1992
After the election is cancelled, an armed conflict breaks out between sections of the FIS and the government. A state of emergency is declared on February 9, 2002. As civil war rages over the next decade, between 100 000 and 150 000 people die and 8 000 disappear.

March 4, 1997
The Canadian government declares a moratorium on deportations to Algeria because of the violence in that country.

September 1997
Hundreds of Algerians (4-600) die during a night-time massacre in Benthala, a small village near Algiers.

1997-98
Mohamed Cherfi arrives in Canada via the United States and claims refugee status before the The Immigration and Refugee Board. His request is denied.

1999
Abdelaziz Boutefilka is elected president of Algeria.

Mars 2002
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien visits Algeria during a tour of Africa to promote "development". He is the first PM to visit Algeria in 20 years.

April 5, 2002
Following a visit to Algeria, Immigration Minister Denis Coderre lifts the moratorium on deportations, declaring that violence has diminished in Algeria. One thousand non-status Algerians in Canada, most living in Montreal, now face deportation to Algeria or the "third country" from which they entered Canada (U.S. or other). The Action Committee of Non-Status Algerians (known by its French initials CASS) is set up to advocate for their right to stay in Canada.

May 2002
Quebec-based transnational SNC Lavalin signs a contract with the Algerian government worth an estimated Can $141 million.

June 28, 2002
The new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act replaces the previous Immigration Act.

July 26, 2002
One hundred non-status Algerians and supporters rally in front of the offices of Citizenship and Immigration Canada in Montreal to demand an immediate end to deportations to Algeria.

September 17, 2002
Canada?s First Calgary Petroleums Ltd signs a contract with a leading Algerian drilling company, Entreprise Nationale de Forage (ENAFOR), to drill for oil at two sites in Algeria.

October 8, 2002
Hundreds of Algerians in Montreal demonstrate to support an Algerian family threatened with imminant deporation - Mourad Bourouissa, his pregnant wife Nadia Seddiki, and their Canadian-born son Ahmed. The demonstrators fear the family will be persecuted if they return to Algeria.

October 20, 2002
To evade deportation, the Seddiki-Bourouisa family seeks sanctuary in the United Union Church in Montreal.

October 30, 2002
Under pressure from CASS, the governments of Canada and Quebec set up a special procedure to reevaluate the situation of non-status Algerians.

December 5, 2002
The Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement is adopted. It will come into force on December 24, 2004.

January 10, 2003
Quebec-based transnational SNC Lavalin signs a Can $96 million contract with an Algerian agency for an irrigation project in Skikda, a city 400 km east of Algiers.

January 18-22, 2003
Immigration Minister Denis Coderre, following a 4-day trip to Algeria, declares that the situation has changed in that country and deportees from Canada would no longer be in danger. But the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade maintains a travel advisory to Canadians to avoid travel to Algeria because of the ongoing violence.

May 29, 2003
Eleven non-status Algerians and two supporters occupy the office of Immigration Minister Denis Coderre. Tasers (electric stun guns) are used during their brutal arrest (as shown in the film). They are charged with mischief.

February 10, 2004
Mohamed Cherfi receives a deportation order. He decides not to give himself up at the Immigration office but rather seeks sanctuary in the United Church of Pastor Gérald Doré in Quebec City.

March 5, 2004
Mohamed Cherfi is dragged out of sanctuary by Quebec City Police and handed over to U.S. authorities. He is transferred to a maximum security prison in Batavia, close to Buffalo, N.Y.

April 8, 2004
President Bouteflika is re-elected with 85% of the votes.

October 22, 2004
U.S. immigration denies refugee status to Mohamed Cherfi.

December 29, 2004
The Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement comes into force.

June 2005
A U.S. appeal court grants refugee status to Mohamed Cherfi. In Canada, the appeal procedure that was supposed to be part of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act of June 28, 2002 has never been implemented.

June 18-25, 2005
Hundreds of non-status Algerians (including several featured in the film) and members of other communities march for eight days from Montreal to Ottawa to demand the regularization of all non-status residents in Canada.
For more details visit the web site of Solidarity Across Borders

July 2005
After 15 months in prison, Mohamed Cherfi is released. He takes up residency in the United States but cannot enter Canada.

September 2005
Quebec grants a selection certificate to Mohamed Cherfi. He will still need to wait from one to five years to obtain Canadian residency and be allowed in to Canada.

February 24, 2006
The eleven members of CASS are acquitted of the charges of mischief in relation to the occupation of federal Immigration Minister Denis Coderre's offices in Ottawa on May 29, 2003 (as featured in the film) Mohamed Cherfi and Djamel Meziani, deported before the trial began, were not included in the acquittal.
For more information please visit the site of Solidarity Across Borders
http://solidarityacrossborders.org/en/node/119