Hunger strike continues at Central East Correctional Centre; activists press Monsef to end indefinite immigration detentions
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Updating Ms Monsef story (24-Sep-2016)
From the original article:
Globe and Mail: Heralded as Canada's first Afghan-born MP, Maryam Monsef shocked to discover truth of roots
It appears that the birth certificate of Ms Monsef that was used on her immigration Canada is not valid:
Ms. Monsef says she only learned about her Iranian birthplace last Thursday when approached by The Globe and Mail, which had been making inquiries about how she came to Canada in 1996 when she was age 11.
Problem:
Her claim that the family fled Afghanistan's Taliban must be not entirely correct either. She was born in Iran in 1985, while Taliban was in Power between 1996 and 2001!
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban )
In 1985 Afghanistan was ruled by Soviet protege Babrak Karmal while an Islamic insurgency (pre-Taliban) supported by Americans was going on, quote: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan resulted in the deaths of over 1 million Afghans, mostly civilians,[49][50][51] and the creation of about 6 million refugees who fled Afghanistan, mainly to Pakistan and Iran.[52] Faced with mounting international pressure and numerous casualties, the Soviets withdrew in 1989 but continued to support Afghan President Mohammad Najibullah until 1992.[53]
Her family was fleeing a pro Soviet state not Taliban! Pakistan was at that time pro-US, while Iran was anti-US. What is her family true origin? Iranian/Dari? Pashtu? Pakistani? Other? Why is Ms Monsef dribbling the small bits of facts about herself drop by drop rather than come up in full for the sake of truth? Why not?
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Update 29-Sep-2016
http://www.
Plot thickens. It turns out this may not have been such a surprise, since some of her friends knew it all along. How many morelies inaccuracies are going to be found?
(3-Oct-2016) It looks like the Trudeau's Liberal government is pursuing draconian deportation and revocation law with a vigor matching that of Mr. Harper's. Meanwhile our local Liberal representative appears to have done nothing to address this issue while she still could. That is until her own case came to the light.
Article (Peterborough Examiner 27-Sep-2016): "Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef could be stripped of citizenship without a hearing under existing laws"
Quote:
--------------------------------Problem:
Her claim that the family fled Afghanistan's Taliban must be not entirely correct either. She was born in Iran in 1985, while Taliban was in Power between 1996 and 2001!
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban )
In 1985 Afghanistan was ruled by Soviet protege Babrak Karmal while an Islamic insurgency (pre-Taliban) supported by Americans was going on, quote: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan resulted in the deaths of over 1 million Afghans, mostly civilians,[49][50][51] and the creation of about 6 million refugees who fled Afghanistan, mainly to Pakistan and Iran.[52] Faced with mounting international pressure and numerous casualties, the Soviets withdrew in 1989 but continued to support Afghan President Mohammad Najibullah until 1992.[53]
Her family was fleeing a pro Soviet state not Taliban! Pakistan was at that time pro-US, while Iran was anti-US. What is her family true origin? Iranian/Dari? Pashtu? Pakistani? Other? Why is Ms Monsef dribbling the small bits of facts about herself drop by drop rather than come up in full for the sake of truth? Why not?
----------------------
Update 29-Sep-2016
http://www.
Plot thickens. It turns out this may not have been such a surprise, since some of her friends knew it all along. How many more
(3-Oct-2016) It looks like the Trudeau's Liberal government is pursuing draconian deportation and revocation law with a vigor matching that of Mr. Harper's. Meanwhile our local Liberal representative appears to have done nothing to address this issue while she still could. That is until her own case came to the light.
Article (Peterborough Examiner 27-Sep-2016): "Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef could be stripped of citizenship without a hearing under existing laws"
Quote:
... Monsef could be stripped of her citizenship without a hearing under a law the Liberals denounced while in opposition but which they’ve been enforcing aggressively since taking power, civil liberties and refugee lawyers say. ...
If Monsef’s birthplace was misrepresented on her refugee claim and was relevant to the ruling on her case, her citizenship could be revoked, regardless of whether it was an innocent mistake or the fault of her mother, said immigration lawyer Lorne Waldman. She could even be deported, said Waldman, part of a group that launched a constitutional challenge of the law Monday.
...
The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association argue that the citizenship revocation law, known as Bill C-24, is procedurally unfair and a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Josh Paterson, the BCCLA’s executive director, said Monsef’s case demonstrates the absurdity of the law, which was passed by the previous Conservative government. "The minister’s situation ... is exactly the kind of situation that many other Canadians are facing right now because of this unjust process," Paterson told a news conference.
"When we get a parking ticket, we have a right to a court hearing ... You leave your garbage in the wrong place and you get a ticket, you have the right to a hearing and yet for citizens to lose their entitlement to membership in Canada based on allegations of something they may or may not have said 20 years ago, they have no hearing? It just doesn’t make any sense."
Nevertheless, repeated requests that the government stop enforcing the law until it can be changed have been ignored. As recently as two weeks ago, Paterson said Justice Department lawyers informed his group that the law would continue to be enforced.
Indeed, he said the Liberal government has been enforcing the law "aggressively," setting targets to strip 40 to 60 Canadians each month of their citizenship.
McCallum said Monday that the government is "certainly considering options for changes" in the law. He did not say why the government is enforcing it with such zeal in the meantime.
His department, meanwhile, denied that it imposes a target for the number of revocations each month. But it does have "performance standards targets" to ensure it has the resources to efficiently review and resolve cases.
According to the department, 206 individuals have been stripped of their citizenship since May 2015 - about 18 per month.
Waldman said he’ll be in court next month on a case similar to Monsef’s, in which "the government is seeking to revoke the citizenship of two children who came to Canada at a very young age, not because of anything they said but because their father allegedly misrepresented on his application for permanent residence."
"So even though the children are completely innocent ... the government is still going after the children, saying that because their father lied on his application, they should lose their citizenship and their permanent residence as well," Waldman said.
Monsef Watch Update (19-Jan-2017)
A photograph:
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/2017/01/10/prime-minister-justin-trudeau-holding-town-hall-friday-morning-at-evinrude-centre-in-peterborough
Strange non-responsivness to a seemingly trivial questions by a journalist:
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/the-answer-that-took-days-monsef-used-her-afghanistan-passport-for-2014-iran-visit
