Letter: The Trouble With Staying Silent on Ideological Extremism

2019/04/06 Leave a comment

Omer Aziz responds to Graeme Wood’s earlier piece in The Atlantic (After Christchurch, Commentators Are Imitating Sebastian Gorka). Good debate and discussion between the two.

And yes, needs to be said, ideas, words and speech matter:

After the tragedy at Christchurch, New Zealand, Graeme Wood wrote recently, a funny thing happened: “Everyone discovered, all at once, that ideology matters.” But just as important as this recognition, Wood argued, is the ability to differentiate on an ideological spectrum. To fail to do so “leads to catastrophic blunders”: In The New York Times, for instance, “Omer Aziz accused the neuroscientist and atheist Sam Harris, as well as the Canadian psychologist and lobster enthusiast Jordan Peterson, of complicity in mass murder for objecting to what they argued are overbroad applications of the word Islamophobia.”

“If we cannot distinguish Harris and Peterson from Richard Spencer, let alone Brenton Tarrant,” Wood wrote, “then our problems are bad indeed.”

There are several points I take contention with in Graeme Wood’s essay on the Christchurch massacre, which names me and two other writers for failing to make important ideological distinctions between the New Zealand killer and others who, strictly speaking, have nothing to do with him. Set aside the irony of taking writers to task for not making important ideological distinctions and then lumping in three diverse writers together, thereby failing to make those distinctions yourself. Wood’s major claim in the piece is that after Christchurch, “everyone discovered that ideology mattered”—white-nationalist and fascist ideology—and this was in contrast to the politically correct liberal response to jihadist violence, in which presumably these very same writers adequately distinguish Islamist terrorism from Muslims tout court.

Other writers can speak for themselves. In my case, I have written about the role that ideology and religion play in jihadist violence. Indeed, I have been influencedby Wood’s own work on this, and have discussed it with him, multiple times, in private and in public. I believe that there is always an ideological spectrum with respect to extremist violence, and the various shades of that spectrum ought to be interrogated, even if it makes people feel uncomfortable. That goes for Islamist violence, as it does for white-nationalist terror.

Wood takes especial issue with my mentioning of the neuroscientist Sam Harris in my piece for The New York Times. The exact words from that piece were:

People with millions of online followers have been incessantly preaching that Islamophobia is not the problem; Islam is. The Canadian intellectual Jordan Peterson has said that Islamophobia is a “word created by fascists.” The neuroscientist Sam Harris has called it an “intellectual blood libel” that serves only to shield Islam from criticism.

Note that there is not the slightest intimation here that Peterson or Harris shares liability, responsibility, or guilt for the New Zealand massacre. It simply acknowledges the salient fact that prominent thinkers have been in Islamophobia-denial for a long time, even after Muslims were specifically targeted because of who they were and for no other reason.

Jordan Peterson is more complex, and his thinking about Islam and Muslims requires its own separate treatment. But Harris has been propounding vicious misinformation about Muslims for a decade. Does Wood not have an opinion on someone who warned about the “ominous” Muslim birth rates in Europe and published misleading statistics about them, the very same birth rates that the New Zealand killer was so tormented by in his manifesto? (And why would it be “ominous” if there are more brown people in Europe? For what it’s worth, at maximal levels of immigration, Muslims would account for 14 percent of Europe’s population in 2050, according to Pew. Those worried about the coming hordes of brown bodies can relax somewhat.)

It is not wrong to call out people who have been denying that a particular form of racism exists when this very racism becomes the central motivation of a live-streamed lynching of vulnerable people. By the logic of Graeme Wood’s own piece (that ideology matters) and by the logic of Sam Harris’s own ontology of Islam (that there are concentric circles of extremism, with jihadists in the middle and their enablers on the outer rings), the ideological spectrum of Islamophobia ought to have been probed more thoroughly. Instead, Wood is silent, dismissing all this as self-evidently not worth mentioning. A spectrum of ideology for thee, but not for me.

