MEDIA ADVISORY
Media contact:
Penelope Chester, CCLA
media@ccla.org
(416) 363-0321 ext 225
(647) 822-8764
PRESS CONFERENCE:
Past Wrongs and Present Day Injustices: Bill C-31 and Canada’s Legacy
TORONTO – April 30, 2012 – The Canadian Civil Liberties, the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants and Ryerson University are hosting a media conference on Tuesday May 1st at 10 a.m. on the topic of Bill C-31, “Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act“. The Bill proposes major changes to the Immigration and Refugee Act which runs contrary to the humanitarian and compassionate grounds of our longstanding refugee and immigration policies.
The speakers at the press conference represent communities which were the victims of misguided, unjust Canadian immigration policies, and will shed light on these historical injustices. While Canadian governments have issued apologies to the Chinese, Japanese, Jewish and other communities for past wrongs, Bill C-31 will create new injustices requiring future apology. Better to learn the legacy of past wrongs and revoke Bill C-31. Canada can and must do better.
The focus of the press conference is to highlight the need to learn from the past, and not let Canada repeat these grave mistakes with Bill C-31.
Panelists:
- Joy Kogawa, O.C., author of Obasan
- Harold (Hesh) Troper, Professor in the Department of Theory and Policy Studies at OISE/UofT and co-author of None Is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe, 1933 -1948.
- Dr. Joseph Wong, founding President of Chinese Canadian National Council and spokesperson on the Chinese Headtax Redress Campaign
- Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, Director of the Equality Program, CCLA will speak about the next steps of the campaign against Bill C-31 as well as provide detail regarding the time line for the Bill.
The media conference will be co-moderated by Avvy Go, Clinic Director, Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic and Debbie Douglas, Executive Director, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants.
Bill C-31, which is currently being rushed through the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, has the potential to inflict pain and injustice on a whole new generation of asylum seekers. Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, Director of CCLA’s Equality Program said “Bill C-31 represents a dramatic departure from the ethos and reputation of Canada as a compassionate, humanitarian voice on the world stage.”
What: Press Conference re: Bill C-31 – Connecting Past Mistakes To Present Day Injustices
When: Tuesday May 1st – 10 a.m.
Where: 180 Dundas Street West, 8th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M7A 2R9
>> Download CCLA’s submissions to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration
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Media contacts
Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Penelope Chester, Director, Communications
pchester@ccla.org | 647-822-8764| 416-363-0321 ext 225
Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants
Debbie Douglas, Executive Director
ddouglas@ocasi.org
Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic
Avvy Go, Clinic Director
goa@lao.on.ca
Ryerson Centre for Immigration and Settlement
Harald Bauder, Director
hbauder@GEOGRAPHY.Ryerson.Ca| 416-979-5000 x. 7193
