MEDIA ADVISORY - Rallies across Canada against Islamophobia and Deportations following Quebec shootings and Trump's Muslim Ban

CANADA, Feb. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Rallies will be taking place in 13 cities across the country on Feb 3rd and 4th in solidarity with six Muslims massacred in Quebec City, and in opposition to Trump's travel ban on Muslims and refugees in the days preceding it. Organizers are urging the federal government to immediately rescind the Safe Third Country Agreement and the Designated Country of Origin list, open up the US-Canada border to migrants and refugees and end Islamophobic laws as initial steps to broader immigration overhaul.

Details
Vigils are being organized in Quebec City by the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec on Feb 4th, list of solidarity actions:

CALGARY: Feb 4, 1pm, 615 Macleod.
CHARLOTTETOWN: Feb 4, 1130, Waterfront. Contact: Josie Baker, 902-315-2705
FREDERICTON: Feb 4, 1230pm, City Hall. Contact: Asaf Rashid, 506-259-4598, Tracy Glynn, 506-440-5592
GREY BRUCE: Feb 4, 12pm, 808 2nd Avenue, Owen Sound. Contact: Paisley Cozzarin 226-791-2438 or Natalie Kivell 786-566-7115
KINGSTON: Feb 4, 12pm, Springer Market Square. Contact: Jonathan Shepherd, 343-363-8247, Sam Connolly: 778-977-8770
LONDON: Feb 4, 1230, Victoria Park. Contact: Leila Almawy, 519-933-0360
OTTAWA: Feb 4, 1:30pm, Human Rights Monument. Contact: Dylan Penner, 613-795-8685
SASKATOON: Feb 4, 2pm, Friendship Park.
SYDNEY: Feb 4, 2pm, Civic Centre. Contact: Monika Dutt, 902-217-3760
TORONTO: Feb 4, 1230pm, US Consulate. Contact: Walied Khogali, 416-625-7712
VANCOUVER: Feb 5, 10am, Peace Arch. Contact: Golsa Golestaneh, 778-251-9753. Nathanel Lowe, 604-880-7818.
WINNIPEG: Feb 3, 12.30pm and 6.30pm, 201 Portage Avenue. Contact: Hazim Ismail, 204-880-2993
VICTORIA: Feb 3, 12:30pm, Centennial Square. Contact: Kora Liegh Glatt, 709-699-1637

Demands
Over 150 organizations have issued a joint statement against Islamophobia and Deportations outlining the following demands:

TRUDEAU: CONDEMN TRUMP
* Condemn President Trump's Executive Order that bans Muslim visa-holders from seven countries and also bans all refugees from entering the US.

OPEN THE BORDERS
* Open the Canada-US border and grant permanent, not temporary, status.
* Revoke the Safe Third Country Agreement which bars most refugee claimants entering from the United States over land to claim asylum in Canada.
* Eliminate the Designated Country of Origin list, which makes it almost impossible for US citizens and citizens of forty other countries to claim asylum in Canada.
* Remove all caps on refugee applications and sponsorship.

STATUS FOR ALL
* End immigration detention and deportation.
* Create a regularization program so that all undocumented residents can live here with their families rather than fear mass deportation.
* Migrant workers in Canada must be given permanent status and open work permits.
* Create real, not symbolic, Sanctuaries (Sanctuary Provinces) that guarantee access to public services
* End collaboration between Canadian and American border agents.

END RACIST, ANTI-REFUGEE, ANTI-BLACK, ISLAMOPHOBIC EXCLUSION
Rescind all federal legislation that attacks racialized Black and Brown Muslims and refugees, including
* The Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act
* Anti-terror legislation such as Security Certificates and Bill C51.

SOURCE National Day of Action Organizers' Coalition