Kingston & District Labour Council
April 2001 Photo Page 6
Labour Pledges Support For Lucy Lu
Labour Pledges Support For Lucy Lu
Wayne Samuelson President of the Ontario Federation
of Labour delivers a message of support to Lucy Lu.
Samuelson pledged to inform and seek support from
the Ontario labour movement for Lucy's case.
Wayne and Kingston Labour Council president Peter Boyle
met with Lucy Lu and church members on Friday April 6, 2001
to discuss the issues around her situation.
Jean Chretien in his last trade visit to China spoke of the deplorable
human rights record of China and yet his government want to send
Lucy back to face imprisonment or execution.
Lucy Lu has been held up in the Calvary Bible Church since
November 21, 2000 to avoid being deported to China.
Ontario labour unions join fight to help Lucy Lu stay in Canada
Annette Phillips -Kingston Whig Standard
LUCY LU: More support
Unions across Ontario are joining the fight to overturn Lucy Lu's deportation order by urging all union members to contribute to a trust fund for her legal expenses.
"The [immigration] minister needs to get into the real world here and see what this woman has been through and more importantly, what she'll face if she is sent back to China," said Ontario Federation of Labour president Wayne Samuelson.
Lu's case caught the attention of the federation board last week after a flurry of phone calls from union locals that have joined the battle.
Samuelson has launched an appeal to all Ontario unions to put pressure on the federal government.
"We've had success in helping people before," Samuelson said. "This case will be now discussed at union meetings across the province."
Lu has been confined to Calvary Bible Church since Nov. 22, after losing a bid to avoid deportation. She was ordered out of the country in 1991 after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the bludgeoning death of her first husband.
Lu denies any involvement in the killing and says she pleaded guilty under duress after two earlier trials that failed to prove her guilt.
Regardless of her guilt or innocence, many believe Lu faces execution if she is returned to China.
Despite a Chinese criminal code by which Lu could be retried for the murder of her husband, Canadian immigration officials insist Lu faces no danger if she is deported.
"I'm not sure, if it were me, that I would want to put all my faith in this minister to be responsible for my life," Samuelson said yesterday.
"Maybe the minister needs to take another look."
The Ontario Federation of Labour joins Canadian Union of Public Employees, Union of National Defence Employees and Canadian Auto Workers in supporting Lu's cause.
LEGAL FUND
- Donations to Lucy Lu's legal defence trust can be sent
c/o Calvary Bible Church, 395 Nelson St., Kingston, K7K 4M9
- Cheques should be payable to Lucy Trust Fund
Photos By Peter Boyle
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