On Nov. 17, anti-war and social justice activist Alison Bodine was forced to leave Canada under the terms of an exclusion order and two-year ban from Canada issued by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
Bodine is a U.S. citizen who attended the University of British Columbia in Vancouver from 2003 to 2007. She is the co-
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Around 70 supporters and organizers with the Alison Bodine Defence Committee gathered in Vancouver on Nov. 17 and caravanned to the Peace Arch border crossing for an energetic solidarity send-off. The event was widely covered in the Canadian media.
After leaving Canada, Bodine visited the offices of the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) in Seattle to thank U.S. anti-war activists for their support and to explain the significance of her case.
Bodine’s ordeal began on Sept. 10, when she was targeted and harassed as a political activist while returning to Canada from the United States. Canada Border Services agents found anti-war and social justice materials in her car.
The political targeting continued when she attempted to exit Canada on Sept. 13 and was arrested by Canada Border Services Agency. Following a hearing on the false and unjust charge of “misrepresentation,” the banning order decision was issued on Oct. 31.
Bodine and her supporters now plan to take her case to the Federal Court of Canada. Along with the legal campaign, a new petition and letter-writing campaign has started, directed at Diane Finley, Canada’s minister of citizenship and immigration. Finley has the authority to intervene and lift the ban at any time.
Fighting injustice
While hanging out at the ANSWER office, Bodine sat down with pslweb.org to talk about the significance of her case.
Bodine said: “In the beginning when I was first arrested, the Alison Bodine Defence Committee formed and we said two things. First, that this wouldn’t be the only case of its kind, and that an injury to one is an injury to all. As the struggle developed over a period of two and a half months, as we fought to get support and to find out information we have seen that the statements of the defense committee are still true.”
She continued, “Since I was arrested, Canada has tried to deport U.S. war resisters and the Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear the appeals of U.S. war resisters who are seeking refugee status in Canada. Also, many people have heard about how two U.S. activists were denied entry to Canada, and retired Col. Ann Wright has been given a one-year ban from Canada.”
“It’s pretty clear that I was targeted for two reasons: I am a social justice activist and I am not a resident of Canada,” Bodine explained.
She noted that under Canadian immigration law, her four years of living in Vancouver under a study permit (like a student visa) did not afford her legal residency status, although when she was returning to Canada on Sept. 10, she had a job interview lined up and was in fact offered a job. She lost the job opportunity when she was forced to leave Canada.
“Overall, in the United States and Canada, we are seeing an increase in political repression, especially of immigrants and refugees,” said Bodine.
She explained the struggle in Canada against the reactionary “Immigration and Refugee Protection Act” of 2002, which is actually an attack on immigrants’ rights. This law allows the government to hold an immigrant indefinitely on questions of “national security” without seeing or hearing the evidence against them. The act has been used almost exclusively against Muslim men.
“In Canada and the United States, two imperialist countries, I think the governments are also seeing what will happen if they try to silence anti-war voices, to cut off the growing movements early, to nip them in the bud,” Bodine continued.
“We see my case as a fight for democratic rights, for the right to speak and organize. It’s not just a fight to defend the rights we currently have, but to gain enough momentum to win more rights, to extend democratic rights for immigrants, refugees and social justice activists.”
The Party for Socialism and Liberation supports Bodine’s campaign and urges all revolutionary activists to get involved.
For updates on the case and to sign the petition to reverse the ban on Bodine, visit http://alisonbodine.blogspot.com/.
