Canada Votes to Let War Resisters Stay

Canada's Parliament has approved a motion which should allow Iraq War Resisters to gain residency.

All three main opposition parties, Liberals, Bloc Quebecois and the New Democratic Party (NDP) supported the motion. Only the PM Stephen Harper's Conservative government stood against the landmark decision.

But in a twist of fate, while the motion was passed 137-110 in the Canadian House of Commons, it will not be binding on the Conservative Government.

In response, all three main opposition parties and a growing war resister support movement have made calls on the Conservatives and Harper to honour the democratic parliamentary vote."The Harper Conservatives must respect this and immediately implement this motion," Toronto NDP MP Olivia Chow said. "Ordinary people want the Iraq war resisters to stay."

The motion, introduced into Parliament by the NDP MP Olivia Chow on 3 June, has come on the back of a growing War Resister supporter's movement throughout Canada. The bill argued that since the war on Iraq has not been sanctioned by the United Nations, that Canada should allow those who conscientiously object, and their families, to apply for Canadian residency.

The motion also called for an end to the deportation/removal orders that have been commenced against known war resisters within Canada. Late last month, U.S. soldier and War Resister Corey Glass was ordered for deportation, after his 22-month battle for residency was rejected by the local authorities.

Glass was asked to voluntarily leave the country by the June 12. Canadian authorities have, until now, ignored the possible repercussions of Glass' return to the United States. "Deserters" from the U.S. armed forces face anything from a dishonorable discharge to jail time in a military prison on their return to the United States.

The Canadian Authorities argued, in Glass' case, that he had come from a democratic country with an accountable and just system for dealing with "deserters". But as Glass told the Toronto Star on May 22 "I guess it means jail time, possibly," said Glass. "They don't really tell me."

The landmark decision by the Canadian Parliament signals hope amongst those turning against the War on Iraq, especially those in the armed forces. Reborn is the idea of the Canadian refuge for those fleeing war. During the Vietnam War thousands of disillusioned U.S. soldiers legally seeked refuge in the country. The War Resister Support Campaign claims that up to 200 U.S. Soldiers have fled into Canada since the beginning of the war in 2003, although only around 40 have applied for refugee status.