Charlottetown rally-goers urge PM to take a stand on immigration

A few dozen people gathered at the Coles Building in Charlottetown Thursday evening to tell the governments of both the U.S. and Canada that they want some immigration policies changed.

Group says it's not only the U.S. but also Canada that needs to change

Natalia Goodwin · CBC News · Posted: Jun 28, 2018 7:07 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 28, 2018

A few dozen people gathered at the Coles Building in Charlottetown for the rally. (Natalia Goodwin/CBC )

A few dozen people gathered at the Coles Building in Charlottetown Thursday evening to urge the governments of both the U.S. and Canada to change some of their some immigration policies.

"We've been hearing what's been coming out of the news from the U.S. border and we want to do something, and I think there's value in coming together," said organizer Hannah Gehrels.

"Canada is not separate from what's happening at the U.S. border, so we really want to bring attention to what is happening in Canada with immigration policies," Gehrels said.

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How the Canadian government treats those detained for immigration reasons isn't any better, she said.

The rally also had a letter-writing station for participants to send their thoughts to Ottawa. (Natalia Goodwin/CBC )

"Canada currently detains immigrants indefinitely, and so that's one of the primary ways that Canada separates families at the border. And I think a lot of people don't know that," Gehrels said.

There was also a letter-writing station set up at the rally where participants could send their demands to the Prime Minister and Minister of Immigration in writing.

"We're asking that the Canadian government to take a firm stance against what is happening at the U.S. border and also in Canada to end deportations and immigrants' detentions, and also to end the third safe country agreement and to end the quota on the number of refugees that are allowed into Canada," Gehrels said.

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Organizer Hannah Gehrels says it is important for people to know what is going on here at home too. (Natalia Goodwin/CBC )

And Canada's Immigration minister has said that there are conversations happening around the Safe Third Country Agreement. That agreement is a pact that requires individuals claiming asylum to do so in the first safe country they land in, with few exceptions, and the premise of the deal was that since Canada and the U.S. share similar values, both are safe countries for those seeking refugee status.

But Gehrels said she believes that no longer holds true.

"It is no longer a safe, especially for poor and racialized people, the United States is not a safe place anymore," she said.

The group protesting Thursday was also encouraging people to upload videos and posts to social media while tagging politicians to do something about these issues.