Canada’s immigration system and broadcast ethics questioned in light of border security reality TV show
Petitions, open letters calling for show’s cancellation gather steam

Apr 22, 2013 • 1:28 pm Jamie Cook.

A TV camera crew accompanied the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) on a March 13 raid, stirring controversy across the country. The raid, on a construction site in Vancouver that is alleged to have employed undocumented labourers, sparked a national debate on issues ranging from Canada’s immigration system to media broadcasting ethics. The CBSA agents descended on a construction site in East Vancouver and arrested eight men, all while accompanied by a film crew shooting footage for a TV show titled Border Security: Canada’s Front Line, produced by Vancouver-based Force Four Entertainment. News of the raid prompted criticism from Canadian immigration lawyers and advocates, as well as members of the public.

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by Craig Takeuchi on Apr 19, 2013 at 11:12 am

As part of a campaign to cancel the TV series Border Security, an open letter of concern has been signed by over 100 artists, calling for the show to be cancelled. Among the names who have signed are author Naomi Klein; documentary filmmaker and TV host Avi Lewis; actor and playwright Marcus Yousef; filmmaker Velcrow Ripper; actors Margot Kidder, Nicola Cavendish, and Maggie Wheeler; My American Cousin director Sandy Wilson; film festival programmer and author Amber Dawn; and media producer Sid Tan.

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Carol Martin, Nisga’a and Gitxsan, speaks at a rally in front of Force Four Entertainment, the producers of “Border Security” reality show approved by Minister Vic Toews. Carol, is the mother of Diana Thompson, whose husband Tulio Renan Hernandez was detained by CBSA in a workplace raid and filmed for this reality show. Renan was deported to Honduras on March 27.

Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/cancelbordersecurity
Visit the website: cancelbordersecurity.ca/

NOII AND CYH LAUNCHING A MIGRANT JUSTICE YOUTH WORKSHOP!

In the last few weeks, we have seen a rush of action– and victories such as Sanctuary City– on migrant justice. We need your help to sustain this momentum. As we look around us, we are seeing the issue of migrant justice on the hearts and minds of young people in our community like never before. With your help, we can further support youth with the education and resources they need to become leaders for change.

Engaging youth is crucial right now because the fight for migrant justice is truly at a turning point. From the militarization of borders, to racist legislation like the Refugee Exclusion Act, to increasing rates of detention and deportation, immigrant and refugee rights are increasingly under attack in Canada. In most recent news, the Canadian Border Services Agency raided construction sites, arresting and incarcerating migrant workers. Worse yet, these traumatic experiences were filmed for a reality TV show that was approved by the federal government.  One of the men caught in the raid and filmed for the reality show was a young student and father Oscar Mata. On the night of his deportation, Oscar told reporters, “I hate the word illegal, I am human, we are all human.”

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Joseph Leivdal — The Peak (Simon Fraser University)

BURNABY (CUP) — In a political climate where the Conservative government has implemented numerous xenophobic (often racist) immigration and refugee policies, including the mandatory detention of “suspicious” asylum seekers for up to one full year with no guarantee for refugee status, we should be highly suspicious of a government-funded reality show featuring the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). On March 13, dozens of CBSA officers, accompanied by cameras from Force Four Entertainment, raided a Vancouver construction site, arresting dozens of migrant workers despite the stated intention of the CBSA to detain one particular man with a lengthy criminal record. Eight remain in custody and are facing hearings and deportation.

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