under which Moe had been
held was unconstitutional, but in a page out of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kafka’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Trial</i>, Ottawa simply reworded the state security allegations against Moe,
and has carried on with its persecution of him ever since. The Supreme Court
heard another challenge to the endless violation of Harkat’s rights in 2014,
but in a poorly written, illogical decision, reversed itself from its 2007 findings
and upheld the star chamber proceedings. That judicial rubber stamp opened the
door to the current proceedings designed to deport Moe to torture in Algeria.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Stasi-Like Surveillance</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Having
lived with such a collection of multi-layered traumas would make relaxing at
the cottage a significant challenge under the best of circumstances. But added
to the fear and trauma faced by Moe and his wife Sophie is the permanent
insertion of a surveillance regime reminiscent of the Stasi (the notorious former
East German secret police) that operates like a nightmare from George Orwell’s
novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1984</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In day-to-day terms, that humiliating regime involves constant attacks
on Moe and Sophie’s dignity, involving things most of us take for granted: the
ability to use a laptop, purchasing a cell phone, making a U-turn without being
reported to the police, getting a job that does not need pre-approval from the
CBSA, not having to explain to neighbours why unmarked (but clearly obvious)
police cars are constantly parked outside of their residence. The CBSA has
Moe’s online passwords so it can check his email account and log any websites
he visits.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Moe was held first in solitary confinement for over a year in 2003
at the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre. He was designated a terror suspect by
an alarmist media that was willing to take at their word Moe’s accuser, the </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://rabble.ca/columnists/2020/07/federal-court-furious-csis-iilegality-and-lies"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">scandal-plagued</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> spy agency CSIS. Long before Harkat’s arrest, CSIS (the Canadian
Security Intelligence Service) was well known for exaggerating the scale of
alleged threats (</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.sirc-csars.gc.ca/index-eng.html"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">documented</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> for years by the Security Intelligence
Review Committee) , </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/csis-used-intel-gathered-illegally-withheld-evidence-favourable-to-accused-ottawa-isis-recruiter"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">withholding exculpatory information</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, acting on </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2017/09/20/news/torture-and-interrogation-csis-and-rcmp-way"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">information from torture</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, and relying on the word of untrustworthy informants who </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/failed-lie-detector-test-casts-doubt-on-harkat-terror-case"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">failed</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> lie
detector tests and sometimes engaged in sexual relations with their CSIS
handlers (as Moe was later to learn occurred in his own case).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Moe was denied a toothbrush for 10 days, prevented from walking
and breathing fresh outdoor air for six months, not able to shave or enjoy any
reading material (not even a Koran) for over four months, allowed only one
shower per week, and prevented from any contact visits with Sophie. The only
human touch he knew was a violent one: strip searches and handcuffing. He was then
transferred to the infamous “Guantanamo North” compound in Kingston, ON, where
other Muslim men subject to “security certificates” were also held under brutal
conditions that led to lengthy hunger strikes and protests that became the
focus of then Prime Minister Paul Martin’s cabinet meetings and intensive House
of Commons </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mps-meet-with-detainees-on-hunger-strike-1.671403"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">debates</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">. At that
time, it seemed like anything would be better than the indefinite, arbitrary
detention these detainees and their families were suffering.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The Prison Moves In</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In June, 2006, Moe was transferred to a house arrest regime that
moved the prison to his home, and made his wife, Sophie, both captive and jail
guard. As a “surety,” Sophie had to promise the Federal Court that she would
monitor every move Moe made and ensure his compliance with a lengthy list of
degrading conditions. If Moe wanted to start up the barbecue, he could not go
outside unless Sophie went outside first and monitored his walk outdoors. He
was forced to wear an uncomfortable GPS monitoring unit strapped to his leg for
almost 8 years, and had to pay for a phone line connected to the system. He was
not allowed to ever be alone inside or outside the home. In what could only
have felt like the most humiliating infantilization, Moe had to apply in
advance for his allowed three weekly “outings,” which could include doctor’s
visits, groceries, or anything else that was subject to final approval by a
CBSA bureaucrat who had the power to arbitrarily deny any outing. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When Moe and Sophie’s “outings” were approved, they could only
last four hours, and they would be closely followed by clearly identified CBSA
officers who, in all of their gear, looked just like police officers. This
ensured all onlookers that the Harkats were a source of suspicion. Any minute
beyond 4 hours could lead to an allegation of breached conditions and a return
to prison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The notion of an evening out
for dinner and a movie – again, taken for granted by so many – would
necessitate ensuring the movie was under a certain length, the restaurant had
fast service, and enough sureties were available to accompany the couple so
someone could monitor Moe in the event Sophie had to use a public restroom.
