Prime Minister Trudeau and Conscientious Objectors

government: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel TORONTO - The Liberal government is reviewing Canada stance on American war dodgers who have sought refuge in this country rather than fight in Iraq, Prime Minister Trudeau said Friday, according to Brandon Sun. Trudeau, however, gave no commitments that Ottawa might smooth the path to permanent residency for the conscientious objectors, some of whom have been forced to return to the U.S. to face prison terms, but said the issue was a live one. "It one that we are looking into actively as a government," Trudeau said after a transit-funding announcement in Toronto. Trudeau said his government was looking into government policy toward American conscientious objectors who have sought refuge in Canada rather than fight in Iraq. He did not elaborate. Last summer, a campaigning Trudeau criticized the Conservative government under prime minister Stephen Harper for acting in a way he called "lacking compassion and lacking understanding" when it came to the American soldiers. "I am supportive of the principle of allowing conscientious objectors to stay," Trudeau said at the time. Outside the transit yard where Trudeau was speaking, a handful of protesters from the War Resisters Support Campaign quietly held up a banner and signs calling on the government to let them stay. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.