Now that Parliament has risen for the summer, we can expect things to totally die down now, right? And the government will drift into a gentle slumber and won’t do things like quietly gazette new regulations that could have a major effect on our immigration system, like, say imposing caps on certain immigration classes under the rather ridiculous banner of “working through the backlog,” right? Oh, wait…
Here’s the thing. As an excuse, imposing caps to take the pressure off the backlog is kind of a bogus one, and will end up backfiring because telling skilled would-be-immigrants that sorry, you’re number 501 after the cut-off is 500 applicants, try again next year – is not going to make them predisposed to trying Canada again next year. And these are skilled positions let me remind you.
Here’s the thing about the backlog – it was the Conservatives who created the crisis in the first place. At the end of the Liberals’ time in government, Immigration had reduced the backlog to effectively zero – 20,000 cases in the system at any given time was apparently the optimal number for efficiencies, and so on. But then the Conservatives came in and stopped appointing adjudicators to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), at which point the backlog started to grow. Why did they stop appointing new adjudicators? Because they wanted to push through legislation that would alter the selection process for IRB members that looked like it would be more merit-based, but which actually gave the minister a firmer hand in the process. So while they railed on about Liberal patronage appointments, they pushed though the legislation and made some particular odious patronage appointments of their own (such as an unqualified right-wing Christian figure who was no fan of the gays). And because they took so long to get the process into place, and make appointments, and not give qualified adjudicators re-appointments (knowing full well it takes new adjudicators at least six months to get up to speed, while re-appointments would keep the system flowing), it’s no wonder that the Auditor General herself had to spank them on it.
The lesson here? That simply imposing a cap on the number of applications isn’t actually going to do anything about the backlog. Adding resources and adjudicators to the IRB are what the system needs to get the backlog actually under control. But wait – they really don’t want that, do they? Judging from the fact that they created the backlog crisis, and have been slowly scaling back the number of permanent residents they accept in favour of temporary foreign workers instead, it’s almost like a pattern is starting to emerge about how they really feel about the immigration file. Funny how that happens.
(And a huge thanks to @P41Questions for noticing this).
John Baird took a secret trip to visit the rebels in Libya to pledge Canada’s support, and to bring them medical supplies (when what they really need are weapons right now). And predictably he put his foot in his mouth by saying something boneheaded like “Hey, they couldn’t be any worse than the old regime.” Seriously? And yeah, they could be a lot worse, actually. But hey, it’s not like he’s our top diplomat, the face of Canada to the rest of the world with experience, grace and gravitas, right? Oh, wait…
Here’s an account of the relationship between CUPW and the NDP, where it certainly appears that the union was calling the shots when it comes to the NDP’s strategy regarding the filibuster.
That flawed “mega-trials” bill is now law, thanks to the government railroading it through the Commons with the help of the NDP, and through the Senate thanks to their majority.
Here’s a look at the NDP’s growing caucus discipline. Apparently if you go against the Leader’s views, things get very difficult for you. Hmmm, I wonder what other party that sounds like…
The Hill Times talks to Senators about the “reform” bill, and not surprisingly hears that Conservative MPs tend to support it and can mouth all the right talking points.
And in case you missed it, here’s my story on gay cabinet ministers, the closet, and national security.