There's good news for the approximately 100 American soldiers who have quit the U.S. military to start a new life in Canada. A group of lobbyists is taking up their cause in Ottawa.

Retired California state senator Tom Hayden will meet with NDP Leader Jack Layton and members of the Bloc Quebecois. He'll bring up cases such as those of Jeremy Hinzman -- a former U.S. soldier who went AWOL before being shipped off to Iraq.

Currently living in a small basement apartment with his family in Toronto, Hinzman is waiting for Ottawa to decide what to do with him.

If he's forced to return to the U.S., he could face the death penalty for going AWOL. Under Canada's immigration laws, he and his family are here illegally.

Hayden says its cases like these that he wants to highlight, adding he represents many Americans getting ready for a new sanctuary movement.

"There are all kinds of soldiers who are dissenting, who are deserting. There are 6,000 according to the Pentagon -- and some of them are in Canada," he said on Canada AM.

Hayden said he hopes Canada will provide a safe haven for resistors of the Iraq war, similar to the way it did 35 years ago during the Vietnam War.

"Looking back, it was a proud chapter in Canadian history, and relations between the United States and Canada were not damaged at all."

Celeste Zappala is also taking up the cause of U.S. soldiers escaping to Canada to avoid the war in Iraq. Her son was killed fighting in Baghdad last April.

"I believe that this war in Iraq is a betrayal of our military, and of the noble causes that they have fought for," she said.

Zappala adds that young U.S. soldiers who have decided they won't fight in Iraq deserve support -- and that Canada is a good place to get it.

"I've always admired the Canadians for the human rights positions they've taken, for that conscience that they have always displayed," she said.

She also said she admires people like Hinzman who take courageous positions.

"It's difficult for our soldiers to say no," she said.