U.S. Military Deserters in Canada Megathread
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Kimberly Rivera received a stay from deportation in Janurary 2009, and has received another one yesterday. How many of these can there be before a deportation order has no meaning?
CTV.ca
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OldSolduer
Army.ca Relic
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Hello:
I was at a funeral today for a WWII veteran. He was originally Winnipeg Light Infantry and the in the Engineers. Had the campaign medals, been around.
There was about 30 people at his funeral. Sad really.
Yet a segment of our population gets worked up in a tizzy over a deserter. This segment, including JACK and OLIVIA, have no shame, no sense of morality. No sense of country before self. It's all "ME ME ME ME"
Rant Ends!
I was at a funeral today for a WWII veteran. He was originally Winnipeg Light Infantry and the in the Engineers. Had the campaign medals, been around.
There was about 30 people at his funeral. Sad really.
Yet a segment of our population gets worked up in a tizzy over a deserter. This segment, including JACK and OLIVIA, have no shame, no sense of morality. No sense of country before self. It's all "ME ME ME ME"
Rant Ends!
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IF YOU ARE INTERESTED
I have 4 extra tickets for the Robbie Knievel (son of Evil Knievel) event at the Encana Center (in Dawson Creek) this weekend.
He's going to try to jump over 1,000 Jack Layton supporters with a bulldozer.
Special guests to include Jack and Olivia Layton, plus Dawn Black who will be intimately colocated with their supporters.
Should be a pretty good time.
Let me know
I have 4 extra tickets for the Robbie Knievel (son of Evil Knievel) event at the Encana Center (in Dawson Creek) this weekend.
He's going to try to jump over 1,000 Jack Layton supporters with a bulldozer.
Special guests to include Jack and Olivia Layton, plus Dawn Black who will be intimately colocated with their supporters.
Should be a pretty good time.
Let me know
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Deported U.S. soldier pleads guilty to desertion charge
By Russ Bynum, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT STEWART, Ga. - A soldier tearfully apologized for going to Canada to avoid deploying to Iraq and was sentenced Tuesday to a year in prison after pleading guilty to desertion.
Specialist Cliff Cornell spent four years in British Columbia before the Canadian government denied him asylum as a war objector.
Cornell came back to the U.S. and turned himself in to authorities in February to avoid being deported.
The 28-year-old soldier from Mountain Home, Ark., sobbed in a Fort Stewart courtroom Tuesday as he told the judge he was sorry.
He said he fled to Canada in January 2005, a month before his 3rd Infantry Division unit was scheduled to deploy to Iraq, because he feared for his own life and couldn't stomach the thought of killing.
"It was wrong for me to leave my unit and go to Canada," Cornell said. "I was very anxious about whether I might be asked to do things that might violate my conscience. I felt trapped. I didn't know what to do."
The judge, Col. Tara Osborn, also ordered Cornell's rank be reduced to private and for him to receive a bad conduct discharge.
Cornell is the third U.S. service member to be tried by the military for fleeing to Canada.
Though Cornell's prison time falls between the sentences of the other two deserters, his attorney, James Branum, said it was too harsh.
He said Cornell suffered an abusive childhood that left him socially impaired and therefore unable to resolve his qualms about serving in a war zone with his commanders.
"While he is certainly sane to stand trial, I would say he has some degree of impairment," Branum said. "He doesn't have the social or emotional skills of other people."
Branum said Cornell would be housed temporarily one of the nearby county jails until he's assigned to a military prison. He said he planned to appeal the sentence to Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo, Fort Stewart's commander, who could reduce the sentence.
Prosecutors had asked for a 15-month prison sentence and a dishonourable discharge for Cornell, arguing his decision to flee put other members of Cornell's unit in jeopardy.
"They had to fill his space with a soldier who was not trained up and had to learn on the job," said Capt. Edward Piasta, an Army prosecutor. "And he didn't come back until Canada refused his refugee status and he was threatened with immediate deportation."
Cornell had trained as a driver and gunner in the 1st Battalion, 39th Artillery Regiment, which deployed to Iraq in 2005 to provide security details for senior officers.
In Canada, Cornell worked at a grocery store on Gabriola Island in B.C.
Branum said Cornell hopes to return there after he's released from prison.
A dishonourable discharge would have made that more difficult for Cornell, Branum said. The bad conduct discharge would be viewed more like a misdemeanour conviction, rather than a felony, on his record, the attorney said.
Military law defines desertion as leaving the military with no intent to return or to avoid hazardous duty. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
However, Fort Stewart commanders agreed to push for a lighter sentence in exchange for Cornell's guilty plea.
The War Resisters Support Campaign, based in Toronto, has worked with about 50 U.S. service members seeking refugee status or political asylum in Canada. The group estimates more than 200 have fled to Canada, most of them hiding out illegally.