Eventually, in its magnanimity, the Federal Court did allow Moe and Sophie to
use public washrooms and change rooms, but only as long as they went into them
together.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Staying in was no picnic either. Two surveillance cameras were
installed inside the couple’s home to monitor entrances. All of their mail and
phone calls were intercepted by CBSA (including solicitor-client calls, which
CBSA regularly recorded despite this clear violation), no wireless devices were
allowed, Sophie had to keep her computer under lock and key, the couple were
the subject of a curfew, and any visitors to the house required pre-approval
from the CBSA. In practice, that meant no one with uncertain immigration status
or who came from a country with a secret police would be comfortable visiting
the Harkats. Among those the Harkats needed to submit for visitor approval were
a newborn nephew and Sophie’s 80-year-old grandmother.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Because CBSA intercepted the mail and took their time making
photocopies of everything before dropping it off at the Harkat home, the couple
were stopped and ticketed by Ottawa police because they did not receive their
new license plate sticker in time. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">CBSA would call at all hours of the night if the GPS were not
working or show up at their door. They parked for hours in front of the Harkat
home and also on their personal driveway. Many of their immigrant neighbours
were fearful of the Harkats as a result, and several filed complaints or ended
up calling police with their concerns about the sinister-looking, dark-tinted
vehicles always idling their motors. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">No Birthdays for Moe</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When Moe turned 40, a church basement birthday party was organized
with 80 people, all of whom submitted their biographical details to the CBSA.
All were approved, but Moe was still denied entry because attending his own
birthday party was deemed “too political.” Instead, he had a more modest supper
with Sophie’s mother, followed to and from the restaurant by 4 CBSA vehicles and
8 officers. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">On a number of occasions, officers raided the house, usually in
advance of a court review where the Harkats sought to remove some of these
conditions. One of those searches was </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/federal-court-deems-harkat-raid-illegal-1.809037"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">deemed</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> illegal by
the Federal Court: Sophie was in the shower at the time as 16 CBSA officers, 2
Ottawa police, and 3 RCMP agents with sniffer dogs conducted a massive
operation, the fruits of which they were forced to return.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">One summer, Sophie’s mother was kicked out of a campground after
CBSA entered and told the property manager that a “terrorist” would be visiting
the site.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Maintaining a two-decade relationship under such circumstances is,
needless to say, tense. Often, Moe tries to over-compensate, doing things to
ensure he is seen by those surveilling him to reassure them he is in compliance
with his conditions. Whenever family are gathered, Sophie says she gets upset
with Moe, because he is constantly reminding everyone of the conditions he has
to follow. “He’s reminding people constantly,” Sophie told the Federal Court in
2017. “It’s a headache. It’s a source of conflict between the two of us. Try to
go out and have fun when you have two CBSA agents following you. I’m upset or
he’s upset.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Federal Court Rubber Stamp</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Despite all these indignities and rights violations, the judges
hearing Harkat’s appeals for some basic human decency continue buying into the racist
myths that underlie a deeply embedded Canadian hatred of Muslims.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Indeed, the degrading
conditions are based on the racist notion of Super Muslim: that Moe, like his
fellow detainees, was so desperate to communicate with terrorists or do
something awful that he had to be monitored every second of every day, despite
the fact that no allegation has ever been made that he has even considered
being involved in an act of violence. Things that happen in the normal course
of a day for most of us – driving through a yellow light or speeding up to pass
someone on the roadway, for example – are attributed nefarious purposes and
labeled "counter-surveillance techniques" by the cunning detainee and
his wife. The racism shown by the Federal Court in always deferring to CBSA and
CSIS and never looking at Moe’s consistent compliance with 15 years of
impossible conditions <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>was on display
last year, when Judge Roussel wrote an appalling decision in which she noted
that Mr. Harkat had “complied with his conditions of release since his release
in 2006 and that, <em><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">in order to fully embrace the
values of his adopted country</span></em>, it was important that he be given
the opportunity to obtain gainful employment.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Of course, it is impossible
for Moe to get full-time work when any job in which he could be employed – working
at Home Depot, for example, or an auto parts supplier – would require him
