Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

The letter below is an edited and personally updated letter sourced solely from the ORIGINAL letter which was written by Rebecca Nemiroff & shared to her twitter account! 
Graphic Photo Above by: Voilet Clair

"I feel it is essential to use our resources and positions in the community to make change where we can." - Rebecca Nemiroff C.Psch.

I wanted to help. & I truly had NO idea what I could do to help. Whether this crisis and massive atrocity of children's rights is near or far to you, it is crippling to attempt to go on with daily life in spite of it & not do something... ANYTHING to help! 
So I will admit I do what we all do when we can't think of something these days.. I googled it. Rebecca was there to answer!
One thing that we can do as Canadians is write our Local MP's and advocate for suspending the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) with the United States. I have gathered everything you need below to attain the contact information of your Personal MP by Postal Code, as well as a basic version of the Original letter that can be adapted in less than 5 minutes to send off to your personal MP if you oppose the cruel and unusual punishment of children!

[[[ WHAT THE @%*% IS THE STCA???]]] : In the most simple basic watered down version the Safe Third Country Agreement means that those seeking refugee protection are required to request for that protection in the first safe country they arrive in, United States of America is currently the ONLY Country that is designated as a safe third country by Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. A safe third country is a country, other than Canada and the country of alleged persecution, where an individual may make a claim for refugee protection. 

[[[ WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN???]]] In the most basic (I am not a lawyer) terms it means that if a person first lands on US soil, they can not claim Refugee status in Canada, and vice versa! We have labeled them as having landed in a SAFE Country!... This is NOT accurate!

In Canada, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act outlines the criteria for designating a country as a safe third country.
to learn more about the STCA click HERE & HERE

click HERE to find out who your MP is & for their contact information. 
If you live in the area of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lake; sadly this seat is vacant. There is currently no Member of Parliament for this constituency. 
I took this as permission to then E-mail any & ALL current MP's. 

E-mail or MAIL this letter to the address stated with your MP's name inserted into 
the ___ BLANKS___ .

Open letter to ___________

I am writing you today to demand immediate changes be made to the U.S.–Canada Smart Border Action Plan & Immigration and Refugee Protection Act following the unfolding of inhumane events in the U.S. as the Trump government has implemented its "zero-tolerance" policy on illegal immigration. As you know, this has resulted in the abrupt and traumatic separation of over 2000 children from their families in the past few weeks. These children have been detained in the most un-nurturing circumstances and are forced to live with uncertainty as to when and if they will ever see their families again. Everything we know about child development tells us that these events will have lasting and devastating effects on these children as well as on their parents.

____________ it is time for the Liberal government to urgently respond to this crisis by suspending the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) with the United States. Both the human rights chief of the United Nations Human Rights Council and Amnesty International have spoken out against these unconscionable actions. It is time for Canada to do the same. I am urging you to use your position to make the positive changes you spoke about to a group of children here at home a few short months ago. The refugee children being detained under inhumane conditions at the U.S. border need your help.

Sincerely,

____________

I hope that if you read this & this issue makes your stomach hurt, or your heart ache I urge you NOT to ignore that feeling! Your body is trying to tell you that something is very, very wrong. Something is horrifyingly wrong about where the world is headed. I will never stop believing in sharing & celebrating the beauty in the world, art, and passions; but when I feel a deep urge to speak out, I will not stop either!!