*** April 4 is Refugee Rights Day – YOU can get involved ***

Minister of Censorship and Deportation Jason Kenney has tabled Bill C-31, an omnibus Refugee Exclusion Act. It creates a two-tier system of refugee protection that mandates nationality-based discrimination, mandates incarceration for many asylum seekers, denies and revokes permanent residency for many who have already been granted refugee status, and violently targets and expels refugees and migrants from Canada. This Act also introduces intrusive biometrics data collection on all migrants and gives increased powers of arrest and detention to border guards. This racist and repressive new bill is a major roll-back on an already minimalist and exclusionary refugee system.

Learn more – Joint NOII Statement – Axe the Refugee Exclusion Act:
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/no-one-illegal/2012/03/noii-alert-axe-refugee-exclusion-act

TAKE ACTION:

1) April 4th is Refugee Rights Day. We encourage you to post on your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites about the Refugee Exclusion Act and migrant justice issues. The mainstream media and even many of us have been silent or unaware about this recent attack on refugee rights, so raising awareness is a critical first step. Tag and post to Jason Kenney, your MP and news channels. Share any and all of the links listed below (scroll down).

– Suggestions for Facebook status or add links (included below):

“April 4 is Refugee Rights Day. Do you know about the new Refugee Exclusion Act tabled by the Tory government and Minister of Censorship and Deportation Jason Kenney? It creates a discriminatory two-tier system of refugee protection, mandates incarceration for many refugees, and revokes permanent residency for many who have already been granted refugee status. This is a racist and repressive new bill and we have to fight it!”

“Axe the Refugee Exclusion Act. It entrenches detentions, deportations, and the violence of border controls. Canada is built on the theft of Indigenous lands; the exploitation of labour especially slave, migrant, and reproductive labour; and the global appropriation of natural resources through imperialism. Today is Refugee Rights Day and I believe that everyone has the right to stay, the freedom to move, and the right to return.”

– On Twitter we suggest people start using the following hashtags (leading upto and beyond April 4th). On April 4th, let’s get them trending! #noBillC31 #RefugeeExclusion

Suggested tweets (add any of the links included below)

Axe the Refugee Exclusion Act, another Tory attack on refugees & migrants #noBillC31 #RefugeeExclusion #cdnimm #cdnpoli

From Crime Bill to Refugee Exclusion Act, Tories housing plan is prisons #noBillC31 #EefugeeExclusion #cdnimm #cdnpoli

Axe the Refugee Exclusion Act. people v @kenneyjason, we are many #noBillC31 #RefugeeExclusion #cdnimm #cdnpoli

– You can also change your profile picture for April 4:
http://twibbon.com/join/Stop-Bill-C-31

2) Sign & share Amnesty’s appeal to MP’s – easy way to send a message:
http://www.amnesty.ca/iwriteforjustice/take_action.php?actionid=843

If you would like to send your own message, here are two sample letters:
http://scr.bi/GNtvx2 and http://is.gd/jCeRm6
You can find your MP’s contact info here http://bit.ly/mfMkVq

3) Share information about the Refugee Exclusion Act:

– NOII Joint Statement:
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/no-one-illegal/2012/03/noii-alert-axe-refugee-exclusion-act

– NOII-Toronto Axe the Refugee Exclusion Act Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9jkHC5l1gQ

– Human Rights Watch statement:
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/16/canada-vote-no-migrant-detention-bill

– Human rights and legal organizations (Amnesty International, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and the Canadian Council for Refugees) joint statement:
http://ccrweb.ca/en/protect-refugees-c31-statement

[NOTE: one of the demands of these organizations is implementing the prior negotiated Bill C-11 instead of the currently proposed Refugee Exclusion Act. NOII disagrees that Bill C-11 is a ‘balanced, reasonable compromise’. We oppose compromises that exclude certain migrants, entrenches discrimination based on nationality, and deny full justice https://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=2454]

– Myths and realities about Bill C-31 from Canadian Council of Refugees and Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers:
http://ccrweb.ca/en/myths-and-facts-c31
http://www.refugeelawyersgroup.ca/theministersays

– Children in Detention Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCV4oa2voQE

– Everything You Can Stomach Knowing about Minister Kenney:
https://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=1027
http://is.gd/FvEQJZ

– Kenney “Wanted” poster image:
http://bit.ly/alj2C9

– No One Is Illegal the System Is Illegal & our Seven Demands:
https://noii-van.resist.ca/?page_id=17
https://noii-van.resist.ca/?page_id=4096

– Post a photo from our flickr site or a video from our channel:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nooneisillegal/
http://www.youtube.com/NoOneIsIllegalVan

4) Stay updated:

Email list: https://lists.resist.ca/mailman/listinfo/noii-l
https://www.facebook.com/groups/nooneisillegalvan/
http://www.facebook.com/NoOneIsIllegalNetwork
http://wwww.twitter.com/nooneisillegal
http://www.youtube.com/NoOneIsIllegalVan
http://www.flickr.com/nooneisillegal/