I’d certainly be interested to see some evidence that Conservative MPs are doing anything more than dispensing party talking points. But while there may be some better examples available, the contents of Jason Warick’s report this morning look to me to fall far short. Let’s go point by point… –
Continue readingTag: refugees
Canadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: How an Accused Guatemalan War Criminal Won U.S., Canadian Citizenship
by Sebastian Rotella | ProPublica In May 1985, a Guatemalan Army lieutenant named Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes deserted, flew to San Francisco and requested political asylum, asserting that leftist guerrillas in his war-torn homeland were gunning for him. The 27-year-old officer described his combat exploits in his application for asylum. He said he
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Canadians to Conservative MP Kelly Block: We Disagree With Racism
by Obert Madondo (@Obiemad) In Canada we hardly confront racism by political figures. As a consequence, Prime Minister Stephen Harper‘s government and Conservative MPs are having a field day practicing racism and creating resentment towards minority groups dominated by persons of color. Earlier this year, Harper’s immigrant-bashing minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Canada’s White Supremacist Views Barred From Parliamentary Committee
Meet Madi Lussier, one of the two witnesses from the Canadian Immigration Report or CIReport.ca, barred from speaking before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration earlier this week. Lussier and her fellow witness were invited to speak before the committee. Then they traveled all the way from Toronto to Ottawa to make the
Continue readingImpolitical: The impact of Kenney’s refugee health care cuts being seen
The group Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care has done a report at the three month mark on the impact of the Harper government’s refugee health care cuts. Here’s an excerpt: Our reporting indicates a wide cross section of refugees being denied access to health care, with pregnant women and their
Continue readingImpolitical: Jason Kenney’s week
From a Toronto Star editorial on refugee health care cuts on Wednesday: Daniel Garcia Rodriguez has experienced some of the best, and worst, that Canada can offer. The best includes St. Michael’s Hospital eye surgeon Dr. David Wong, who saved this Columbian refugee claimant’s vision in an operation largely funded
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: CIJA On Bill C-31: Disagreeing Without Being Disagreeable?
I wrote not too long ago about CIJA’s (The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs) meager response to Bill C-31. Now The Centre has issued a meatier statement on the legislation. While its tenor of the backgrounder is, in general, kissy-assy towards the Harper government, in the end it concludes: …there are
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to end your week. – Tim Harper suggests that the Cons are running out of options to try to push the Gateway pipeline on a thoroughly-opposed public in British Columbia. But in keeping with the Cons’ general view of the world as nothing but a public relations problem
Continue readingImpolitical: Kenney’s bogus stats on refugee health care
Jason Kenney has come out with some stats on refugee claimants from ‘safe’ countries and the cost of their using Canadian health care. They will likely come off as sounding high and will serve the political purpose of getting the usual base riled up, but they need to be considered
Continue readingArt Threat: Everyone Needs Their Heart – Vancouver’s Fugitives sing against Bill C-31
Adrian Glynn and Brendan McLeod aren’t known for writing music with a political slant. When he’s not writing gorgeous western-tinged melodic songs, Adrian joins Brendan in the Vancouver band, The Fugitives, a four-piece composed of musicians who double as slam poets, writers, actors and hilarious accordion players (ok, there’s only
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Rob Ford: When the Bigot is a Moron
Damn. I've been trying to think of something nice to say about Rob Ford for soooo long. It's the kind of guy I am. Always looking for the good in people. Or the pony in the manure. And besides after calling him an incompetent buffoon, a crass and vulgar redneck,
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Cons and the Attack of the Angry Doctors
OMG. I don't blame the Cons for thinking that Canada's doctors are after them. But that'll teach them to treat sick refugees as less than human. “There is a new way of thinking in medicine, which is that doctors, because of their stature, privilege and expertise, have a duty to
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Jason Kenney and the Monstrous Cons
I made this little Photoshop graphic a few years ago, but I see I was completely right to call Jason Kenney a freak. For only a freak would run a petition on his website inviting people to thank him for being Jason Kenney. Canadians who want to sign a petition showing their
Continue readingcmkl: Thank you Jason Kenney for showing us what callous freaks the conservatives are
There’s this expression “I wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire” which comes close to describing the Conservative Party approach to health care for refugees. How anyone could look at another citizen of this planet, incarcerate them, deny them the ability to provide for themselves and then refuse
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Jason Kenney: Thank Me For Cutting Refugee Health Benefits
Canada’s federal immigration minister is way out of line here. The Calgary South East MP has posted a petition on his website – jasonkenney.ca – asking Canadians to thank him for a job well done. The petition’s exact words: “We, the undersigned, thank Jason Kenney for his efforts to streamline benefits afforded to
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Immigration Bill C31: Auschwitz Survivor Wiesel Confronts Harper
“I feel morally compelled to remain on the side of other uprooted men and women everywhere. Today, as yesterday, a nation is judged by its attitude towards refugees.” The sobering words of Jewish-American political activist, Nobel laureate, writer, professor, Elie Wiesel. The Holocaust survivor’s response to the Harper Conservative governments’
Continue readingImpolitical: Idle Saturday speculation
Will the real Minister of International Cooperation please stand up? Chris Alexander, Parliamentary Secretary for National Defence, on behalf of the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, is attending the Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan, to discuss international development efforts in Afghanistan for the next decade. As part of his
Continue readingImpolitical: That curious backtrack on refugee health cuts
Jason Kenney offered up some tremendous spin on his controversial refugee health care cuts that came into force on Saturday yet were the subject of a last minute government change at the end of last week: “Refugee health cuts ‘clarified,’ not reversed, Kenney says.” Read the report for his version
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Roy Romanow comments on Medicare as a major part of Canada’s identity: The achievement of universal health care took a long, acrimonious and protracted road. It is no surprise to me that Saskatchewan was at the forefront of this journey. The province’s
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Con Regime and the Harper Button
Some days when I look at the horror of the Con regime, I find it hard to decide which of their ghastly actions disgusts me the most. The absurd sight of Stephen Harper swaggering around the world telling political leaders that they should all follow his example. Because he's a
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