In July 2010, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, at the direction of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, issued Operational Bulletin 202 which formalizes the bias against all US war resisters in policy that immigration decision-makers must follow.
Amnesty International Canada and former IRB Chair Peter Showler have called for Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Operational Bulletin 202 to be rescinded because it "fails to recognize that military desertion for reasons of conscience is in fact clearly recognized as a legitimate ground for refugee protection" and it "misstates the law and seeks to intrude on the independence of both IRB members and Immigration Officers."
BACKGROUNDER
Federal Court/Federal Court of Appeal decisions in favour of US war resisters
Since 2008, there have been 11 Federal Court or Federal Court of Appeal decisions in favour of US war resisters who are seeking permanent resident status in Canada:
1. Joshua Key - July 20082. James Corey Glass - July 20083. Jeremy Hinzman - September 20084. Matthew Lowell - September 20085. Dean Walcott - January 20096. Kimberly Rivera - March 20097. Kimberly Rivera - August 20098. Jeremy Hinzman - July 2010 (Federal Court of Appeal)9. Dean Walcott - April 201110. Chris Vassey - July 201111. Jules Tindungan - February 2013
Key dates: US war resisters in Canada
January 3, 2004: Jeremy Hinzman, the first US Iraq War resister to come to Canada, arrived along with his wife Nga Nguyen and their first child Liam.
May 2004: War Resisters Support Campaign founded in Toronto to advocate for a provision to be made to allow US war resisters to the Iraq War to stay in Canada.
June 3, 2008: The House of Commons passed a motion directing the Government of Canada to immediately stop deportation proceedings against all US Iraq War resisters and facilitate the resisters' requests for permanent resident status (http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=3204056&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=2).
June 27, 2008: An Angus Reid Strategies poll reveals that the majority (two-thirds) of Canadians agrees with the decision to let US Iraq War resisters stay in Canada as permanent residents (http://www.angus-reid.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/2008.06.27_Soldiers.pdf).
July 15, 2008: Robin Long becomes the first US Iraq War resister to be deported by the Harper government (http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=83bfbe5f-018c-43f9-8f31-20d79f3d0148).
October 2, 2008: Prime Minister Stephen Harper reversed his previous support for the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq stating during the English-language leaders' election debate:
"It was absolutely an error. It's obviously clear the evaluation of weapons of mass destruction proved not to be correct. That's absolutely true and that's why we're not sending anybody to Iraq."
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYTTbmCL4RQ)
January 9, 2009: Jason Kenney was criticized by Amnesty International Canada and the Canadian Council for Refugees for biasing all US resisters' cases with his public "bogus refugee claimants" comment (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/01/09/refugee-war.html).
