Toronto Youth Cabinet

August 21, 2007 - Toronto FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1,500 Torontonians tell Minister of Immigration to ‘Let Leo Stay’

Award-winning community activist Leonardo Zuniga and his supporters are calling on Minister of Immigration Diane Finley to stop his removal to Mexico, where he faces persecution due to his sexual orientation and threats against his life.

In addition to gathering over 1,000 online petition signatures and 500 hard copy signatures, Leo’s grassroots campaign has received support from MP Olivia Chow, MPP Cheri DiNovo, MPP George Smitherman, Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone, Councillor Shelly Carroll, Councillor Adam Giambrone, Councillor Howard Moscoe, Councillor Kyle Rae, and Councillor Adam Vaughan.

On Wednesday, August 22nd at 11am in the Council Chambers of Toronto City Hall, Leo will deliver a personal message intended for the Minister of Immigration. He will be joined by MPP-Toronto Centre Rosedale, George Smitherman, Helen Kennedy, Executive Director of EGALE Canada, John Campey, Executive Director of Community Social Planning Council of Toronto, community supporters, and members of the Toronto Youth Cabinet, Supporting our Youth, and No One Is Illegal – Toronto.

"Leo has already contributed a great deal to our community as a human rights advocate and supporter," said Helen Kennedy, Executive Director of Egale Canada. "Now we have to focus our efforts on making sure he is not deported to Mexico where being gay is not an accepted way of life."

Xtra! Magazine recently published the story of Enrique Villegas, the Mexican refugee claimant who was murdered upon return to Mexico after the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board rejected his refugee protection claim in 2003. Villegas was found dead in his Mexico City apartment in April, 2007.

Since arriving in Canada, Leo has been active in the LGTBQ, Latino, and youth communities and has drawn on his own experiences as an LGTBQ immigrant youth to support those who find themselves in similar situations. Leo is the recipient of the 2006 David Barker Maltby Award for his photography work and received the 2007 Youth Line Award for Queer Youth Activism.

“As a country that prides itself on upholding human rights, Canada should not be deporting its human rights advocates,” said Gabriela Rodriguez Director of Council Relation of the Toronto Youth Cabinet. “In addition to working full-time, Leo has selflessly dedicated himself to promoting the rights of others. The fact that Leo has been treated so callously by the immigration system is further evidence that the discriminatory system itself is ‘un-Canadian’ and in need of a serious overhaul.”

In June of 2006, William T. Short of the Immigration and Refugee Board refused Leo’s claim on the grounds that his fears were not well-established. Ignoring the pervasiveness of homophobia in Mexico, including the fact that over 1000 gay men have been murdered in the past 10 years with little sign of justice, Short reported that Leo could simply move to another part of Mexico.

On July 12th, 2007, Leo organized an event at the 519 Community Centre attended by over 150 community members entitled the “Invisible Struggle” to highlight the conditions of LGTBQ people in Mexico and the barriers they face upon seeking asylum in Canada.

The Toronto Youth Cabinet is the official voice of Toronto’s 300,000 youth at City Hall since 1998.

For more information, please contact: Leonardo Zuniga – 416-312-0523, Ryan Hayes, Toronto Youth Cabinet – 416-655-0161, Suhail Abualsameed, Supporting our Youth – 416-924-0774

Website: www.leonardozuniga.ca
Petition: www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?004612