New Westminster residents will be part of a march against family separation that’s taking place in Vancouver this weekend.
New West resident Jodie Ortega is one of the organizers of March Against Family Separation that’s taking place on Saturday, June 30 in Vancouver to protest the detainment of children and the separation of families that’s been taking place in the United States. The march is on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the United States Consulate at 1095 West Pender St.
Rev. Emilie Smith of St. Barnabas Church will speak at the march. Patti Powell, who leads several community choirs, including one at St. Barnabas, will be leading singing with assorted members of her four choirs.
A Facebook page for the March Against Family Separation states that June 30 is a national day of action to pressure the Canadian government to pressure the U.S. to stop child detentions, stop criminalizing asylum seekers and end the Safe Third Country Agreement.
“We demand the Canadian and U.S. government to end child detention and family separation, to reunite the families that have been separated, Canada must end the Safe Third Country Agreement, which makes it extremely difficult for refugees from the United States to cross over to Canada through land border crossings,” states the event’s Facebook page. “We also will be acknowledging Canada's role in separating families, through the history of residential schools, the 60’s Scoop, and the continued practise of removing children from Indigenous families and placing them into foster care. In addition, we must examine our country's own treatment of refugee children.”
More information is available on Facebook by searching March Against Family Separation Vancouver.