If casual Islamophobia is not on the same ideological spectrum as violent Islamophobia, why not? Are overt warnings about Muslim birth rates and “deranged” Muslims so acceptable now that they fail to register as extreme? Yes, Islamophobia is an imperfect term; that does not alter the reality the term describes, which, like anti-Semitism, is a particular form of racism. The methodology of Wood’s piece—of transposing words to highlight hypocrisies—might help here. Swap Muslim with Jewish, and you get Harris warning about Jewish birth rates in Europe, calling the Jewish world “deranged,” and claiming that anti-Semitism is a made-up word. Anyone using such language would be rightly condemned as anti-Semitic. I wonder whether Wood would still be silent then.

There are many enablers of Islamophobia today, Harris among them, and their consistent propounding of anti-Muslim myths has put Muslim lives at risk. Of course, there is no causal link between the intellectual enablers of Islamophobia and the New Zealand killer. To my knowledge, no serious writer has sought to draw such a link. Again: We are not discussing culpability; we are discussing an ideological spectrum in which subtle bigotry toward Muslims has become mainstream. These ideological enablers create a permissive environment for more dangerous ideas to fester. Calling them out is not a controversial idea. It’s applied to Muslims all the time.

“To fail to differentiate leads to catastrophic blunders,” Wood writes. I heartily agree. And an even greater moral disaster is the willful blindness toward an ideological spectrum when a white man is the one pulling the trigger. When you are silent on the ideological extremism of your friends, you inevitably aid the violent extremism of your enemies. In this case, it is not your voice that gives them license, but your silence on matters that you have deliberately overlooked.

Source: Letter: The Trouble With Staying Silent on Ideological Extremism

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Why hard-fought election at North America’s largest Sikh temple could be bad news for Liberals in next federal vote

2019/04/06 Leave a comment

We will know in October, but of course other factors will also be at play. And the sensitivity regarding the mention of Sikh extremism in a Public Safety report is also noteworthy:

When North America’s largest Sikh temple elects a new board of directors, it doesn’t fool around.

Candidates have campaign managers, cold-call voters and go door-knocking in the race for leadership of the Ontario Khalsa Darbar (OKD), a Toronto-area institution that functions as a place of worship, a community centre — and a nexus of political influence.

The Liberals have long been linked to the OKD, and arguably benefited from its status among the province’s Sikhs. But the election that wrapped up there early Monday morning may not bode well for the party.

A Grit-associated slate promoted by the fathers of Navdeep Bains, a star in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, and MP Ruby Sahota was roundly defeated, and a controversial government report that suggested Sikh terrorism still poses a threat here may have played a role, say observers and campaign organizers.

That could have ramifications for Liberal support in several swing seats in and around Brampton, Ont., most of which flipped to the party from the Conservatives in the 2015 election.

“These local ridings will be affected by it,” said Balraj Deol, a Punjabi-language journalist in the area. “That is an advantage for Conservatives, and the NDP also. It’s a loss for the Liberals and it will be a gain for the other two.”

“This may be a sign,” said Jaspal Bal, campaign manager for the victorious side.

Even Trudeau was dragged into the race, with the winning group alleging his visit to the area last week was designed to bolster support for the other side.

But not everyone sees broader implications in the temple vote, no matter how intense the campaign became. Avtar Badyal, the losing presidential candidate, said Trudeau’s visit and Liberal policies had nothing to do with his team’s loss. The election was simply about which group voters believed could best manage an important spiritual institution, he said.

“This is not a political thing, it’s a religious thing,” said Badyal. “I don’t know why they are making this into something that it’s not.”

Another local journalist said he also doubts that broader politics played a role in the temple election, or will be affected by its outcome.

“Not at all,” said Yudhvir Jaswal, who hosts popular radio and TV shows on the local Y-Channel. “I think they are oversimplifying things.”

Regardless, when the ballots were all counted at about 3:30 a.m. Monday, the entire “Panthak Alliance” slate backed by the fathers of MPs Bains and Sahota had been defeated, every one of their 11 opponents elected by healthy margins.

To the winners goes control of a temple — or gurdwara — that boasts 3,700 members and a sprawling, 70-acre site near Toronto’s Pearson airport.