During the Vietnam War, thousands of Americans took refuge in Canada, most of them to avoid the military draft. Many were given permanent residence status that led to Canadian citizenship, but the majority went home after President Jimmy Carter granted amnesty in the late 1970s.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2009/04/28/9282251-ap.html
By Russ Bynum, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT STEWART, Ga. - A soldier tearfully apologized for going to Canada to avoid deploying to Iraq and was sentenced Tuesday to a year in prison after pleading guilty to desertion.
Specialist Cliff Cornell spent four years in British Columbia before the Canadian government denied him asylum as a war objector.
Cornell came back to the U.S. and turned himself in to authorities in February to avoid being deported.
The 28-year-old soldier from Mountain Home, Ark., sobbed in a Fort Stewart courtroom Tuesday as he told the judge he was sorry.
He said he fled to Canada in January 2005, a month before his 3rd Infantry Division unit was scheduled to deploy to Iraq, because he feared for his own life and couldn't stomach the thought of killing.
"It was wrong for me to leave my unit and go to Canada," Cornell said. "I was very anxious about whether I might be asked to do things that might violate my conscience. I felt trapped. I didn't know what to do."
The judge, Col. Tara Osborn, also ordered Cornell's rank be reduced to private and for him to receive a bad conduct discharge.
Cornell is the third U.S. service member to be tried by the military for fleeing to Canada.
Though Cornell's prison time falls between the sentences of the other two deserters, his attorney, James Branum, said it was too harsh.
He said Cornell suffered an abusive childhood that left him socially impaired and therefore unable to resolve his qualms about serving in a war zone with his commanders.
"While he is certainly sane to stand trial, I would say he has some degree of impairment," Branum said. "He doesn't have the social or emotional skills of other people."
Branum said Cornell would be housed temporarily one of the nearby county jails until he's assigned to a military prison. He said he planned to appeal the sentence to Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo, Fort Stewart's commander, who could reduce the sentence.
Prosecutors had asked for a 15-month prison sentence and a dishonourable discharge for Cornell, arguing his decision to flee put other members of Cornell's unit in jeopardy.
"They had to fill his space with a soldier who was not trained up and had to learn on the job," said Capt. Edward Piasta, an Army prosecutor. "And he didn't come back until Canada refused his refugee status and he was threatened with immediate deportation."
Cornell had trained as a driver and gunner in the 1st Battalion, 39th Artillery Regiment, which deployed to Iraq in 2005 to provide security details for senior officers.
In Canada, Cornell worked at a grocery store on Gabriola Island in B.C.
Branum said Cornell hopes to return there after he's released from prison.
A dishonourable discharge would have made that more difficult for Cornell, Branum said. The bad conduct discharge would be viewed more like a misdemeanour conviction, rather than a felony, on his record, the attorney said.
Military law defines desertion as leaving the military with no intent to return or to avoid hazardous duty. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
However, Fort Stewart commanders agreed to push for a lighter sentence in exchange for Cornell's guilty plea.
The War Resisters Support Campaign, based in Toronto, has worked with about 50 U.S. service members seeking refugee status or political asylum in Canada. The group estimates more than 200 have fled to Canada, most of them hiding out illegally.
During the Vietnam War, thousands of Americans took refuge in Canada, most of them to avoid the military draft. Many were given permanent residence status that led to Canadian citizenship, but the majority went home after President Jimmy Carter granted amnesty in the late 1970s.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2009/04/28/9282251-ap.html
Give him credit for at least doing the right thing and getting only one yr. in jail. :2c: ;D
Too bad the rest of these individuals don't grow a back bone and deal with there problems down south of the border. I believe the US is trying not to make it too political ; to finish this problem and get out of the lime light because of the Iraq war.
New government and the stop gape bringing soldier back into wars are not too popular with public.
Too bad the rest of these individuals don't grow a back bone and deal with there problems down south of the border. I believe the US is trying not to make it too political ; to finish this problem and get out of the lime light because of the Iraq war.
New government and the stop gape bringing soldier back into wars are not too popular with public.
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U.S. war deserter given another stay of removal
Article link
A Federal Court judge issued another temporary stay of removal Tuesday for a U.S. war deserter facing deportation from Canada, ruling immigration officials did not properly weigh whether she would face more severe prosecution for speaking out publicly against the Iraq war.
Kimberly Rivera, reportedly the first U.S. female war deserter seeking asylum in Canada, has been living in Toronto with her husband and children since 2007.
Rivera served in Iraq with the American military in 2006 and moved to Canada the following year after she refused deployment.
She arrived in the country from Texas with her husband and two children and gave birth to a third child in Canada in November 2008.
Her request to stay in Ontario on humanitarian and compassionate grounds was denied, but Rivera was granted a temporary stay of removal in March.
In his ruling Tuesday in Ottawa, Justice James Russell said an officer from Citizenship and Immigration Canada who performed a pre-removal risk assessment of Rivera did not consider whether she and other outspoken Iraq war objectors would face "targeted prosecution" based upon their political opinion.
