Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to speak to the motion, and I think everyone has a copy of it in front of them. The basic requests of the motion are:
That the government should immediately implement an in-Canada program to allow conscientious objectors and their immediate family members, in particular those from the United States of America, who have refused or left military service related to the war in Iraq, to apply to remain and work in Canada and, after a period of two years, be eligible for permanent resident status.
The second point is:
That the government should immediately cease any removal or deportation actions that may have already commenced against such individuals.
Mr. Chair, I think this is a very important resolution. The occasion for tabling it here at the committee or bringing it up at the committee is the fact that, in the very recent past, in the last couple of weeks, there's been a negative decision at the Federal Court of Appeal on the refugee claim cases of Jeremy Hinzman and Brendan Hughey, two of the original American war resistors in Canada. They are now in the process of applying for leave to appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada. However, the decisions leave them without status in Canada, unless the Supreme Court agrees to hear their appeal. There are many other cases following Mr. Hinzman's and Mr. Hughey's cases that are subject to the decisions in this case, and others that are before the Federal Court and other refugee claims that are in process.
I think this is a really important issue, because American war resistors in Canada are people who have refused service in the American armed forces, in the war in Iraq. They are young men and women of conscience who have taken a very difficult and important stand on what they believe to be an issue of personal conscience. Some, like Joshua Key, who has written a book called The Deserter's Tale: The Story of an Ordinary Soldier Who Walked Away from the War in Iraq, paint a very graphic picture of the situation in Iraq and of the problems they faced as individuals serving in the American armed forces. I think Mr. Key's descriptions of some of the incidents that he witnessed, and indeed participated in, can only be described as atrocities.
Canada has a strong history of welcoming those who have taken a passivist stance, those who have been conscientious objectors to war, or those who have taken a stance against militarism. There's the example of the Dukabors who settled in British Columbia, the Mennonites, and there's the incredible example of the Vietnam War resistors who came during the period of the Vietnam War. Some say almost 100,000, but certainly over 50,000 have remained in Canada. These draft-age Americans came to Canada refusing to participate in what they saw was an immoral war.
The Prime Minister of the day, Pierre Trudeau, said that:
Those who make the conscientious judgment that they must not participate in this war...have my complete sympathy, and indeed our political approach has been to give them access to Canada. Canada should be a refuge from militarism.
Mr. Chair, I believe that the same situation exists today. Like the war in Vietnam, Canada has refused to participate in the war in Iraq, and that's a decision that Canadians strongly supported and continue to strongly support. We see increasingly in the United States that most Americans do not support the war in Iraq. Many of us and many legal experts also believe that this is an illegal war. Unfortunately, the government intervened to argue that information on the legality of the war was not relevant to the refugee claims made by the American war resistors, and sadly, it was a point they won at the IRB. I believe this is a key issue, especially given that the Nuremberg Tribunal established international law that made it clear that soldiers have a moral duty, not a choice, to refuse to carry out illegal orders. So the legality of the war, I believe, is a fundamental issue in these cases.
Some war resistors have been denied conscientious objector status in the United States, or are told that they shouldn't make an application because it has no chance of proceeding. I also think there's an issue of the kind of questionable recruitment practices that happen by the American armed forces, and many people have ended up calling what is in fact happening in the United States now a poverty draft because it targets people from low-income families and communities.
I think there are also serious issues about the contract they entered into and the promises of the numbers of tours of duty in Iraq, which are far exceeding what was explained to many of the people who did enlist.
Chair, I'm almost done.
I believe the war resistors face serious sanctions should they return to the United States. The charge they face in a court martial is desertion, and there are significant penalties associated with desertion. There's confinement for up to five years. In a time of war, there may be death or other punishment, as a court martial may direct. I think it's very significant in this case that the punishments they face should they return, having left service in the armed forces, are very severe.
Chair, we've also seen police harassment of war resistors in Canada. It's something I've been very concerned about. I have written to the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, in conjunction with my colleagues, Brian Masse and Alex Atamanenko.
Chair, I believe Canada must continue to be a haven for those who have conscientious objections to service in the war in Iraq. I believe Canadians support offering these men and women of conscience a welcome and a place here in Canada.
There has certainly been a strong response to petition campaigns on this issue. I have tabled petitions of over 7,000 names in this Parliament and over 15,000 names in the previous Parliament. On the website for the campaign to support war resistors, there is an online petition of over 14,000 names of people from Canada and around the world.
Chair, given all of this, I think it would be entirely appropriate for the government to introduce a special program that would allow war resistors to obtain permanent residence in Canada, along the lines of the motion I proposed.
Thank you, Chair.
