On January 18th, 2008, No One Is Illegal-Ottawa participated in the International Day of Action for Kader (read info below). NOII-Ottawa organized a demo in front of the CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) national office in downtown Ottawa.
On January 18th, 2008 hundreds of supporters of Abdelkader Belaouni (Kader) in Montreal, across Canada and internationally joined together in sending a loud and clear message to Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley — immediately grant him permanent residence status in Canada. The 40-year old blind Algerian refugee has been living in church sanctuary in the neighborhood of Point St-Charles, Montreal since January 1st, 2006 after his applications to remain in Canada were rejected in a series of unjust decisions and he was threatened with deportation from Canada.
On Friday, as Kader entered his 748th day within the confines of the presbytery of St-Gabriel's Church, over 100 supporters in Montreal marched from Phillips Square through the underground to the offices of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Friends and representatives of numerous organizations demanded that the Immigration Minister act immediately to resolve Mr. Belaouni's case and allow him to live freely amongst his friends in Montreal.
Kader's case has become a rallying point for migrant justice in Canada, and is now becoming known internationally. In Ottawa, Vancouver, Halifax, Simcoe (Ontario, Finley's home riding), Red Deer (Alberta), New York, Tokyo, Beirut, The Hague, Paris, Berlin, Durban (South Africa), Athens (Greece), Wellington (New Zealand) and London (England), people formed delegations and delivered letters to the offices of Canadian representatives, as well as held pickets and demonstrations.
