|
|
May 31, 2006, OTTAWA: Canadian Immigration Minister Monte Solberg begins his speech at the Christ Church Cathederal ...
Date: 05/31/2006
Views: 660
|
|
|
... 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: 486
|
|
|
|
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: 503
|
|
|
One protester approaches the podium, showing Solberg a placard reading: "Status for All! Stop the Deportations!"
Date: 05/31/2006
Views: 586
|
|
|
|
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: 627
|
|
|
"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: 704
|
|
|
|
Solberg immediately leaves the venue ...
Date: 05/31/2006
Views: 553
|
|
|
... pursued the whole way by demonstrators.
Date: 05/31/2006
Views: 558
|
|
|
|
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: 612
|
|
|
Solberg continues looking for his limo ...
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 529
|
|
|
|
"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: 656
|
|
|
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: 655
|
|
|
|
Solberg finds his limo, and escapes inside.
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 567
|
|
|
But he's blocked from leaving.
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 591
|
|
|
|
"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: 708
|
|
|
Throughout the protest, Solberg makes only one comment: "The police will take care of this."
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 615
|
|
|
|
An officer arrives, after 15 minutes, to get his orders from Solberg.
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 564
|
|
|
But Ottawa and Montreal activists join together to block the limo.
Date: 06/01/2006
Views: 643
|
|
|
|
"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: 691
|
|
|
"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: 753
|
|
