COLUMN: Carillon Flashback – 2011 Carillon Flashback January 13, 2011 – Iraq war resisters seek help from MP

About a dozen protesters braved the cold to protest in front of Provencher MP Vic Toews’ Steinbach constituency office as part of a countrywide “Keep Iraq War Resisters in Canada Campaign”.

The group is aiming to convince the federal government to end the practice of deporting U.S. “war resisters” from Canada.

Joshua Key, a former U.S. army private who served in Iraq, was on hand for the protest, along with his wife and two children. Key came to Canada in 2005 and later sought refugee status as a conscientious objector.

“Death, destruction, and chaos,” Key says are the three words that sum up his experience in Iraq. “At first, I believed in the mission, but after time there, nothing working out, no weapons of mass destruction … in many senses we were terrorizing innocent citizens of Iraq.”

MP Vic Toews was in Vancouver during the protest in Steinbach. In an email, he maintained Canadian “immigration measures and refugee protection systems provide sufficient flexibility for consideration of unique situations.”

“I would note,” he added, “that the immigration and refugee board, which operates independently of the government, has rejected every war deserter refugee claim from the U.S. it has heard. These people have been found not to be legitimate refugee claimants by independent decision makers.”

To date, that includes two refugee claimants, according to protesters, who they say received 15-month and 12-month prison sentences, respectively. Key suggested he too, is close to being deported. The group also argues that while Toews asserts the board is independent of government, it includes members like Ken Atkinson, a former Progressive Conservative MP.

Protesters brought with them a letter requesting an emergency meeting with Toews, the federal government’s senior Manitoba MP, but it seems they will be hard-pressed to convince the local politician to see their point of view.

“I can assure you that Canada will continue to protect legitimate refugees who face serious persecution, but I find it hard to believe that President Barack Obama is persecuting U.S. citizens,” Toews said.

The group estimates several hundred soldiers have come to Canada. They state there are more than 50,000 military deserters in the United States.

– with files from Grant Burr