(OTTAWA) - The Green Party of Canada is condemning a decision by Canada Border Services Agency to bar Green European Parliament MEP José Bové from entering Canada Tuesday night.
Despite having a valid visa, Bové was denied entry to Canada at Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport for historical convictions for civil disobedience in France.
“I’m outraged a sitting European Parliament MP would be denied entry for acts of civil disobedience, for which Mr. Bové has been transparent and held accountable, and which were public record when he was issued a travel visa to enter Canada,” said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands). “As Co-chair of the Global Greens Parliamentarians Association, I have worked with José Bové, including appearing together at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in 2009 on climate issues.
“Mr. Bové has been an outspoken critic of the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union, for – among other reasons – its use of secret tribunals that will allow corporations to skirt state laws with investor-state dispute resolution mechanisms,” Ms. May said. “This morning, I appealed directly to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to intervene and allow Mr. Bové entry into Canada while CETA is still being debated in the public arena. CBSA should not be lumping civil disobedience into its dragnet of dangerous criminal activity, particularly for a sitting parliamentarian.”
Daniel Green, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada, said: “It is appalling CBSA would hold a European Parliament MEP for hours in an airport as a member of a trusted partner continent. Mr. Bové is an expert in the fight against GMO products, and has been a leading figure in defence of French and European farmers. Are his criticisms on CETA so difficult to hear that we need to prevent his entry to Canada?”
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For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Dan Palmer
Press Secretary | Attaché de presse
dan.palmer@greenparty.ca
m: (613) 614-4916