Call for Solution for Thousands Living in Legal Limbo in Canada

Members of the media are invited to a press conference on Tuesday, May 9th at 10:00 am in the Charles Lynch Press Gallery. Members of Parliament Meili Faille (BQ), Marlene Jennings (Lib) and Bill Siksay (NDP) will join representatives of advocacy groups and persons from moratoria countries living in limbo, to call on the government to grant permanent residence to persons from countries to which Canada has suspended removals and who have been here for three years or more.

Canada imposes a moratorium on removals to certain countries because of situation of generalized insecurity.  Nationals from these countries are spared deportation, but many are unable to obtain permanent residence.  As a result, some remain for years – sometimes more than 10 years – in a legal limbo, without access to essential rights and services, and unable to get on with their lives.  The problem has been described in the Canadian Council for Refugees report, Lives on Hold (available online at www.web.ca/ccr/livesonhold.htm).

The press conference is part of a Day of Action which will also include:

·         The tabling of a petition in the House of Commons

·         Visits with Members of Parliament by a delegation of advocates and representatives of affected communities

The Day of Action is organized by a coalition made up of the Canadian Council for Refugees, the Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes, the Ligue des droits et libertés, and the communities of the moratoria countries: Afghanistan, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Liberia, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.

We encourage media representatives to contact us beforehand to discuss what you would like to cover. There will be opportunities to arrange interviews with participants.

When: Tuesday May 9^th 2006, 10:00 am

Location: Charles Lynch Press Room, Room S-130, Houses of Parliament, Ottawa