Iraq war resister to discuss her options after being ordered to leave Canada

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Kimberly Rivera, the first female American Iraq war resister to come to Canada, right, plays with her children in their Toronto home on Thursday, August 30, 2012. Canada Border Services Agency has ruled that an American soldier who has been living in Toronto because she didn\'t want to serve in Iraq must return to the U.S. The War Resisters Support Campaign says the agency has told Kimberly Rivera she must leave Canada by Sept. 20. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michelle Siu

TORONTO – An American soldier living in Toronto because she didn’t want to serve in Iraq will discuss her next steps today after she was ordered to return to the U.S.

The War Resisters Support Campaign says the federal government has ordered Kimberly Rivera to leave Canada by Sept. 20.

Michelle Robidoux, a spokeswoman for the War Resisters Support Campaign, says Rivera met with her lawyer Thursday to talk about her options and will speak to media this morning.

Robidoux says there is still no decision on Rivera’s humanitarian compassionate grounds claim.

Rivera, the first female U.S. war resister, fled to Canada in 2007 to avoid further military service and currently lives in Toronto with her husband and four children.

The War Resisters Campaign says Rivera will face harsh penalties if she is deported to the U.S.

The group says two other Iraq war resisters who were deported, Robin Long and Clifford Cornell, faced year-long jail sentences upon their return.

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