submitting to the CBSA the make and model of every cashier’s computer or
hand-held device he needed to use as part of the job. It’s not easy to get
hired when you have to explain to your potential employer that a government
agency requires this information to ensure that following up on a customer’s
inquiry about toilet fittings would not somehow be a ruse to communicate with some
terrorist halfway around the world. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The Courts and CBSA are not
just needlessly afraid of Moe. They also don’t like Sophie, who happens to be a
very outspoken woman who has been crystal clear that her husband is innocent
and that the system that continues to oppress them is simply wrong. In other
words, the psychological torture which has been so oppressive to both of them
has not ultimately worked, because they are not broken. They are still
fighting, largely due to the rock that is Sophie Harkat. Her poignant testimony
in court is regularly ignored or dismissed. Because she simply stands up for
her rights while complying with conditions anyone would consider ridiculous, CBSA
has told Sophie that she is “difficult” and “too feisty.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When in court, Sophie has
discussed the humiliation of her work as a crossing guard when little children
she is helping get safely to school ask her why the police always seem to be at
her house. She has also asked why, if the Court has already approved her and
trusted her to supervise her husband, there needs to be constant physical
monitoring of the couple whenever they are at home or go out. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">But even for a couple as
solidly in love and dedicated to one another as Moe and Sophie are, there must
be so many times when one or both is at the point of breaking. While many of
the most oppressive conditions have since been eliminated due to lengthy and
costly court reviews, their effects have been life-changing. The couple who
wanted to raise a family suffered numerous miscarriages and severe declines in
mental and physical health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sophie,
formerly a well-paid marketing worker, was forced into poverty as she fought
for her husband and also dealt with potential employers who, upon googling her
last name, were suddenly no longer interested in hiring her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last costly court review of conditions
took over two years of litigation, leaving the couple still having to deal with
unique challenges like finding a cell phone that does not act as a GPS tracker
for the government but which still needs the approval of the CBSA. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p><b>
</b><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Court’s Deference to Injustice</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Meanwhile, the judges of
the Federal Court refuse to admit their preferential option for the powerful and
their clear bias against this couple. They give a free hand to the incompetent
bureaucrats and paper pushers who make a fortune in overtime enforcing the conditions.
In a 2017 hearing, Harkat’s lawyer Barb Jackman asked a CBSA supervisor whether
he had ever seen the outdated 2009 threat assessment on Moe (which concluded he
was at the low end of risk). The supervisor admitted he had not seen that, nor
the court decision on Moe’s security certificate.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“How would you know if Mr.
Harkat presented a threat to the security of Canada when you’re monitoring him,
if you don’t know what the threat is?” Jackman asked. “How can you say the
risks are neutralized by compliance with the conditions when you don’t know
what the risks are…You don’t really know what the risk is.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The sheepish supervisor
replied, “I agree I don’t really know.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Nowhere in the ultimate court
decision keeping the Harkats living in this dystopian nightmare was there any
acknowledgement of such brazen incompetence.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At the same
hearing, Jackman presented a list of names of individuals with whom Moe is not
allowed any contact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The supervisor in
charge of protecting the free world from Moe had no idea who any of the individuals
were, had never seen pictures of them, and did not know where they lived or whether
or not they were alive. How, Jackman asked, could the CBSA ensure compliance
with these conditions if they had no clue about these people? Again, the answer
was a sheepish admission that they could not. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When asked why
CBSA tends to monitor the Harkats on the weekends when they should be able to
enjoy themselves, the CBSA supervisor conceded that it had nothing to do with
national security and everything to do with overtime pay. The supervisor also
agreed that nowhere in the conditions of release does it state that Moe is to
be followed by CBSA officers, but that it’s “a part of our job, to monitor
people released on conditions.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Is that in
writing anywhere?” Jackman asked.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“No,” replied the
supervisor.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The supervisor
was asked whether, if the court were to relax the bail restrictions, CBSA would
continue to follow the Harkats to family funerals, weddings, and the cottage.