Underscoring the high stakes in such elections, a court battle between directors that began in 2006 forced a nine-year delay in voting and reportedly generated $5 million in legal bills.

Sikh temples are community focal points as well as religious institutions, and OKD includes 15 halls that are booked solid with weddings.

It also provides a potential platform for politicians eager to reach the region’s powerful Sikh voting bloc, said Deol, hosting gatherings that can attract tens of thousands of people.

“That gurdwara is the prime hub for everything,” said an organizer on the winning side, who asked not to be named. “It’s very influential.”

Liberals like Bains, the economic development minister, used to have ready access to the OKD stage, the person said. “That’s not going to happen any more, so that’s a big blow to them.”

Bains was among several Liberals of Sikh background who captured Brampton and Mississauga ridings in 2015, a key part of the Greater Toronto Area battleground that is itself crucial to winning federal elections.

But the community’s support for the party took a serious hit with the release in December of a Public Safety Canada report on terrorism that suggested “Sikh (Khalistani) extremism” remained a threat.

Sikh groups reacted with outrage, saying that using violence to support Punjabi independence was rejected long ago in Canada. The so-called Khalistani movement is entirely peaceful today, they argue.

Local MPs are expected to face a grilling this Sunday at a town-hall meeting about the report.

Many of the temple members who voted for the winning slate in Sunday’s gurdwara election did so to express their opposition to the terrorism statement, equating the other slate with the government, said Bal.

In fact, when a candidate on the opposing side promised to honour the four Sikh-Canadian ministers in the Trudeau cabinet at the gurdwara, the eventual winning slate gained more support, he said.

“People put aside their bickering and differences and said this is one of the issues that is uniting us to support these 11,” said Bal. “Because they have said they will not sit idle and wait with a garland to welcome the leaders who have declared us a terrorist threat.”

Source: Why hard-fought election at North America’s largest Sikh temple could be bad news for Liberals in next federal vote

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Daphne Bramham: Concerns raised about Chinese interference in Canada’s fall election

2019/04/05 Leave a comment

Of note:

Ivy Li worries that the Chinese Communist Party might be able to affect the outcome of Canada’s fall election using a campaign of disinformation and by silencing critics.

Li is not alone. Li helped organize a recent dialogue that featured Jonathan Manthorpe, author of the best-selling book, The Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada, where she and others talked about their fears and experiences.

Last week, Reporters Sans Frontieres noted its own concerns in a report titled China’s Pursuit of a New World Media Order.

In his book, Manthorpe — the former Vancouver Sun Asia correspondent and foreign affairs columnist — writes that Canada has become “a battleground on which the Chinese Communist Party seeks to terrorize, humiliate and neuter its opponents.”

It is “a war of intimidation and harassment” that seeks to smother, silence or discredit dissenters, especially those from “the Five Poisonous Groups — advocates of independence for Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan, promoters of democracy in China, and adherents of Falun Gong.”

Manthorpe documents how Chinese-language publications in Canada have muzzled and fired journalists and how wealthy Chinese-Canadians with business ties to China and organizations linked to the Chinese government’s United Front have been involved with candidates from various parties in past elections.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there wasn’t a single journalist from the Chinese-language media at the speaking event organized by Friends of Hong Kong and the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement.

Only one Chinese media representative responded to organizer Fenella Sung’s invitation. But that journalist declined to come. Why? The journalist was leaving soon for China.

Sung noted that the challenges faced by Chinese-Canadians are real because of family and business ties that they may have to China and the fact that the communist party and the Chinese government regard the overseas diaspora as a bloc.

But she said, “We are in Canada. We don’t have to abide by community norms. Here, it’s okay and normal to think differently. … We have to stick to our own values and principles.”

Yet, as both Manthorpe and Reporters Sans Frontieres note, the Chinese government has made substantial investments in international TV broadcasting, foreign media outlets, advertising, and junkets for foreign journalists and politicians. It has embedded the Confucius Institute in schools and universities.

As for social media, the Reporters Sans Frontieres report calls it the new battleground where disinformation is spread by an army of paid and unpaid trolls on the government-linked messaging service WeChat and on micro-blogging sites.

