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May 31, 2006, OTTAWA: Canadian Immigration Minister Monte Solberg begins his speech at the Christ Church Cathederal ...
Date: 05/31/2006
Views: 607
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... but he's interrupted by members of the crowd, including activists with Solidarity Across Borders and No One Is Illegal in Montreal.
Date: 05/31/2006
Views: 460
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Solberg, a Conservative Member of Parliament from Medicine Hat, Alberta, has been Immigration Minister since January 2006. His party ran on a platform of accelerating deportations, as well as opposition to implementing an appeals division at the IRB.
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 466
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One protester approaches the podium, showing Solberg a placard reading: "Status for All! Stop the Deportations!"
Date: 05/31/2006
Views: 556
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From the flyer that is passed out: "We come to Ottawa today for all our friends and neighbors who have been deported, detained, forced underground, forced into sanctuary, or victimized by security certificates."
Date: 05/31/2006
Views: 592
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"We have learned from experience that struggling for dignity and justice means we must disrupt and be assertive to have our voices meaningfully heard. That often means being impolite."
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 659
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Solberg immediately leaves the venue ...
Date: 05/31/2006
Views: 513
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... pursued the whole way by demonstrators.
Date: 05/31/2006
Views: 533
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Again, from the protest flyer: "We are not interested in a false debate; rather, we are making clear and attainable demands, based on the lived reality of the hundreds of thousands of migrants in Canada."
Date: 05/31/2006
Views: 587
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Solberg continues looking for his limo ...
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 497
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"We refuse to remain passive, or to be grateful for minor concessions, while listening to the empty words of ceremonial keynote addresses."
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 610
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Demonstrators carry banners that were used at the May 27 Status for All March in Montreal, part of a National Day of Action.
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 614
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Solberg finds his limo, and escapes inside.
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 520
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But he's blocked from leaving.
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 523
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"We reject any government's attempt to blame migrants for exercising the difficult but understandable choice to leave their homelands, whether to flee persecution, or to seek a better life."
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 666
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Throughout the protest, Solberg makes only one comment: "The police will take care of this."
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 568
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An officer arrives, after 15 minutes, to get his orders from Solberg.
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 531
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But Ottawa and Montreal activists join together to block the limo.
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 591
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"We have written letters, signed petitions and organized pickets and demonstrations; we have actively resisted deportations, and supported individuals and families who are confronting the unjust immigration and refugee system."
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 645
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"We organize as part of a struggle for self-determination as migrants and refugees, supported by allies. We refuse to be invisible; we refuse to live in fear."
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 691
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