WEBVTT

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We will no longer hold people for CBSA 
(Canada Border Services Agency);

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nor will CBSA ask us to.

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They're aware of everything that's been going on,

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and they understand that this 
is not activity we will participate in.

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We're just here to say that we think that the termination of the Memorandum of Understanding

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and the directives that 
Transit Police have submitted to

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are a step in the right direction,

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and we just want to ensure

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that information sharing does not occur

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between Transit Police and CBSA

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and that we have oversight of these directives.

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We're really glad to see these reforms

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to hopefully make it so that folks without status

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can access transit with less fear 
of being reported to CBSA and deported.

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The point that we want to bring up

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is that we still have 
tens of thousands of people in this region

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who actually can't afford the bus fares.

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Who structurally, because of low wages,

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because of the welfare rates,
because of the high rents,

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cannot afford to pay for transit,

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which is a fundamental human right
and a basic public service that people rely on.

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Those people, which includes many migrant workers

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who are working often for very low wages

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still don't have access without fear 
to our public transit system.

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They're still gonna have skytrain police with guns

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being paid over $100,000 a year at a cost 
to taxpayers of $32 million a year

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checking their busfares.

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And we'd really like to see 
the Transit Police out of fare enforcement.

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I want to start by acknowledging that we're here 
on un-ceded Coast Salish territories,

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and thank you for the opportunity to speak.

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First of all I want to start by
congratulating everyone in this room

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who has been part of making possible
the recent encouraging developments,

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which is the termination of the Memorandum of 
Understanding between Transit Police & CBSA.

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All of us here have spent 
hours and hours advocating on this issue.

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And we do so because we care 
very very deeply about this issue,

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and we see it affecting our communities.

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I think about Lucia Vega Jimenez,

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who committed suicide and died in CB(S)A custody.

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She was initially turned over to CBSA by Transit Police

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in part because Transit Police officer Jason (Schuss) 
believed that she wasn't originally from Canada.

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And not only did she get a ticket for lack of fare,

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but she was then detained by Transit Police,

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and actually driven to the holding centre 
by Transit Police, to do CBSA's work.

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It was Lucia's tragic death that spurred a movement 
within the community over 10 months ago.

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In May and in June, conversations 
among members of various groups

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began to look at and to challenge Transit Police policy

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in light of what became known to us in Lucia's death.

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This includes groups like Mexicans Living in Vancouver, 
who are here today;

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BCCLA, who is here today;

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Sanctuary Health, No One Is Illegal, Rainbow Refugee,

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and many other organizations.

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As we are witnessing all across this continent,

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people are questioning the role of police,

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and the impact of policing 
on marginalized communities.

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From police inaction 
on missing murdered Indigenous women,

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to police impunity being raised by 
the Black Lives Matter south of the border,

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or the killing of Naverone Woods.

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Migrants without permanent legal status

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are some of the most vulnerable 
members of our community.

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They're often vilified in the media,

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but migrant workers and non-status people

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are the ones taking care of our children,

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growing our food, serving us food, 
growing our food,

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building our homes, pumping our gas.

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Refugees are fleeing war, persecution and 
unimaginable and horrendous levels of violence,

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often escaping paramilitaries

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and arriving here seeking some level of safety,

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only to question whether they can ride transit safely,

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just to get to and from work 
like Lucia was doing.

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So in memory of Lucia Vega Jimenez and the 
thousands of other migrants in our community,

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public transit should not be a border checkpoint.

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There are far too many lives at stake.

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(Next speaker) Lucia is just one of the cases.

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I hear many cases around the time 
I remember since 6 years ago,

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about immigrants that were sent back just because 
they didn't have a fare in the skytrain.

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Immigration didn't look at them when 
the Olympics were starting

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and they were needed in order to construct 
and create infrastructure that we didn't have;

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but once that was done, they didn't matter.

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So I heard a lot of members that were sent back.

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I heard hard working people that was contributing 
enormously to this country sent back.

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I heard people that was in risk sent back.

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People with humane cases sent back.

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Over a $2.50 fare.

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I want to congratulate everybody in this room

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for working to end the Memorandum of Understanding
between CBSA and the Transit Police.

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That's an important step,

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and as has already been said, that's a first step.

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I personally as a transit user, 
and I think many of the people in the room,

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would like to get clarity about 
what that process is going to look like,

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and how we're going to ensure that there is adequate
separation between CBSA and the Transit Police.

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We need to keep in mind the real realities

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of what criminalizing, scrutinizing, racially profiling, detaining and deporting people,

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of how all that stuff affects them.

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This is real, these policies are very very real.

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People are being deported, people are fearful,

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people are going as far 
as Jimenez and my uncle went.

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(same speaker continues) We're happy about 
some of the changes you've made,

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some of the concessions,

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but we need to see that they're implemented.

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We are all gonna hold you to it,

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and we just want to see the end 
of detentions and deportations.

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So please, to everyone here, 
and to everyone who couldn't be here,

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but who's still involved, 
and who cares about this issue,

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let's keep fighting, let's keep pushing for 
the end of detentions and deportations,

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and let's ensure that public transportation 
is not a border checkpoint. Thank you.

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[APPLAUSE]