NDP MP calls on government to sanction Canadian companies doing business with ICE

An NDP MP is calling on the regime to use up sue to kibosh canadian river businesses from having any dealings with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Heather McPherson posted a letter she penned to Prime Minister Mark Carney on X Thursday, saying that the government should consider a number of actions against Canadian companies that have business with the agency.

"Canada and Canadians must not engage with or support fascist violence that destroys communities and threatens the safety of our American neighbours and ourselves," she wrote.

McPherson said the government should deny export permits to companies selling equipment to ICE and pull any public subsidies or contracts from companies who have dealings with the agency.

Since beginning his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump has sent federal agents into cities he has alleged are overridden with crime, including Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago and Charlotte, N.C.

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Minneapolis is the latest city targeted by the administration, with thousands of masked and armed agents on the streets, raiding business and homes. The Trump administration says the agents are targeting criminals who are in the United States illegally.

Since ICE ramped up its activities in Minneapolis in the past month, two U.S. Citizens have been shot and killed at the hands of federal agents and a five-year-old child detained alongside his father.

Thousands of demonstrators have been drawn to the streets calling on ICE to leave the city.

"What Canadians are seeing south of the border, in Minnesota and beyond, is terrifying. The Trump administration's abuses have no limits," McPherson wrote in her letter.

A number of Canadian companies reportedly have business with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE.

McPherson listed several examples in her letter, including the tech business Hootsuite. A U.S. Government procurement website shows that the Vancouver-based company is providing social media services to DHS, with the contract beginning in August 2024.

Hootsuite CEO Irina Novoselsky said in a statement Wednesday that "what we are watching unfold right now is wrong," but said that their contract with ICE does not include tracking or surveillance of individuals.

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B.C. Billionaire Jim Pattison has also faced scrutiny over the possible sale of a Virginia warehouse to DHS for use as an ICE processing facility.

ICE itself has earmarked millions of dollars for a bulk order for 20 armoured vehicles from Canadian defence manufacturer Roshel.

McPherson is currently running for her party's leadership. The NDP confirmed Thursday that the MP and four other candidates have cleared the final hurdle to be on the ballot in March. The other candidates include: activist and filmmaker Avi Lewis, union leader Rob Ashton, social worker Tanille Johnston and farmer Tony McQuail.

Senior writer

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