He replied that they would.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“And why would
that be, if the court believes that it’s not necessary to put him under those kinds
of restrictions any longer?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The supervisor
had no answer, but it served as another reminder that the agency is one of the
few federal bodies without a proper oversight body. CBSA is a law unto itself, just
like its Gestapo-like cousin ICE in the U.S., which regularly </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/02/ice-immigration-migrants-asylum-seekers-abuse-allegations"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">flouts the law</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> in
testosterone-fueled attacks on the rights of refugees.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">White-Framing Repression</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This thumbnail overview of
the Harkats’ daily life illustrates how easily mini police states akin to the
former East Germany are inserted into a self-described democratic system. They
persist and grow because they are very clearly targeted at racialized
individuals and communities who, in a racist society like ours, are
automatically deemed suspect. And the benefit of the doubt always goes to
government agencies, no matter how often they lie, cheat, deceive, and exhibit
sheer incompetence.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Those with lengthy post-9/11 memories will recall that many
marched and spoke out vigorously against so-called anti-terrorism measures when
they were first introduced, but most of that was within a white, middle class
framework. White environmentalists, church groups and unions feared being tarred
with the terrorist brush, but once it became obvious that they would not be
impacted, most <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>public opposition to such
measures disappeared. That white-framing was in evidence from the former
Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski, who in 2002 was speaking out against the
proposed no-fly lists. When the late Senator Ted Kennedy found he was on a
no-fly list, there was outrage that such a match could have been made by
airport officials. When things settled down and it was almost exclusively </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.13169/islastudj.4.1.0072"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Muslims</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> who were
being pulled aside for secondary questioning, those concerns largely vanished.
Nonetheless, in opposing no-fly lists, Radwanski ultimately betrayed a white
Ottawa bureaucrat’s incapacity to see beyond his world to, for example, the
streets of Toronto, where privacy protections never existed for racialized
communities.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“We’re
not a society where the police can stop you on the street and say ‘your papers
please,’” he told the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Toronto Star</i>,
blithely unaware that this was exactly the daily experience for Black,
Indigenous and South Asian people. Indeed, as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star </i></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2013/11/16/tighter_rules_for_toronto_police_carding_make_sense_editorial.html"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">noted</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> in 2013, “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">in
a city of less than three million people, police filled in 1.8 million contact
cards between 2008 and 2012, with details on more than a million people.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Because Moe, a
Muslim man, has been baselessly demonized as a terror suspect, there remains a
reticence to speak out against the fact that his every waking moment (and many
of his dreams) are occupied with his own private Stasi. A psychological
assessment of Moe, which was provided to the Federal Court, dovetails with
similar evaluations of those who lived in the former East German dictatorship. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>"There are times when Mr. Harkat has experienced
recurrent visions on a virtually daily basis over several months of being
arrested, incarcerated, deported and tortured,” the report reads. “Sometimes he
has visions of being shot by CBSA due to a misunderstanding, minor misstep or
accidental violation of his bail conditions. Often, he has been troubled by
insomnia and recurrent nightmares with the same themes as his daytime visions.
Energy has been chronically low and concentration impaired such that reading is
limited to no more than five minutes at a time. Appetite is chronically poor to
a point where he has to force himself to eat even one meal a day."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Such devastating
findings are never considered when reviewing Moe’s conditions. The conditions
must, the Federal Court insists, remain in place until he gets his mind right.