While disinformation campaigns have mainly been directed at Taiwan and Singapore, Reporters Sans Frontieres says WeChat is increasingly being used to spread fake news in Canada and the United States.

In Canada, WeChat initially censored news of the December arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver pending extradition to the United States on fraud charges.

The report says the Chinese government’s expansion into media “poses a direct threat not only to the media but also to democracies.” It goes on to say that unless democracies resist, Chinese citizens will lose all hope of ever seeing press freedom in their country.

And it warns, “Chinese-style propaganda will increasingly compete with journalism outside China, thereby threatening the ability of citizens everywhere to freely choose their destiny.”

Li echoed those fears.

“We can’t succumb to intimidation,” she said. “The more we do it — especially those who are in the Chinese-Canadian media — the more we play into the hands of the (Chinese Communist Party). If we toe the line, we become silent partners of the (party).”

Others spoke about being torn between the country they have chosen and the country where they were born. They talked about fearing reprisals against family they have left behind or the businesses they are running, if they are critical of the Chinese government.

As one of the organizers, Li spoke last. She urged Chinese-Canadians to speak up in support of non-Chinese critics when Chinese officials and their supporters try to silence them with accusations of racism.

In December, China’s ambassador in Ottawa, Lu Shaye, accused Canada and Canadians of “white supremacy” in response to Ottawa’s request for the release of two Canadians detained without charges and held in an unknown location in retaliation for Meng’s arrest.

It was intended as a slap in the face to all Canadians. Instead, it serves as an ironic reminder that everyone in this country has the right to speak openly and critically without fear of reprisal, even if they don’t have diplomatic immunity.

Freedom and democracy is why Li chose Canada and why she urged Chinese-Canadians to be “the leading force to counter (Chinese Communist Party) campaigns of influence and intimidation.”

“Are we protecting the things that we came here for? That’s our responsibility as immigrants,” she said. “Because if we endanger those things, it’s not fair to Canada. And it’s not fair to ourselves.”

Source: Daphne Bramham: Concerns raised about Chinese interference in Canada’s fall election

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Pope Francis: God merely ‘permits’ Islam

2019/04/05 Leave a comment

Hard to see the debate over “willed” or “permitted” having any material effect apart from theological debates:

Pope Francis has further clarified his controversial statement issued in Abu Dhabi, in which he appeared to state that God “wills” the existence of many religions.

This appears to contrast with the traditional doctrine of the Catholic Church, which teaches, in the words of the Second Vatican Council, that the “one true religion subsists in the Catholic and Apostolic Church, to which the Lord Jesus committed the duty of spreading it abroad among all men.”

The informal clarification came at today’s general audience, as the Pope reflected on his recent trip to Muslim-majority Morocco. In unscripted remarks, he said to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square:

But some may wonder: but why does the Pope go visit the Muslims and not only the Catholics? Because there are so many religions, and why are there so many religions? With the Muslims we are descendants of the same Father, Abraham: why does God allow so many religions to exist? God wanted to allow this: the Scholastic theologians referred to the voluntas permissiva [permissive will] of God. He willed to permit this reality: there are many religions; some are born of culture, but they always look to heaven, they look to God. But what God does will is fraternity among us, and in a special way — hence the reason for this journey — with our brothers, who are sons of Abraham, like us, the Muslims. We must not be afraid of the difference: God has permitted this. We ought to be frightened if we do not work in fraternity, to walk together in life.

The Feb. 4 statement incited controversy among Christians for asserting that “the pluralism and the diversity of religions” — like the diversity of “color, sex, race and language” — are “willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings” — a claim many believe to be contrary to the Catholic faith.

Some critics argued the Pope’s statement seemed not only to “overturn the doctrine of the Gospel” but also to align with the ideas of Freemasonry.

Observers pointed out that the potential for confusion was compounded by the fact that both Al-Azhar and the Catholic Church asked in the document that it “become the object of research and reflection in all schools, universities and institutes of formation.”

To remedy the confusion arising from the statement, four days later Bishop Athanasius Schneider issued a statement on uniqueness of faith in Jesus Christ. Three weeks after that, at a Mar. 1 ad limina meeting of the bishops of Kazakhstan and Central Asia with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Bishop Schneider privately obtained from Pope Francis a clarification that God only permits but does not positively will a “diversity of religions.”

