Support for U.S. war resisters in Canada

By Matt Swagler | Socialist Worker, July 16, 2008 | Issue 676

HUNDREDS OF protesters gathered in front of Canadian consulates in 14 U.S. cities on July 10 to protest planned deportations of conscientious objector Corey Glass and other U.S. war resisters currently seeking refuge in Canada.

Glass, a National Guard sergeant who served in Iraq in 2005, moved to Toronto in 2006 rather than face the prospect of again participating in what he considered "an unjust war."

"When I joined the national guard," Glass explained at a May press conference, "they told me the only way I would be in combat is if there were troops occupying the United States...I signed up to defend people and do humanitarian work filling sandbags if there was a hurricane; I should have been in New Orleans, not Iraq."

{What you can do

Contact the offices of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley to demand that U.S. war resisters be given asylum in Canada.

Harper's office can be reached by calling 613-992-4211 or e-mailing pm@pm.gc.ca; Finley's office can be reached by calling 613-996-4974 and e-mailing finley.d@parl.gc.ca or finled1@parl.gc.ca.

For more information about U.S. war resisters in Canada, and what you can do to support them, visit Courage to Resist or the War Resisters Support Campaign.}

In June, Glass was given deportation orders, set for July 10, prompting the antiwar organizations Courage to Resist, Veterans for Peace and Project Safe Haven to call the emergency protests at consulates across the U.S.

In San Francisco, Courage to Resist was joined by members of the Raging Grannies, Veterans for Peace Chapter 69, American Friends Service Committee, BAY-Peace, the Campus Antiwar Network, Code Pink and the International Socialist Organization. The rally numbered close to 50 participants at its peak.

Shortly after the demonstrations, activists received word that a the Canadian Federal Court had granted Glass a last-minute reprieve, giving him the opportunity to appeal earlier rulings over the next few months, with the hope of remaining in Canada.

Organizer and veteran Adam Seibert explained the role he felt the protests played: "If you don't have troops, you can't have a war. The more troops who resist, the easier it is to stop the war--and the more visible public support that exists the easier it is for other troops to resist...Seventy-five percent of Conscientious Objector applications are denied, so for most soldiers resisting is the only option."

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