There remains no real acknowledgement that, as Moe’s assessment finds, “he is
frustrated around secret sources of information being used against him,
including of an informant who failed a lie detector test. He has been
frustrated that phone-tap evidence was used against him even though the
recordings were destroyed and only summaries of the transcripts presented,
including of conversations that he was supposedly involved with for which the
details are not remotely familiar to him."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The risk to Moe
is significant, with the expectation of “further permanent neurobiological
changes that will be more refractory to treatment and recovery the longer they
continue. This risk is not only to his mental health, but his physical health
as well. Chronic stress is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular
events (heart attacks and strokes), and suppressed immunity, including
susceptibility to infections and cancer. There are also costs to his wife and
family, financial costs, including to the Canadian taxpayer, and loss of Mr.
Harkat's potential contributions through work."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The danger here
is not to Moe and Sophie alone. Rather, their case illustrates only one of the
most extreme examples of repressive governmental responses to the justifiable demands
to release refugees, immigrants, and anyone else held in the incarceration
complex. Recall that in 2006, anything seemed better than Guantanamo North. It
turned out that the cure was just as bad as the illness.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The Jail Comes to You</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Instead of sending people to
jail, we now bring the jail to you. Such a solution is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>often introduced as one that results in
significant cost savings. The CBSA, which has no hard caps on the indefinite
detention it is allowed to hold refugees (often extending for years), has
established an “Alternatives to Detention” framework that, as described by
Constantine Gidaris in “Rethinking confinement through Canada’s alternatives to
detention program,” creates a paradigm in which “the mind is subject to
confinement without the confinement of the body…. the deprivation of liberty,
mobility, and autonomy that is experienced within conventional carceral
enclosures is also experienced outside them, albeit in different degrees.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Gidaris examines the
electronic monitoring program (EM) of CBSA which collects and analyzes
“real-time location data” of detainees released with the kinds of tracking
monitor that was strapped to Moe for eight years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every movement is recorded and uploaded to a
monitoring centre “while seemingly providing detainees with a greater sense of
freedom, mobility, and autonomy.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The CBSA also </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/border-services-agency/news/2018/07/alternatives-to-detention-program.html"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">celebrates</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
its surveillance programs including Voice Recognition, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which “uses biometric voiceprint technology to
enable individuals to report to the CBSA through a cellular telephone or by
using a landline telephone, at agreed upon intervals.” As part of it National Immigration
Detention Framework, the CBSA’s initial enrollment capacity of the program –
which should be renamed “extension of detention by other means – is 800 for its
“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Community Case Management and
Supervision” program, built with the cooperation of a number of social service
agencies</span>, 10,000 for Voice Recognition (a massive piece of data
collection and retention with profound privacy rights issues) and 20 for
electronic monitoring.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Electronic monitoring is
standard for immigration detainees stateside. It’s part of a larger expansion
of the prison into the community documented by Michelle Alexander in her must
read book on mass incarceration, </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://newjimcrow.com/"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The New Jim Crow</span></i></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">.
She refers to it as “e-incarceration”, which “turns entire communities into
open-air digital prisons,” peopled by a racialized caste of outsiders who
represent big profit margins to the companies involved in developing these
technologies of control. Often, it is the individuals themselves who must pay
for the “luxury” of not being held behind real prison bars. While Alexander
notes that for most people, the concept of house arrest is preferable to the
penitentiary, “what does it mean for the future of our communities to celebrate
reforms that convert our homes into prisons? Or that turn our neighbourhoods
into digital concentration camps patrolled by drones?” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The digital concentration
camp that is the home of Moe and Sophie Harkat is not being staffed and
enforced on some secret remote island. It happens in broad daylight in one of
Canada’s largest cities. It is well documented in approving decisions of the
Federal Court of Canada. It is covered occasionally in the media. And it is
opposed by over 67,000 people who have signed a </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.change.org/p/help-stop-my-husband-s-deportation-to-torture"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">petition</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> calling
for an end to this nightmare. Yet it will remain in place, and serve as the
precedent for expanding those camps, without our concerted, continued
resistance. The Harkats are planning further legal challenges to their
indefinite detention as well as the illegal efforts to deport Moe to torture.
To learn more about how to offer political and financial support, visit www.justiceforharkat.com</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></p>
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