Canadian Feds: U.S. GI's no refugee

[pritchke]

The Federal government is challenging an American soldier's bid for refugee status in Canada. A government official confirmed the feds will oppose arefugee application from Jeremy Hinzman because he "does not fit the criterion for status refugees."

Jeffry House, a Toronto lawyer representing three U.S. military deserters under the watchful eye of the U.S., said the Immigration and Refugee Board is expected to rule within weeks on whether his clients can base their claim on the legality of the Iraq war.

Source

We now have six American army deserters in this country who are asking the Canadian government to grant them asylum as refugees. They might invite sympathy and comparisons to Vietnam draft-dodgers, but they are not refugees.

First, they all enlisted voluntarily for a free education and other economic reasons,not dodging the draft.

They are not refusing military service but deserting their units, an offence that I believe carries prison time and even allows for the death penalty in the US.

Finally, no matter how strongly one may feel about the war in Iraq, an American army deserter is not a refugee.

In this case I feel the refugee line should lead straight back to the border.

[ 10-19-2004, 11:40 AM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

Sounds like a reasonable judgement to me.

[img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] to the Canadian Feds.