Riding Office of Jean Lapierre
Quebec Lieutenant of Liberal Party of Canada
3333 Queen Mary Rd. (corner Decelles av.)

Côte-des-Neiges Metro

The Canadian government's forced deportation of refugees to inhumane and violent conditions, in breach of its international obligations, such as in the Occupied Territories and the Palestinian refugee camps of Lebanon, has sparked a growing social movement of refugees and their supporters, who are demanding the respect of their basic right to justice and dignity. This movement is defined by the self-organizing of directly affected refugees, such as the Ayoub family, who are struggling against the growing attacks and criminalization of their communities. According to the official statistics of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, there have been more than 50,000 deportations of refugees during the past 5 years.

Despite this growing reality faced by refugee communities, the current federal elections campaign has completely ignored the fundamental questions posed by this growing movement. The countless human tragedies created by Canada's policies in regard to refugees in the midst of our society, have been completely swept aside. Therefore, within the context of these elections, a demonstration will be held in front of the riding office of Jean Lapierre, the Quebec Lieutenant of Paul Martin, to demand from the Canadian government an immediate end to the deportation of the Ayoub family and all other stateless Palestinian refugees.

For over 4 months, the Ayoub family - Khalil Ayoub, 67, Nabih Ayoub, 69 and Thérèse Boulos Haddad, 62 - has been in sanctuary in the basement of the Notre-Dame de Grâce Church, without having even received an acknowledgment of reception from Citizenship & Immigration Canada following their application for permanent residence on humanitarian grounds. The Ayoub family was expelled from Palestine in 1948 and has since endured wars, massacres, a life of statelessness and systematic discrimination in a 56-year-old refugee camp in Lebanon. They came to Canada to claim refugee status in hope of finding security and an end to their suffering, only to be confined to the basement of Notre-Dame de Grâce Church in Montreal, as they continue to face forced deportation to the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein El-Helweh in Lebanon.

For more than one year, stateless Palestinian refugees have been receiving, one after the other, deportation orders from Canada without any serious consideration given to the violence, poverty and persecution which defines life in the Palestinian refugee camps of Lebanon and to the military occupation which plagues daily life throughout Occupied Palestine.

We must stand united against the injustice faced by the Palestinian refugees who are set to be deported from Canada in the coming weeks.
Your support, solidarity and participation are urgently needed!

The demands of the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees are:

1. to stop the deportations of the Palestinian refugees from Canada;
2. to grant them permanent residency on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds.

This demonstration is organized by: The Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees & The Palestinian Refugee Support Committee of the Notre-Dame de Grâce Church.

Info: 514.591.3171 / refu...@riseup.net