[van-announce] URGENT UPDATE! CIC MINISTER JUDY SGRO IN VANCOUVER

[noii-van at resist.ca]

*** URGENT PLEASE POST WIDELY ***

TIME CHANGE. We have just learned that Citizenship and Immigration
Minister Judy Sgro will be in Vancouver for a signing ceremony.

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MONDAY APRIL 5
GATHER AT 10:30 AM
Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
580 West Hastings Street
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What agreement is being signed is unclear, but we are clear that we will
be present to to denounce Canada's war on immigrants, refugees and
non-status peoples, and its role in an apartheid system that
systematically denies decent living conditions and basic rights.

We URGENTLY call on you to join us on April 5 to demonstrate our
resistance to the increasing sweeps, deportations, detentions, and the
relentless attacks to silence those who organize to stand up for their
rights.

April 5th is also the national day of action in support of Mohammed Cherfi
as his next hearing in the US is coming up. The situation of Mohamed
Cherfi is not merely an isolated "case". Mohamed Cherfi is an active
member and spokesperson of the Non-status algerians, and the precedent
that CIC is setting is an incredibly dangerous one: a message that
essentially every refugee fighting for their rights will be deported. The
situation of Mohamed Cherfi has huge repurcussions for all refugees
self-organizing for their rights and we must act now to demand his return
and defend those fighting for their dignity.

Below is an update.
___________________________________________________________________
Montreal, March 31st 2004

Cherfi was deported almost a month ago


THE AUTHORITIES MUST DO THEIR DUTY AND BRING HIM BACK HERE, WHERE HE
BELONGS


One month after the violation of sanctuary offered by St-Pierre United
Church in Quebec City and the hasty deportation of Mohamed Cherfi to
the United States, a broad cross-Canada solidarity movement continues to
challenge Prime Minister Paul Martin and the ministers concerned, Ms.
Sgro, Ms. McLellan and Ms. Courchesne. More than organizations and
public figures have called for Mohamed’s return to Canada and granting him
resident status. These include the CSN, CSQ, the Fédération des femmes
du Québec, as well as the Council of Canadians, the United Church of
Canada, Marc Ouellet, the Cardinal of Quebec City, actors Luc Picard,
Louisette Dussault and Yvon Deschamps who has just expressed his support.

Many organizations and spokespersons have pointed out a large number of
irregularities in the handling of Mohamed’s file. Recent information
backs up suspected denial of his rights:

Upon his deportation, a letter signed by Federal authorities was
handed to Mohamed, indicating that his last resorts (Examination of risks
of return and request on humanitarian grounds) was met with a negative
response on December 12th, 2004. However, as of this date, Mohamed’s
file was still under review with the staff of the Quebec Minister of
Immigration, Ms. Courchesne. Furthermore, Minister Courschesne’s
spokespersons stated, on Saturday, December 6th, during a meeting (with a
representative of the Comité d’action des sans-statut), the lawyer chosen
by Mohamed for a review of his case, Mr Jack Rosenfeld and Mohamed’s
financial (garant), Mr Stéphane Rituit), that a Certificate of Selection
could be issued to Mohamed on the condition that he seeks employment and
it endorsed by a financial guarantor. According to the Minister’s
representatives, this conditional acceptance would be signed at a
forthcoming meeting. In a letter dated December 8th (enclosed), the MRCI
confirmed that the notice about Mohamed’s course of integration was under
review with the Minister’s cabinet. At the following meeting, on Saturday,
December 13, where Mr Rituit was once again present, a sudden change: the
Minister’s representatives announced that they could not grant a CSQ to
Mohamed as there was an obstacle on the Federal level. “If Mr Martin
wants to understand the many irregularities that occurred in the
processing of Mohamed’s case, he can start by asking the Federal Minister
of Immigration at the time when review of Mohamed’s file was blocked, Mr
Denis Coderre.” stated Louise Boivin, Mr Cherfi’s companion.

