[news] Immigrants and Supporters Disrupt Immigration Minister’s Dinner in Vancouver

[No One Is Illegal - Van]

vancouver.indymedia.org

Immigrants and Supporters Disrupt Immigration Minister’s Dinner in Vancouver
by Direct Action • Wednesday May 21, 2003 at 12:14 PM

Immigrants and Supporters Disrupt Immigration Minister’s Dinner in Vancouver

On Tuesday, May 20, about 75 people marched from Victory Square in downtown 
Vancouver to Floata restaurant in Chinatown to confront Denis Coderre, the 
federal Minster of Immigration, as he was eating an expensive dinner. The 
protest was organized by the No One Is Illegal May 20th Ad Hoc Committee, 
which was made up of members from a number of different groups.

The Committee drafted a series of demands and planned to press for a 
delegation of refugees to meet with Coderre. The demands were:

- Stop Deportations!
- Open the Borders!
- Abolish Bill C-18!
- Scrap the Safe 3rd Country Agreement!
- Stop Military and Economic Interventions at Home and Abroad!

Coderre has been instrumental in passing new anti-immigrant laws in Canada, 
such as Bill C-18 and the Safe 3rd Country Agreement, which are increasingly 
subjecting immigrants and refugees to arbitrary detention and deportation. 
Coderre also advocates for the creation of a Permanent Resident Card, and 
new screening technologies, such as iris scans and finger print recognition.

As immigrants and supporters rallied at Victory Square, speakers from No One 
Is Illegal – Vancouver spoke against the oppressive policies of the Canadian 
government and Denis Coderre, and urged the crowd to express their anger.

After a march down Hastings Street the group arrived at Floata restaurant, 
where they were blocked by a small group of police officers. The group 
chanted and screamed out in rage against Coderre’s policies and challenged 
him to come down to the street and show his face. A fire alarm went off in 
the mall complex where the restaurant is located, a fire truck arrived and 
firemen prepared to enter the building with axes and other equipment, but 
were stopped by police and informed that it was a false alarm.

Protesters then marched through the parkade of the building, blocked both 
exists and set up check points with pylons, signs and a large wood-frame 
bed. Protesters did not allow any more vehicles into the parkade. When the 
Member of the Legislative Assembly representing Burnaby was spotted he was 
confronted and screamed at by demonstrators. Fire alarms were set off 
several more times. A police officer drove his bicycle into the leg of a 
protester at one point, but there were no arrests. The protesters dispersed 
after about an hour of disruptive action.

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