Over twenty people held a demonstration this
morning to disrupt a press conference given by Stephen Harper at the
Montreal General Hospital, in front of a hand-picked audience of young
Conservatives from McGill University. Despite heavy RCMP and Montreal
police presence, demonstrators we able to let themselves in to the room
where Stephen Harper was speaking, before being kicked out by security.

MONTREAL, NOV 24 2006. -- Over twenty people held a demonstration this
morning to disrupt a press conference given by Stephen Harper at the
Montreal General Hospital, in front of a hand-picked audience of young
Conservatives from McGill University. Despite heavy RCMP and Montreal
police presence, demonstrators we able to let themselves in to the room
where Stephen Harper was speaking, before being kicked out by security.

One member of Block the Empire, Jaggi Singh, was arrested as he sat in the conference room waiting for Harper's talk to begin. Members of BLEM asserted that it was a public talk and they had the right to be there, despite the security guards telling them the event was 'invitation only'. As members of BLEM were aggressively removed from the room by police, one member of BLEM was sexually harassed by a cop, who said "we should go out for a beer some time", as he pushed her back repeatedly.

To view pictures of the action, click here: gallery.cmaq.net/harper-mtl

Our message to Stephen Harper: you're not welcome in Montreal (or anywhere
else for that matter). Everywhere you go, you will be confronted.

Below is a copy of the flyer that was handed out at the demonstration.

(This demonstration was organized by Block the Empire Montreal and No One
Is Illegal Montreal. For more information, please contact
bloq...@resist.ca or noii...@riseup.net)

STEPHEN HARPER -- GET OUT OF MONTREAL!!!

Friday, November 24, 2006 -- Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper is
sneaking into Montreal today -- a city where his party has little to no
support or respect -- for a scripted public relations event at the
Montreal General Hospital, stacked with eager young Conservatives from
McGill.

We're here to disrupt Prime Minister Harper and to expose his far
right-wing agenda. Real democracy means getting in the face of
decision-makers, not sitting politely while we're fed empty sound
bites and stage-managed photo ops while surrounded by cops and
security guards.

Why are we here? Here are just some of the reasons:

Canada out of Kandahar, Bush out of Baghdad!
Steven Harper is an ideological soul mate of George Bush, and an
unabashed defender of Bush's disastrous "war on terror". Canadian
troops are currently in Afghanistan to allow more US troops to occupy and
kill in Iraq. Bush and Harper have put forward a false choice
between supporting Western soldiers or the Taliban, and would have us
believe that their brand of Christian corporate free-market
fundamentalism is supposed to be the basis for the liberation of
average Afghanis.

The killing of civilians is not "justified and measured"
This summer, when the Israeli Defence Forces brutally attacked
civilians and the infrastructure of Lebanon, in acts widely recognized as
war crimes, Steven Harper expressed his unconditional support for Israel.
Even after an entire Montreal-based family were massacred in their home in
southern Lebanon, Harper continued to describe the
Israeli invasion as "justified and measured". The Harper government has
also continued to side with the continued Israeli occupation of
Palestinian territories. The anger that brought us out in large
numbers on the streets of Montreal this past summer to denounce Steven
Harper's complicity in war crimes brings us to confront him personally
today.

Extinguishing indigenous sovereignty
One of Steven Harper's closest advisors, and ideological mentors, is
Calgary neo-conservative professor Tom Flanagan. Regarding the rights of
indigenous peoples, Flanagan has written the following: "Europeans are, in
effect, a new immigrant wave, taking control of land just as earlier
aboriginal settlers did. To differentiate the rights of
earlier and later immigrants is a form of racism." Equating indigenous
persons as "immigrants" is tantamount to extinguishing indigenous
rights. The Harper Conservatives stand for assimilation; in the
context of continued self-determination struggles at Six Nations, Sun
Peaks, Grassy Narrows and elsewhere, the Harper Conservative position is
tantamount to continued genocide.

The National Insecurity Agenda
Not surprisingly, the Conservatives have entrenched the previous
Liberal government's national insecurity agenda, promoting fear and
paranoia, and using the "war on terror" to justify more repressive police
and security measures. Public Security Minister Stockwell Day intends to
arm border guards, while Steven Harper self-servingly
pronounces on the guilt of suspects in Toronto. The Harper
Conservatives create fear to justify their own "law and order" agenda.

Continued Deportations and Detentions
Under Immigration Minister Monte Solberg and Stockwell Day -- who is
responsible for the Canadian Border Services Agency -- the Harper
government has accelerated the policy of deportation and detention,
entering homes, workplaces, shopping malls, subway stations and even
schools to detain migrants. Under the current Conservative government,
CBSA officials have entered primary and secondary schools in Toronto on at
least two occasions to detain children. In Montreal, deportation agents
have raided carwashes to detain workers, as well as entering buses to
check IDs and detain individuals. The net effect has been to create fear
within immigrant communities.

Harper Homophobia
The Harper government has decided to re-open the same-sex marriage debate,
in a blatant attempt to mimic the US neo-conservative tactic of provoking
homophobia to win votes. Re-opening this settled debate also serves to
ignore the substantive issues ? such as health care, youth homelessness,
etc -- that effect the wider queer community.

Environmental Degradation
In a clear attempt to appease the oil and gas industry, the Harper
government remains in denial about global warming, and continues to
promote ecologically destructive policies.

Cutbacks to Social Funding
The Harper Conservatives -- under the leadership of former Mike Harris
thug and now Finance Minister Jim Flaherty -- have deepened Liberal
cutbacks to social programs, undermining services to women, the poor,
immigrants, indigenous peoples and queers.

We're here today as members of diverse anti-war, anti-poverty,
anti-oppression and social justice groups in Montreal. Steven Harper and
his crew of right-wing men ? Stockwell Day, Monte Solberg, Vic Toews,
Michel Fortier, Jim Prentice, Jim Flaherty, Tom Flanagan and others ? need
to understand that they will not pass through Montreal without a
confrontation and disruption.

This action is organized and supported by Block the Empire-Montreal, No
One Is Illegal-Montreal as well as other groups and individuals.
bloq...@resist.ca -- noii...@resist.ca