"In my view, the officer’s failure to fully address the targeting issue, and the evidence that supports the applicants' position, renders the decision unreasonable and it must be returned for reconsideration," Russell wrote in his decision.
A new pre-removal risk assessment of Rivera could take up to four months, according to Ken Marciniec of the War Resisters Support Campaign.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney's office said it was reviewing Russell's decision.
More on link
Wonder if she'll use that four month reprieve to get pregnant again? :
Article link
A Federal Court judge issued another temporary stay of removal Tuesday for a U.S. war deserter facing deportation from Canada, ruling immigration officials did not properly weigh whether she would face more severe prosecution for speaking out publicly against the Iraq war.
Kimberly Rivera, reportedly the first U.S. female war deserter seeking asylum in Canada, has been living in Toronto with her husband and children since 2007.
Rivera served in Iraq with the American military in 2006 and moved to Canada the following year after she refused deployment.
She arrived in the country from Texas with her husband and two children and gave birth to a third child in Canada in November 2008.
Her request to stay in Ontario on humanitarian and compassionate grounds was denied, but Rivera was granted a temporary stay of removal in March.
In his ruling Tuesday in Ottawa, Justice James Russell said an officer from Citizenship and Immigration Canada who performed a pre-removal risk assessment of Rivera did not consider whether she and other outspoken Iraq war objectors would face "targeted prosecution" based upon their political opinion.
"In my view, the officer’s failure to fully address the targeting issue, and the evidence that supports the applicants' position, renders the decision unreasonable and it must be returned for reconsideration," Russell wrote in his decision.
A new pre-removal risk assessment of Rivera could take up to four months, according to Ken Marciniec of the War Resisters Support Campaign.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney's office said it was reviewing Russell's decision.
More on link
Wonder if she'll use that four month reprieve to get pregnant again? :
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At least this is a regulatory action being reviewed by a court. There are review regulations and procedures in place, everyone is entitled to proper review, a judge has found that an official failed to follow the existing procedures and has, correctly in this case, sent the matter back for a proper job.
But, there is a much, much larger problem to which Prime Minister Harper alluded in Mexico a few days ago. Our refugee determination system is broken. It’s manifold flaws begin with the fact that successive governments have not used the “notwithstanding clause” to work around the Supreme Court decision (14 Apr 85) that granted full Charter protection to every person “in” Canada – no matter how they may have gotten “in.”
The entire “broken” system is predicated on the fact that everyone who is “here” is fully protected by the Charter. There are other problems, beginning with the use of “arms length” amateurs trying, and failing, to do the jobs of unbiased regulators, but most begin with the Singh vs. Minister of Immigration.
We ought to look, very carefully, at how Australia manages.
In this case: the government can win if it will just follow its own rules.
Edit: corrected date of Sing v. Minister; thanks dapaterson
But, there is a much, much larger problem to which Prime Minister Harper alluded in Mexico a few days ago. Our refugee determination system is broken. It’s manifold flaws begin with the fact that successive governments have not used the “notwithstanding clause” to work around the Supreme Court decision (14 Apr 85) that granted full Charter protection to every person “in” Canada – no matter how they may have gotten “in.”
The entire “broken” system is predicated on the fact that everyone who is “here” is fully protected by the Charter. There are other problems, beginning with the use of “arms length” amateurs trying, and failing, to do the jobs of unbiased regulators, but most begin with the Singh vs. Minister of Immigration.
We ought to look, very carefully, at how Australia manages.
In this case: the government can win if it will just follow its own rules.
Edit: corrected date of Sing v. Minister; thanks dapaterson
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I'm sorry to sound like an un-caring prick, but can someone just deport this woman already? I mean seriously? Have the others that have been deported or left on their own free will been treated any different now that they are there? All they get is a little time in prison, and a discharge from the service. These people are not refugees, and therefore should not be overstaying their welcome. just my 2 cents, but I'm sick and tired of seeing this BS in the news all the time.
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E.R. Campbell said:
One minor typo: 14 April 1985, vice '75 - the Charter was not in force in 1975.
With several deportations;procedure has been set. ;D :crybaby:
It just more drawn out affair for lawyers to make more cash off the public purse.
she know her goose is cook and its a matter of time she face the music. :crybaby: :2c:
there are more people with legal reason that should be allowed in and not waste the taxpayers time or resources. :deadhorse: :brickwall: :crybaby:
It just more drawn out affair for lawyers to make more cash off the public purse.
she know her goose is cook and its a matter of time she face the music. :crybaby: :2c:
there are more people with legal reason that should be allowed in and not waste the taxpayers time or resources. :deadhorse: :brickwall: :crybaby:
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desertfox115 said:
Jesus H. How about checking your grammar and spelling instead of playing with all the emoticons. That was almost painful to read and understand.
George Wallace
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Almost? It was painful and difficult to read.
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