Before January 20, 2017, I explored how Canada would deal with Donald Trump. The premise is that everything Trump did would be visible and the source of the damage would be obvious. This is definitely true in the cluster{bleep] that is ever-ongoing NAFTA negotiations. This was true until the refugee situation in Canada.
The influx of refugees from the United States into Canada mostly involve people whose status in the United States has been literally threatened or likely threatened at some point. They fear that the United States will deport them back to their country and want to avoid that if possible.
How Canada will deal with Donald Trump
The Safe Third Country Agreement, which dates back to 2002, makes that difficult once a refugee from outside the U.S. or Canada has entered one of those countries. This is why you are seeing refugees in the United States crossing the border at non-border crossings.
Donald Trump is responsible for the vast majority of the influx of refugees. If Americans could easily cross, there are plenty of Americans who would gladly move across the border. Yet in Canadian politics circles, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals are blamed for the influx.
To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017
The only shred of "evidence" is a tweet from the prime minister welcoming of refugees. The idea that these people were going to stay where they were and suddenly moved to risk everything because of a tweet from the Canadian prime minister ignores the realities these people live with every day.
The tweet was in response to the Donald Trump travel ban. The tweet spells out the issues where refugees are allowed in Canada: persecution, terror & war.
There were some false stories that getting into Canada would be easy or that Canada would eagerly take those refugees. The reality is that most of those crossing won't qualify to stay in Canada. They aren't queue jumping any more than the Syrian refugees were when Canada brought them in from refugee camps outside Syria.
Daily Show explores why refugees are fleeing U.S. for Canada
Olympic Stadium helps out another run of people to Canada
Canada takes in flood of refugee applicants from United States
Canada is legally obligated under treaties to take in and process refugee claims. For those who point out that the United States is not doing so, that country is in violation of those international treaties.
The Conservative Party has hit hard on this issue and has scored political points. They argue that these border crossings slow down the possibility of other immigration, such as family reunification. There is no proof a government can't do both at the same time. The problem comes when you ask the Conservatives what their solutions would be. Here are their proposed solutions:
[ ]
The Conservatives have no solutions.
Ditching the Safe Third Country Agreement sounds like a great solution, but that only matters in how refugees are crossing into Canada. The move wouldn't change the number of refugee claims in Canada.
Asking the United States for compensation sounds like a great solution, but that isn't likely to be taken seriously.
The argument lost in the political tug-of-war is that what if the New Democratic Party has a solution for the concern over the refugees. We don't know the potential solutions from either major party that is not in power. However, Canadian journalists are almost certain not to ask anyone in the NDP.
Scoring political points, regardless of party and situation, is a lot of what passes for news, even in Canada. The country of Canada is having a rough spot thanks to Donald Trump, but his actions are forgotten in the Canadian political spectrum.
Real leadership calls from what to do about a problem instead of whining about the situation. There are multiple areas where underpopulation is a concern in Canada: e.g., Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. Those who make successful refugee claims can be relocated to areas that aren't Toronto, Montréal, or Winnipeg.
The visual of people crossing at illegal crossing points magnify an issue that impacts few Canadians to appear that these refugee claims make a difference in their lives.
There are areas of Quebec and Ontario where the influx of refugees is a practical concern. Toronto temporarily hosted some refugees in university housing but will clear them out with students returning to university.
Being able to easily switch countries shouldn't be magic
CanadianCrossing.com border crossings coverage
CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage
CanadianCrossing.com Donald Trump coverage
“More diversity will not be our strength, it will destroy what has made us a great country.” — now former Conservative MP Maxime Bernier
" … (Conservative MP Maxime) Bernier's contention — that identity politics promotes an endless splintering of the polity into ever-narrower shards of cohorts, all of whom believe their ethnicity or religious beliefs or sexuality merit special consideration — is worth discussing. Dismissing Bernier as a nativist, or white nationalist, or simply racist is just more of the reflexive, ad hominem groupthink that's currently so fashionable."
The always wise Neil Macdonald weighed in on the concerns of those on the right. There has been an influx of refugees. Some people are scared of immigrants regardless of the circumstance or reasoning. Dealing with them in such a rush would be a challenge to any provincial or federal government. Most of this group of refugees will not stay in Canada permanently.
Bernier's frustrations on immigration and, of all things, supply management caused him to leave the Conservative caucus and form his own party. The success of the new party may give us a window into Canadians thoughts on this topic in 2019.
We can't be surprised that politics is being mixed into this refugee stew, especially with a federal election about a year away. The stew needs to be on simmer so all parties can discuss rational solutions to a complex problem.
photos credit: The Associated Press; The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Twitter capture: @justintrudeau
Comments