How the Conservatives are Ruining the Canadian Immigration System

If you haven't heard of the omnibus Bill C-38 yet, you should probably take a few minutes to look into what is going on in regards to Canadian immigration policy. Bill C-38, aka the "Jobs, Growth, and Long-term Prosperity Act" is likely to pass this summer, and implements several dangerous provisions of the Harper government's budget. This budget has a decidely anti-immigrant tone, part of which includes eliminating the 280,000 current immigration applications in an effort to get rid of the "backlog". Take a second and think about that number: That's 280,000 individuals, many of which are separated from their children, spouses, and other loved ones. Many of which have the job skills that our country and labour market are in DESPERATE need of. Canada is the second biggest country in the world. We have PLENTYof room for more Canadians who will pay taxes, contribute to our economy and bring a wealth of knowledge from another part of the world. Luckily, some Canadians have noticed that simply axing these people's long, painstaking applications is completely immoral and simply unfair. A group of lawyers are seeking a class-action suit against the government, and seeking an injunction so that if Bill C-38 does pass, they will try to block it from actually being implemented. Civil litigation is perhaps the last remaining aspect of our legal system that protects the human rights of people, and not corporations or governments. Let's all try to spread the word about the conservative party's plan to axe these applications.

These are the people who only come to Canada to "steal our healthcare"... That baby might even be a terrorist...

Perhaps even worse (actually probably much worse) for Canadians is Bill C-31, which Jason Kenney introduced this past winter. This bill essentially destroys all human rights that are currently provided to immigrants and refugee claimants in Canada. This bill strips refugees of their rights by making it legal for the government to imprison refugees for one year without charge or even a warrant. It also imposes strict timelines that unrealistically force claimants to prove their claims in a very short ammount of time. This is done intentionally to reduce the number of successful claims. The new provisions also give the government power to revoke refugee status at ANY time and deport the person back to their country, regardless of the danger this may pose the person. Even worse, the new bill destroys the right to family re-unification for refugees, making it much harder for refugees and immigrants to reunite with their loved ones and children. If a person is finally granted refugee status, under the new law,  reunification with spouses and loved ones is delayed for 6-8 years. Just imagine how you would feel if you were forcibly separated from your child for 6-8 years. That is a significant chunk of your child's life. In some cases, the child might not even recognize their parent once finally reunited. Furthermore, Bill C-31 gives the government the power to forcibly TAKE any refugee children under the age of 16, again without any warrant or reason, and keep them from their accompanying parents for one year. Oh and also don't forget, this bill also strips refugees of much of their health care. Sorry to the Somalian diabetic grandmother who has just escaped decades of brutal civil war. I guess you'll just have to go without insulin for a while.

What the hell is going on at the Ministry of Immigration? Who in their right mind made a middle-aged, racist, white guy the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism? Isn't that a bit counterproductive? I guess that must be Harper's idea of "multicultural"...a white guy from Calgary who believes that Canada's decision not to invade Iraq was a collosal error as it "damaged our relations with the US". Oh, he also does not believe in gay marriage,and he denied citizenship to Guy Valliere, a man who had served this country in the second world war because he did not make a "solid application with a strong case". I'd rather the manager at Starbucks run the immigration department than this moron.



This is who Harper believes best represents multiculturalism and immigrants in Canada ... Seriously.