Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Canadian government Tuesday deported the first of an estimated 200 American soldiers who’ve fled to Canada to avoid service in Iraq.

A small crowd of Iraq War opponents protested the deportation at the Peace Arch border crossing in Blaine, Washington.  Correspondent Tom Banse has more.

Twenty-five-year-old Army deserter Robin Long was turned over to the U.S. military after losing an appeal for refugee status in Canada.

The soldier was living in Nelson, British Columbia.  Nelson is due north of Spokane and was once a haven for Vietnam draft dodgers.

Anti-war activist Ash Woolson of Bellingham says Canadian citizens continue to welcome people he calls “war resisters.”

Ash Woolson: “The Canadian people are not for the war in Iraq.  It seems that the government is really pushing against these veterans and it’s not the people.”

Canadian immigration authorities say the fact that there’s no draft makes today different from the Vietnam era. 

Canada is turning aside refugee applications from U.S. soldiers who enlisted voluntarily and then changed their minds after getting deployment orders to the Middle East.