The Pope explicitly stated that Schneider could share the contents of their exchange on this point. “You can say that the phrase in question on the diversity of religions means the permissive will of God,” he told the assembled bishops, who come from predominantly Muslim regions.

Bishop Schneider in turn asked the Pope officially to clarify the statement in the Abu Dhabi document.

In light of the Abu Dhabi statement and today’s informal clarification from Pope Francis, LifeSite spoke with Capuchin Father Thomas Weinandy, a member of the Vatican’s International Theological Commission and former chief of staff for the U.S. Bishops’ committee on doctrine, about the controversy.

In 2017, Fr. Weinandy wrote a letter to Pope Francis (which was subsequently made public) saying his pontificate is marked by “chronic confusion” and warning that teaching with a “seemingly intentional lack of clarity risks sinning against the Holy Spirit.”

In our interview with the Fr. Weinandy on the Abu Dhabi statement, he identifies what he believes is its most problematic element, and offers his perspective on both on the Pope’s private clarification to Bishop Schneider and his public remarks at this week’s general audience.

Fr. Weinandy says while he believes Pope Francis is motivated by a “noble desire” to “foster mutual understanding” and “undercut some Islamic factions that foster terrorism,” his signing the Abu Dhabi statement “has doctrinal consequences well beyond what he may have envisioned or desired.”

“What I find very sad and scandalously troubling” he added, “is that, in the midst of it all, Jesus is being insulted. He is reduced to the level of Buddha or Mohammed when in fact he is the Father’s beloved Messianic Son, the one in whom the Father is well pleased.”

…

Source: Pope Francis: God merely ‘permits’ Islam

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Laïcité: les libéraux fédéraux reçoivent un guide pour répliquer à Québec

2019/04/04 Leave a comment

Prudent to have consistent media lines. The actual lines makes the necessary points:

Les libéraux de Justin Trudeau ne veulent pas entendre de voix discordante dans leurs rangs dans le débat sur la laïcité qui fait rage au Québec.

Des notes ont ainsi été préparées à l’intention des ministres, des députés, des adjoints de la colline et dans les bureaux de circonscription, de même que pour les proches collaborateurs du premier ministre afin de les guider dans la réplique fédérale aux mesures contenues dans projet de loi du gouvernement Legault sur la laïcité, déposé la semaine dernière à l’Assemblée nationale.

Le ton ferme de ces notes pourrait laisser entendre que le gouvernement Trudeau prépare soigneusement le terrain à une forme de contestation judiciaire de certains pans du projet de loi sur la laïcité. Certains experts juridiques estiment qu’Ottawa pourrait contester la constitutionnalité du projet de loi, une fois qu’il aura été adopté, en plaidant qu’il est discriminatoire envers les femmes.

Mais une source gouvernementale a insisté pour dire mardi soir que le gouvernement écarte l’idée d’une bataille juridique sur cette question, même si le ministre de la Justice David Lametti a affirmé encore plus tôt en journée que son ministère est toujours en train d’étudier le projet de loi de Québec.

« Le Canada est un pays laïque et cela se reflète dans toutes ses institutions. Les employés de l’État ont le droit d’afficher leurs croyances et personne ne devrait à choisir entre un emploi et son droit de porter un signe religieux », peut-on lire dans les notes de réplique obtenues par La Presse mardi.

« La Charte canadienne des droits et libertés protège les droits de tous les citoyens, et on ne peut pas choisir ceux que l’on protège et ceux que l’on restreint. Notre position est claire : ce n’est pas à l’État de dicter aux gens ce qu’ils peuvent ou ne peuvent pas porter, peu importe leurs croyances », peut-on aussi lire dans ces notes.

« Notre parti a toujours défendu et continuera de défendre les droits fondamentaux de chaque Canadien », ajoute-t-on aussi, prenant soin de souligner qu’il incombe à « tous » de protéger les droits fondamentaux « et toute tentative de les éroder est inacceptable. Le Canada est ouvert, inclusif, et riche de sa diversité ».