We raise the following question: What caused Mohamed’s acceptance to be
blocked by the Federal Minister of Immigration although Quebec has
jurisdiction in immigration matters and in the special selection procedure
for Algerians?


A document (enclosed) issued by the US District Attorney during
Mohamed’s first hearing before a US Immigration judge, on March 16th 2004,
indicates that he opposed Mohamed being freed on bail during the
proceedings. This position was backed up by information alleging that
Mohamed had shown that he was ready to disobey the law “at all cost” and
that he was a “professional activist” with links to the group of
“Non-status Algerians”. According to information obtained from Albany
Jail, during his transfer to Batavia, he allegedly was arrested while he
took part in an occupation of a Federal office in Ottawa. Moreover, during
an
interview with two US intelligence service representatives in Albany,
Mohamed observed that they were familiar with all his activities as a
member of the Comité d’action des sans-statut, in Canada.

We raise the following questions:
Who turned the information about Mohamed’s political activities over to
the US authorities: the Canadian Ministries of Immigration, of Public
Security, Canadian Security and Intelligence Services? Why was this
information, unrelated to the evaluation of his application for asylum but
totally related to his right to freedom of expression and association?
We want to know whether this information was also passed along to the
civil servants and political authorities that refused his applications
for residence in Canada (evaluation of his “course of integration” by
Quebec, examination of risks of return and application on humanitarian
grounds by Ottawa).


We deplore the fact that information about Mohamed’s peaceful and
democratic activities has been used in processing his file. Furthermore,
this information is confusing. Mohamed is not a “professional activist”,
it isn’t his profession. He became an activist here in Canada, to defend
his rights and those of other non-status people. He is not ready to
resist the law “at any cost”. He never had any dealings with the police
before demonstrating for the rights of non-status people in Canada. He
has no arrest record and has always been peaceful. The reference to an
occupation of a Federal office does not specify that this referred to the
occupation of Denis Coderre’s waiting room, when the latter was
Minister of Immigration, on May 29th, 2003, to defend the rights of
non-status people threatened with deportation. The summary accusation
against
Mohamed and the other non-status persons present is simply “mischief”. The
trial should take place in June 2004 and Mohamed should be able to have
his say to the judge.

Silence of the authorities

The authorities concerned are still not taking action in the direction
of a solution. Meeting with a representative of Prime Minister Martin’s
office, on March 17th, the delegates of the Ligue des droits et
libertés and the Comité de solidarité avec Mohamed Cherfi pointed out the
shortcomings in the processing of his file. They are still awaiting a
reaction. Moreover, on March 12th, Louise Boivin and Jamel Ouchfoun, of
the Comité d’action des sans-status, wrote to the Quebec Minister for
Relations with Citizens and Immigration, Ms Michelle Courchesne, asking
her to grant a Certificate of Selection to Mohamed so as to make progress
towards a solution. On March 24th, a letter from the Minister’s
political attachée indicated that this correspondence would be brought to
the Minister’s attention “in the shortest possible time”.

Government silence must no longer continue. Time is passing quickly. In
a week on Wednesday, April 7th, Mohamed will appear before a US
Immigration judge. There is a strong risk that the authorities will refuse
is request for protection and deport him towards Algeria, where his life
is in danger, as Amnesty International and the International Federation
of Human Rights Leagues have emphasized. Louise Boivin has returned
greatly distressed from a trip to the Immigrant Detention Center in
Batavia. The conditions are harsh. Mohamed has lost weight. He is being
held with 50 other immigrants in a room filled with bunk beds. The lights
remain on at night and the noise is constant. The toilets and showers are
open, and must be used in front of everyone.

Everything indicates that certain persons have judged, outside the
legal and political framework, that Mohamed Cherfi must be turned down,
arrested, deported and jailed “at any cost”, including violating sanctuary
and setting up a police operation, at the behest of Immigration, as
Captain André Fillion of the Quebec City police department has indicated
(Le Soleil, March 7th 2004). All of this is particularly disturbing in a
society that claims to be democratic and in which the ideology of
security feeds dangerous prejudices about members of the Arab and Muslim
communities.