RARP PUBLIC ASSEMBLY
SUNDAY JUNE 20 3 PM
PALESTINE CENTER, 1874 KINSGWAY (corner Victoria)

The refugee process has systemically become increasingly difficult over the last several years and there has been an increase of racial profiling of Muslim and Arab communities on arrival and throughout their time in Canada. Members of RARP will be talking about their struggles as refugee claimants in Canada and their fears of deportation. The committee will share their stories as well as information of some of the organizing happening within affected communities in Vancouver to stop detentions and deportations.

Background

Refugees Against Racial Profiling joins a movement of self-organized Algerian, Columbian, Palestinian, Pakistani and other refugee movements in Canada. These communities are fighting in the face of growing repression: organizing demonstrations, educational forums, forming womens committees and seeking sanctuary in churches to avoid deportation.

For more information or to get involved in supporting RARP:
noii-van@resist.ca
(604) 682-3269 x 7149

Statement

Refugees Against Racial Profiling has recently formed as an organization to protest against the Canadian governments continuing policy of detention and deportations of asylum seekers.

The domestic consequences of the “War on Terrorism” includes massive arrests and the interrogation of immigrants and refugees, the passing of legislation granting intelligence and law enforcement agencies much broader powers of intrusion into the private lives of people, pervasive government and media censorship of information, the silencing of dissent, and widespread racial profiling and criminalization of Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities.

Legislation such as the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Statutes of Canada 2001, and the Anti-Terrorism Act has strengthened the association between terrorism and immigration. The ability of the Canadian government to impose such major legislation despite the resounding resistance of affected communities says multitudes about democracy and equal rights.

Increasing detention and deportation statistics and decreasing acceptance rates continue to criminalize refugees who fight for basic survival. The new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act promised a Refugee Appeal division within one year, i.e. by June 2003, which is yet to be implemented. Furthermore the IRB has been “streamlined” such that the life and fate of people is completely in the hands of one judge; judges who do not necessarily have any background in the law, rather who are appointees enforcing the political agenda of the government. A new department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness is taking over the responsibility for deportations from Immigration Canada, casting migrant removals as an issue of public safety. According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada records of 2002, of the 440 people being held in Canadian detentions at any given point in time, only 5 people had actual allegations of ‘being a threat to national security’ laid on them.

We reject the logic that refugees are terrorists or make Canada unsafe. For members of immigrant and refugee communities, the handling of cases such as Project Thread sends a clear message that the Canadian government practices racial profiling. Security certificates have been used to arbitrarily detain Muslim men on so-called secret evidence in complete defiance of their basic civil rights. When detained under such an Orwellian-measure, there is no chance of bail for refugees, detention can be indefinite, and neither the person detained nor a defence lawyer is allowed access to the heart of the evidence on grounds of “national security”.

Meanwhile, refugees and those without status are forced to silence dissent in fears of being deported.

We came to Canada because we knew and heard about democracy and human rights in this country and because we hoped to live a peaceful and safe life while being able to contribute to society. However, we are still anxious and extremely fearful as the Canadian government has disregarded our humanity and handed all of us death sentences in the form of removal orders.

There has always been racism in Canada’s refugee and immigration policies built into the very structure of the system. The exclusion of Chinese migrants after Confederation, the internment of Japanese-Canadians during World War II and the refusal of Jewish refugees in the “None is too Many” policy after World War II are three well-known examples. This mistreatment was clearly fed by racist prejudice and these chapters in Canadian history are recognized as shameful, and yet are being repeated.

We Demand:

1) AN END TO ALL RACISM IN THE REFUGEE DETERMINATION SYSTEM THAT RESULTS IN UNFAIR AND INHUMAN DEPORTATIONS AND DETENTIONS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
– The abolition of Security Certificates, which violates the presumption of innocence and right to a fair trial.
– Implementation of the Refugee Appeal Division
– An end to the political appointment process and single-member “panel” of the Immigration and Refugee board that results in a lottery system for survival.

2) REGULARIZED STATUS FOR ALL ASYLUM SEEKERS