Civil Liberties Association Decries
Shameful Banning of British MP on “National Security Grounds”
by BCCLA
 The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association is calling on
the Canadian Immigration Minister to immediately overturn the outrageous
decision by the Canadian Border Services Agency to ban British MP George
Galloway from Canada for his anti-war views.
Minister Jason Kenney, Harper's water-carrier for the Likud lobby in Canada
Today the British media reported
that Mr. Galloway has been deemed inadmissible to Canada on national security
grounds under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Government spokespersons have apparently declined to cite what precise “threat
to national security” is posed by Mr. Galloway who is about to start a North
American speaking tour and is due to speak at a public forum entitled Resisting War from Gaza to Kandahar, hosted by the Toronto
Coalition to Stop the War.
BCCLA Policy Director, Micheal Vonn:
“This is shameful conduct
from our government. We could not agree more with Mr. Galloway that this is a
dismal reflection on Canada. It strikes at the core of the essence of our
democratic rights. If the government or some border agent is allowed to
determine what speech Canadians get to hear, one of our most precious freedoms
will be shredded. This decision is clearly ideologically motivated and has
nothing whatsoever to do with national security. It is yet another in the
seemingly endless list of abuses and violation of our fundamental freedoms that
the rhetoric of national security has spawned.”
In 2008, the BCCLA spoke out against the possibility of
Canadian Border Services preventing an American anti-gay group from entering
Canada in order to protest.
Micheal Vonn:
“It doesn’t matter what end of the political
spectrum the expression comes from and it doesn’t matter if it is the most
profound wisdom or the most piebald idiocy, Canadian Border Services Agency
should not be in the business of screening what viewpoints are presented to
Canadians in Canada. Full stop.”
Media Contact Micheal Vonn, BCCLA
Policy Director,
604-630-9753
NEWS RELEASE
British Columbia Civil Liberties
Association
March 20, 2009
For immediate release
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Galloway: ‘This idiotic ban shames Canada’
WORLDPRESSNETWORK - 20 March 2009
http://www.georgegalloway.com/
Respect MP George Galloway today vowed to use “all means at my disposal” to challenge the decision by Canada’s pro-war, conservative immigration minister, Jason Kenny, to refuse him entry to the country to give a series of speeches.
Galloway is this afternoon exploring with organisers of his speaking tour and with legal advisors avenues to challenge the decision, which he brands “irrational, inexplicable and an affront to Canada’s good name”.
Galloway was not informed of the decision until after it had been given to journalists. The grounds provided by a spokesperson for Mr Kenny for the ban are that Galloway’s opposition to the deployment of Nato troops in Afghanistan make him “inadmissible” to Canada. Galloway says:
“This decision, gazetted in Rupert Murdoch’s Sun, is a very sad day for the Canada we have known and loved – a bastion of the freedoms that supporters of the occupation of Afghanistan claim to be defending.
“This has further vindicated the anti-war movement’s contention that unjust wars abroad will end up consuming the very liberties that make us who we are.
“This may be a rather desperate election ploy by a conservative government reaching the end of line, or by a minister who has not cottoned on to the fact that the George Bush era is over.
“All right thinking Canadians, whether they agree with me over the wisdom of sending troops to Afghanistan or not, will oppose this outrageous decision.
“On a personal note – for a Scotsman to be barred from Canada is like being told to stay away from the family home.
“This is not something I’m prepared to accept.”
For further information contact Kevin Ovenden: 020 7219 2874 or 07983 360 874
Ends
Notes to editors:
1) Galloway’s most recent comment on Afghanistan was to the Grimsby and
Scunthorpe media group and was, “More British soldiers have now died in
Afghanistan than in the whole of the disastrous war in and occupation
of Iraq. And yet the Taliban are growing in strength and instability is
spreading across the border into Pakistan. My heart goes out to the
families of all the loved ones who have lost their lives and in
particular to the families of Corporals Grahame Stiff and Dean John,
the latest soldiers to lose their lives in Afghanistan. The majority of
British people, the latest opinion polls show, do not understand why we
have sent troops to Afghanistan. I want our troops brought home from
Afghanistan now, so no more lives are lost in this pointless and
unwinnable war."
2) In 2006 the President of Egypt personally apologised to Galloway
after he was detained for some hours on arrival in Cairo to speak at an
anti-war conference. The speaking engagement went ahead.
From www.SpideredNews.com
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/kim-elliott/jason-kenney-bans-george-galloway-canada
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Jason Kenney bans British MP George Galloway from Canada
By Kim Elliott
| March 20, 2009
Has Jason Kenney and the Conservative government simply lost their minds? News broke today that Kenney has denied entry to British MP George Galloway, who is about to embark on a speaking tour in Canada.
The buzz about Galloway's North American tour has been growing loudly across the social media sphere and activist circles. That Canada would ban Galloway seemed like an internet hoax, when I first heard it, so I called Alykhan Velshi, MP Kenney's director of communications, this morning for confirmation. He explained that the decision is that of Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and that Mr. Kenney's role is only to decide to adhere or to overturn their decision. He has chosen not to overturn it.
Velshi refused to explain the specific grouns, but referred me to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Section 34(1)
34. (1) A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible on security grounds for
(a) engaging in an act of espionage or an act of subversion against a democratic government, institution or process as they are understood in Canada;
(b) engaging in or instigating the subversion by force of any government;
(c) engaging in terrorism;
(d) being a danger to the security of Canada;
(e) engaging in acts of violence that would or might endanger the lives or safety of persons in Canada; or
(f) being a member of an organization that there are reasonable grounds to believe engages, has engaged or will engage in acts referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).
You can find the full act here: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/ShowFullDoc/cs/I-2.5///en. Mr Vishi refused to tell me which of the above security threats Mr. Galloway posed.
I briefly met Mr. Galloway at the Rafah Border in Egypt last week, as I was returning from a Code Pink delegation to Gaza, and he was returning from having successfully delievered over 1.2 million dollars in aid to Gaza, and bringing world-wide attention to the humanitarian disastor in Gaza via a 10,000 km caravan of more than 100 vehicles that traveled from Britian to Gaza called Viva Palestina. And this threatens Canada's border security... how?
According to his website, http://www.georgegalloway.com/ MP George Galloway "vowed to use "all means at my disposal" to challenge the decision by Canada's pro-war, conservative immigration minister, Jason Kenny, to refuse him entry to the country to give a series of speeches."
No doubt organizers of Mr. Galloway's events, anti-war organizers and free-speech advocates will respond to Mr. Kenney's the CBSA's poor thinking, in the meantime, individuals can voice their concerns to their MPs, and to Mr. Kenney's office directly.
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