Organizers rally against Vancouver businesses' ICE connections

Later today, Vancouverites will stage protests at two businesses with connections to the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). One of those companies is Hootsuite, a Vancouver-based tech company that provides social media services to ICE. 

“HootSuite is providing social media management services to ICE at a time when ICE is escalating raids, detention and the use of force on citizens [and] innocent civilians,” in the United States, Kalifi Ferretti-Gallon told Vancity Lookout.

Ferretti-Gallon is a co-founder of Democracy Rising, a one-year-old Vancouver-based advocacy group with around 400 members that aims to protect and strengthen democracy against the growth of authoritarianism in the United States and Canada.  

On Friday at 3 p.m., Democracy Rising is staging a protest outside Hootsuite’s headquarters in Mount Pleasant, calling on the company to end all contracts with ICE. Hootsuite staff have been told to work from home on Friday due to the protest, according to one employee. 

On Wednesday, Hootsuite CEO Irina Novoselsky issued a statement saying the company has “felt the concern expressed about Hootsuite’s work with ICE’s public affairs office,” given the “loss of life and the fear being felt in communities as a result of recent enforcement actions.” Novoselsky

Novoselsky went on to say that Hootsuite’s services for ICE “does not include tracking or surveillance of individuals using our tools” and that the company actively enforces those terms of service. “Our responsibility is to our customers … and to ensuring public conversation can be understood,” Novoselsky added, in defence of the contract. 

As reported by the Globe and Mail, Novoselsky held a private meeting with Hootsuite employees regarding the ICE contract, saying it would not be cancelled unless the agency violated the terms of service. 

“Our concern isn't whether ICE is technically complying with software terms,” Ferretti-Gallon said. “It's whether continuing to provide these services to an agency actively engaged in civil rights violations is responsible” and ethical, she said. 

Hootsuite had been a registered B Corp – a certification program that requires companies to prevent and mitigate their involvement in negative human rights impacts, among other standards – since 2015. However, the company is no longer listed in the non-profit’s directory of certified businesses. 

Hootsuite also promotes its positive social impact on its website, saying the company supports various causes and issues, “including equality and anti-racism, community and environmental well being, and disaster response.” 

One of those partners Hootsuite has worked with is Witness Change, a US-based group that works to end human rights violations for marginalized communities through storytelling. Witness Change had not responded to Vancity Lookout’s request for comment about Hootsuite’s ICE contract by the time of publication.

There is precedent for Hootsuite to cancel this type of contract. In 2020, under former CEO Tom Keiser, Hootsuite cancelled a contract with ICE following “a broad emotional and passionate reaction” from its staff regarding the contract, according to BC Business.

Pending warehouse sale for ICE facility in Virginia sparks backlash

Hootsuite isn’t the only Vancouver-based company doing business with ICE. Jim Pattison Developments (JPD) has a pending deal to sell a warehouse it owns in Ashland, Virginia, to the Department of Homeland Security for use as an ICE processing facility. JPD is part of the Jim Pattison Group, the largest private company in Canada, which is owned by Canadian multi-billionaire Jim Pattison.

“I was obviously aghast immediately,” BC Green Party Leader Emily Lowan told Vancity Lookout about hearing news of the planned sale last week. The significant public pushback against that deal has “restored my faith in humanity and our fellow British Columbians,” Lowan said

“I think it gave people an outlet to take some ownership and to channel their outrage and dismay of what's happening for our neighbours south of the border,” she added. Another protest is planned for Friday at 5 p.m. outside the Jim Pattison Group’s corporate office in downtown Vancouver.  

In response to the pending sale, Lowan is calling for British Columbians to boycott Pattison’s other businesses, including grocery stores like Save-On-Foods, Nester’s Market, and Choices Market, as well as Pattison’s car dealerships, and Pattison Media, which owns Vancouver radio stations like 93.7 JR Country and 102.7 The Peak. 

In a public statement on Tuesday, Jim Pattison Developments said it did not know “the ultimate owner and intended use of the building” when it accepted an offer to sell the Virginia warehouse to a U.S. government contractor, and that the sale is “still subject to certain approvals and closing conditions.” 

“We understand that the conversation around immigration policy and enforcement is particularly heated,” the unsigned statement added, saying JPD is “committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations.” 

UFCW 1518, a union representing 28,000 grocery and food workers in B.C., many of them who work at Pattison Group stores, has raised concerns about the warehouse sale. In a letter addressed to the Jim Pattison Group, union president Patrick Johnson wrote, “we believe that there is a responsibility to consider the broader social and moral implications of this sale and any future sales to the Department of Homeland Security. We urge you to decline any involvement that would contribute to the ongoing attack on human rights.”

However, Johnson also said a boycott could hurt employees who have no control over JPD’s business decisions, according to The Tyee. “[Pattison] could stop the sale, he could give workers a raise, and end the boycott today. The question is one of will,” Lowan said. 

Lowan thinks the provincial government should make it clear to the Pattison Group that it should halt the warehouse sale, but recognized that the province doesn’t have “an immediate legal or formal route” to block a sale between a private company and a foreign government. 

Niki Sharma, the province’s Attorney General and a BC NDP MLA for Vancouver-Hastings, did comment on the sale on Tuesday, saying B.C. business leaders should “think about their role in what is unfolding,” in the US with ICE, according to CBC.   

“It's in our recent memory where Canada felt this existential sovereignty threat,” from the United States, “when Trump threatened to annex Canada and make us the 51st state,” Lowan said.

“I think it's really important in these moments that we feel fiercely that love and solidarity across this border with people that are geographically fairly close to us. There is a reality that that violence could come to Canada,” Lowan said.

Katie Sitterson was one of about 1,000 people, she estimated, who showed up for a municipal meeting in Hanover County, Virginia, on Wednesday, where the potential ICE facility was being discussed.

The County’s Board of Supervisors, similar to a city council, issued a statement at the meeting that it “opposes” the proposed purchase of the warehouse by the federal government due to land use concerns, but noted that federal operations are exempt from its authority. 

“It's basically a nightmare, like every day,” Sitterson said of the situation right now in the U.S.

Sitterson is a stay-at-home mom living in Virginia who had never been to a protest prior to a year ago she told Vancity Lookout. Now, Sitterson is regularly engaged in planning protests and organizing, involving her friends and family in actions she says can inspire hope. 

“Anytime [Canadians] push back … we’re super appreciative,” Sitterson said, fighting back tears. 

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