Hello and welcome to St. Paul’s Anglican Church in the
Westdale neighbourhood of Hamilton, Ontario.
We wish you a peaceful New Year!
Our own Lucene Charles is the subject of media attention recently in her bid to persuade the Canadian government to allow her and her four children to remain together here in Hamilton. St. Paul’s has supported Lucene for several years in this goal. The need for support has increased recently with the government’s plan to deport Lucene and her youngest child who is five.
The latest news:
Border officials are reviewing Lucene’s application and will provide an update in the near future. They have deferred the required departure date of February 2nd for an unknown time-frame. Here is a January 17th Press Release explaining that the ‘struggle is far from over and we continue to appeal to the public for support
in this difficult time for the Charles Family.’
On January 17th this Hamilton Spectator article described the latest development based on a fax received from CBSA by one of Lucene’s supporters: Hamilton mother’s deportation deferred, supporters say
On January 19th, the Spectator received confirmation of the deferral from border officials: CBSA confirms Hamilton mother’s deportation has been deferred
Recent letters to the editor of the Hamilton Spectator support Lucene:
No one benefits by deporting mother
Keep Lucene Charles and family in Canada
How you can help Lucene and her children:
You can sign a petition to the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Multiculturalism here: Stop the deportation of Lucene Charles and her daughter
You can get in touch with Minister Kenney at jason.kenney@parl.gc.ca or 613-992-2235 or on Twitter @kenneyjason
You can also show support at this Facebook page established for Lucene: DontDeportLuceneandAjohkeCharles
Other media stories about Lucene’s situation:
On January 12th, Border officials gave Lucene a deadline of February 2nd to leave Canada with her daughter. This Spectator article from January 13th explains the details:
Hamilton mom loses appeal, ordered out of Canada
Lucene’s supporters will continue their efforts to keep this family together in Canada.
The Hamilton Spectator featured another story about Lucene’s meeting with border officials on January 12th: ‘It was the wrong decision’
Our Rector, Rick Jones, was interviewed by CFRU on January 10th about St. Paul’s efforts to help Lucene. You can listen to the interview here: Hamilton church community fights deportation
Lucene’s situation was explained in this January 7th article and video from the
Hamilton Spectator: Outrage Over Looming Deportation
Hamilton’s Raise the Hammer website featured an article on January 6th which includes explanations of the legal aspects and government regulations: Lucene Charles and Canadian Immigration Policy
For information about our services and the events planned for January, check our Weekly Eucharistic Services and Events Calendar.
Coming up in February, we’re having an Antiques Road Show Luncheon on Saturday February February 18 and
our 21st Annual Pancake Supper on Tuesday February 21st.
Vestry is on Sunday, February 26th after the 10:30am service
with lunch included.
More details will come soon on these events.
