CEC Concerned At Lack of Respect For Canadian Citizenship by US

Ottawa, October 31, 2002 - The Canadian Ethnocultural Council expresses grave concern regarding the announcement by the United States that "non-immigrants traveling to or through

the US who were born in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia or Yemen," will undergo extra scrutiny possibly including being photographed and fingerprinted. This applies to all individuals who are from these countries, irrespective if they hold a Canadian citizenship and passport.

"We call upon our Canadian Government to stand behind the meaning of our Canadian citizenship - to protect all of its citizens no matter their place of birth. We are all Canadians. No group has less rights and less protection and our neighbors to the south must be reminded of this. It is truly unacceptable that these Canadian citizens be subjected to this kind targeted discriminatory treatment", says Art Hagopian, President. "Our government must protest this policy vehemently and support the integrity of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms".

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For more information contact tel (613) 230 - 3867, fax (613) 230-8051 or cec@web.ca.

The Canadian Ethnocultural Council is a coalition of 32 national ethnocultural organizations which in turn represent over 2,000 local chapters across Canada and whose mandate is to work towards the elimination of racism and the understanding of the multicultural reality of Canada.

CANADIAN ETHNOCULTURAL COUNCIl - CONSEIL ETHNOCULTUREL DU CANADA

176 Gloucester St., Suite 400, Ottawa, Ontario K2P 0A6, Canada

tel (613) 230-3867, fax (613) 230-8051 e-mail: cec@web.ca