Being a NATO member Canada is treaty bound not to harbor military deserters from other NATO member nations, like the USA of course. During Vietnam Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (Liberal Party) chose to ignore this treaty obligation. But apparently even the Canadian Lefties have come to decide they no longer need or want American shirkers and troublemakers.
Canada's immigration laws have tightened since the Vietnam War, the support campaign said, giving U.S. soldiers few options other than to try for refugee status based on the fear of persecution if made to go home.
Government guidance issued to immigration officers in 2010 requires them to consult supervisors on U.S. military cases and spells out that desertion is a crime that may render those who've left the military as criminally inadmissible to Canada.
"Military deserters from the United States are not genuine refugees under the internationally accepted meaning of the term," Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokeswoman Nancy Caron said in an emailed statement. "These unfounded claims clog up our system for genuine refugees who are actually fleeing persecution."
It's a strikingly different stance from what Bruce Beyer saw when he found a safe haven in Canada and spent five years there after refusing induction into the Army during the Vietnam War.
"The word is definitely out in the anti-war community that going to Canada is not beneficial," said Beyer, of Buffalo, who returned to the United States in 1977 and has publicly supported the current resisters.
Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board does not track claim types and could not provide the number of claims made by American soldiers, spokesman Robert Gervais said. He said each case is decided on merits.
Robidoux estimated the number of claims filed at 45. She said about two dozen soldiers remain in the country while appealing decisions or pursuing other action. One of them, Rodney Watson, has sought sanctuary in a Vancouver church for nearly six years to avoid a second tour in Iraq.
"Military deserters from the United States are not genuine refugees under the internationally accepted meaning of the term," Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokeswoman Nancy Caron said in an emailed statement. "These unfounded claims clog up our system for genuine refugees who are actually fleeing persecution."
It's a strikingly different stance from what Bruce Beyer saw when he found a safe haven in Canada and spent five years there after refusing induction into the Army during the Vietnam War.
"The word is definitely out in the anti-war community that going to Canada is not beneficial," said Beyer, of Buffalo, who returned to the United States in 1977 and has publicly supported the current resisters.
Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board does not track claim types and could not provide the number of claims made by American soldiers, spokesman Robert Gervais said. He said each case is decided on merits.
Robidoux estimated the number of claims filed at 45. She said about two dozen soldiers remain in the country while appealing decisions or pursuing other action. One of them, Rodney Watson, has sought sanctuary in a Vancouver church for nearly six years to avoid a second tour in Iraq.
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