NOII in the News

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Over 400 protestors took to the streets of Toronto Sunday night gathering outside Toronto's Royal York Hotel. Inside, Israel's apartheid institution Haifa University supported by Stephen Harper, Peter Munk, Ezra Levant and others had organized a ceremony to give Immigration Minister Jason Kenney an honorary degree.

The Canadian Press

Daniel Garcia was supposed to spend Christmas with his girlfriend and her family, even staying overnight at their home so he wouldn’t be alone on the holidays.

Instead, the 18-year-old Toronto student has spent the past few days in an immigration detention centre after police arrested him Thursday night, according to his friends.

Garcia faces deportation to Mexico and could be sent away as soon as next week, they said.

“It makes me so sad because if he gets deported, I never will see him again,” his girlfriend, Martina K., told the Canadian Press on Saturday.

She asked not to be identified by her full name since her immigration status is also not certain.

Dozens of students, teachers and community workers set aside their own Christmas plans on Saturday to defend Garcia, described as an exemplary student and a caring friend.

The National Post
Natalie Alcoba
December 1, 2010

The first day in office for Mayor Rob Ford also marks the first protest against him. And there are more to come, vowed John Clarke, an organizer with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. He had fighting words for the new mayor, and was cheered on by a small crowd gathered at Nathan Phillips Square Wednesday.

“There are few of us here today, there are going to be hundreds there are going to be thousands, people in this city are going to fight back. Ford is not going to get away with his agenda,” said Mr. Clarke.

The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty and No One Is Illegal, which fights for rights for undocumented people, organized the demonstration to declare “war” on the new mayor and council that they say will hurt the poor and working people.

John Bonnar
November 26, 2010

A grassroots campaign scored a major victory last month when the Canadian Border Services Agency issued a directive to enforcement officers telling them to stay away from shelters or other spaces for women who are escaping domestic violence.

In October, the Director of Inland Immigration Enforcement, GTA Region, for the Canadian Border Services Agency told his officers that women who leave an abusive situation to the safety of a shelter or other community service have a right to confidentiality and access to support services.

“When conducting a road investigation, officers will not enter shelters or other spaces designated as resources for women fleeing/experiencing violence,” said Reg Williams, in his letter of October 29.

The Toronto Star
November 24, 2010
Jayme Poisson

Women fleeing domestic violence will be able to use shelters in the GTA without worry of being targeted by immigration officers, a Toronto activist group says.

The Greater Toronto Enforcement Centre, a branch of the Canada Border Services Agency, will issue a directive barring officers from entering or waiting outside facilities serving women surviving violence, says Fariah Chowdhury, a spokeswoman for NoOneIsIllegal.

The CBSA declined requests for confirmation Wednesday night.

Chowdhury said rape crisis centres, women’s shelters or any community organization helping survivors of violence will now be off limits.

“For us, this is one small step in part of a broader campaign to make the city safe for women and for people with precarious status,” said Chowdhury.

SHARON LEM,TORONTO SUN
November 23, 2010 4:00pm

Canadian authorities looking to deport illegal immigrants will be prohibited from raiding shelters and locations where women are treated for abuse.

The Canadian Border Services Agency will issue a directive to its officers on Thursday banning them from entering or waiting outside such locations.

“This is just one small step as part of a broader city campaign to make the city safer for women with undocumented or precarious immigrant status,” said Fariah Chowdhury, an organizer with Shelter Sanctuary Status.

“The policy is certainly a victory, but we have to continue to struggle to make sure that more services are available to people without status and make sure the city is safe in other ways.”

Women’s shelters, drop-in centres, rape crisis centres, group counselling homes and community organizations which treat abused women will be covered by the policy.