:: TCEU - CUPE Local 416 letter
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September 21, 2005
The Honourable Irwin Cotler
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
284 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8
Dear Honourable Cotler:
I am writing on behalf of the Toronto Civic Employees' Union - Local 416, CUPE, representing approximately 9,000 outside and library workers in the City of Toronto and the Toronto Public Library.
This letter is to request that you review the case of Gary Freeman, a member of our Union and a Toronto Public Library employee for the past fifteen years. He is currently in jail fighting an extradition request based on an incident which took place in Chicago in 1969. We believe that there are compelling humanitarian and social justice grounds for you to deny deny this request for extradition of Mr. Freeman to the United States.
Mr. Freeman has lived in Canada for over thirty years, is married to a Canadian with whom he has raised four successful children and has served as a mentor and support for many young Canadians (see Toronto Star - February 5, 2005 and February 6, 2005). Since coming to Canada, this country has given Gary a second chance to be a valued and contributing member of our society - in a much safer environment than the cauldron of racial violence and discrimination endemic to Chicago in 1969.
There is further evidence of Gary's positive contributions here in Canada in the large numbers of friends, co-workers and fellow Union members from the library who have joined his family each time Gary has appeared in court in Toronto since his arrest over one year ago. This support is another clear indication that Gary has been an asset to Canada and to his local community for many years.
We think it would be unfair for Gary to be victimized for a second time by the conditions of racial injustice that caused his flight to Canada from Chicago over thirty years ago. The political and racial profiling of 1969 Chicago still exists in that city today.
We have enclosed a small selection of supporting material with this letter. We ask that you give special consideration to the comments of the former Attorney General of the United States, Mr. Ramsey Clark, who has publicly stated his belief that, "In the interest of peace and justice, Canada should deny this request for extradition and look to the future to pursue truth and justice." (see Toronto Star - August 3, 2005).
We thank you in advance for your attention to this matter, which has been raised by many members of our Union as an important issue deserving of our support.
Sincerely,
[signature]
Brian Cochrane
President
Toronto Civic Employees' Union - Local 416