From Stoppons la Prison

The government has announced that they are extending the bidding period until April 1, 2019. We hope this means that the companies have received many calls and are refusing to bid on the contract! Regardless, even a small delay of the construction calendar is welcome. We encourage people to keep calling until April 1st to make our message clear! See revised details below, including contact information for one additional company.

Call in, email, and fax campaign background

The Canadian government is attempting to construct a new migrant prison in Laval, QC. The building, set to be built by 2021, would hold 158 people, including children, increasing the government’s capacity to control and deport migrants in a context of rising xenophobia and racism across Canada and in Quebec specifically. Though the prison is being billed as “more humane” than the current detention centre, it’s clear that aesthetic improvements will not stop this from being a prison: it will still rip people from their families and communities and be an integral part of the deportation machine.

The land at the site of the proposed new migrant prison has been readied for construction, and the bidding process for the General Contractor has begun. On February 20th, a group of people shut down a planned visit to the construction site for interested companies. They talked to company representatives about the nature of the project and why they should not participate in building this prison. Many companies are unfortunately still bidding for the contract.

Let’s show these companies that there is widespread disapproval for this project, and that there will be resistance if construction begins! WE HAVE UNTIL APRIL 1st, the deadline for bids, to get these companies to pull out of the process.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Join the campaign to let these companies know that what they’re doing is reprehensible! Get together with friends and family, send some emails, make some calls, or send some faxes between now and APRIL 1st.

Free faxes can be sent using any of the following websites: https://www.gotfreefax.com https://faxzero.com

When you get in touch with these companies, here’s a sample script you can draw on if you want:

Hello, I’m [calling/e-mailing] you today to tell you that you should drop your bid for the Laval immigrant detention centre. It’s a morally reprehensible project, and it faces widespread opposition – being involved with it will reflect badly on your company. It’s designed to imprison and deport people who are trying to immigrate here, and it will rip apart families and violently take people out of their communities. That’s part of a racist approach to migration on the part of Canada that we need to challenge rather than support. It’s not something I stand for, and I’m far from alone in that position. Make the right choice and drop your bid for this project.

Groups

If you’re a community organization or activist group, we encourage you to ask your members to call/e-mail/fax. Invite people to your space to make calls & send e-mails and faxes together!

THE COMPANIES

These companies want to build a new migrant prison in Laval. Contact them to tell them to drop out of the bidding process!

1. COMPANY: Corporation de construction Germano REPRESENTATIVE NAME: Richard A. Germano TITLE: Président EMAIL: info@germanoconstruction.com PHONE: 450 668-7807 FAX: 450 668-5002

2. COMPANY: Construction SOCAM ltée REPRESENTATIVE NAME: Richard Paradis TITLE: Estimateur Senior EMAIL: r.paradis@socam.ca PHONE: 450 662-9000 #223 or 450 662-9000 FAX: 450 662-9838

3. COMPANY: Groupe Geyser REPRESENTATIVE NAME: Lina Tremblay TITLE: Estimateur EMAIL: ltremblay@groupegeyser.com PHONE: 450 625-2003 FAX: 450 625-2883

4. COMPANY: Tisseur Inc. REPRESENTATIVE NAME: Jacques Hosson TITLE: Estimateur EMAIL: estimation@tisseur.com PHONE: 819 322-1523 #258 FAX: 819 322-6766

5. COMPANY: Construction CYBCO EMAIL: info@cybco.ca PHONE: 514 284-2228

6. COMPANY: VCI Contrôles inc. REPRESENTATIVE NAME: Joseph Jacob TITLE: Chargé de projet EMAIL: jjacob@vcicontrols.ca , pcraig@vcicontrols PHONE: 450 442-3555 poste 101 FAX: 450 442-3337

7. COMPANY: Bruneau électrique Inc. EMAIL: info@bruneauelectrique.com PHONE: 514 353-4343, 450 759-6606 Fax: 450 759-2653

8. COMPANY: Standard Building Contractors REPRESENTATIVE NAME: Shane Ross TITLE: President EMAIL: shane@standard.builders PHONE: 613 847-7258

9. COMPANY: Securassure REPRESENTATIVE NAME: Matthew Poplaw TITLE: Sales EMAIL: matthew@securassure.ca PHONE: 514 373-3131 FAX: 1 855 439-9500

10. COMPANY: ALTEL inc. a Convergint Company REPRESENTATIVE NAME: Jean-Hugues Thibault TITLE: Sales Director EMAIL: jean-hugues.thibault@altel.ca PHONE: 4389907791 GOOGLE+: http://www.altel.ca/en/home/