Dans les rangs libéraux, on a tenu à minimiser mardi la teneur des notes envoyées aux troupes libérales, affirmant que de tels messages sont envoyés quotidiennement pour les aider à expliquer les positions du gouvernement Trudeau.

Le projet de loi déposé jeudi dernier à l’Assemblée nationale par le ministre de l’Immigration, Simon Jolin-Barrette, interdira aux  employés de l’État ayant un pouvoir coercitif (policiers, gardiens de prison, notamment) de porter des signes religieux. La même interdiction s’appliquera aussi aux enseignants du primaire et du secondaire du secteur public et toute personne souhaitant offrir ou recevoir un service de l’État devra se présenter à visage découvert.

Le projet de loi contient une clause de droits acquis qui permettra aux personnes déjà l’emploi de l’État de conserver leurs signes religieux. Mais pour éviter toute contestation judiciaire, le gouvernement Legault entend invoquer la clause dérogatoire.

À cet égard, les stratèges libéraux à Ottawa font un parallèle entre cette décision du gouvernement Legault d’invoquer la clause dérogatoire et celle du gouvernement conservateur de Doug Ford pour réduire la taille du conseil municipal en Ontario.

« La clause dérogatoire porte entrave aux droits des Canadiens. C’est un élément de notre Constitution auquel on devrait avoir recours uniquement dans les situations les plus exceptionnelles. C’était le cas il y a quelques mois avec Doug Ford, ça demeure le cas maintenant », peut-on lire dans les notes.

Le ministre fédéral de la Justice, David Lametti, a d’ailleurs repris à son compte lundi certaines de ces répliques à la Chambre des communes en réponse aux questions du Bloc québécois sur les intentions du gouvernement fédéral

« Notre gouvernement a toujours défendu les droits fondamentaux de chaque Canadien et Canadienne, et il continuera de le faire. La Charte canadienne des droits et libertés protège les droits de tous les citoyens. On ne peut pas choisir ce que l’on protège et ce que l’on restreint.  Notre position est claire : ce n’est pas à l’État de dicter aux gens ce qu’ils peuvent ou ne peuvent pas porter, peu importe leur croyance », a-t-il déclaré en réponse à une question de la députée bloquiste Monique Pauzé.

La ministre du Patrimoine, Mélanie Joly, a toutefois tenu un discours plus nuancé dans les rangs libéraux, se disant certes très « préoccupée » par les intentions du gouvernement Legault, « mais on pense aussi que c’est aux Québécois d’avoir cette conversation-là et on respecte le fait que l’arène de discussion pour ce sujet est au Québec ».

Dimanche, le premier ministre François Legault a choisi de s’adresser directement aux Québécois  dans l’espoir de les rassurer sur la portée réelle du projet de loi 21 encadrant les signes religieux.

Il a notamment affirmé que le projet de loi est « modéré », en conformité avec les valeurs et l’histoire du Québec, dans son court message de deux minutes et demie diffusé sur son site web et sa page Facebook. Avant même de connaître les grandes lignes du projet de loi sur la laïcité, le premier ministre Justin Trudeau avait affirmé qu’il serait « impensable qu’une société libre légitime la discrimination contre quiconque, basée sur la religion ».

« Le Canada est un pays laïque, un pays qui respecte profondément les libertés individuelles, y compris la liberté d’expression, de conscience et de religion. Le Québec l’est aussi », a alors déclaré le premier ministre, qui était de passage en Nouvelle-Écosse. « Je vais toujours défendre les libertés individuelles. C’est un élément qui fait de nous une société juste, ouverte, libre. »

Source: Laïcité: les libéraux fédéraux reçoivent un guide pour répliquer à Québec

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The unlikely similarities between the far right and IS

2019/04/03 Leave a comment

Another article comparing extremists:

Far-right extremists in Britain have been accessing terrorism material published online by the Islamic State group, counter-terrorism experts have told the BBC.

They say neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremists have been studying methods of attack shared by jihadists with their followers on the internet.

But we should not be surprised that they do share some similarities.

‘All-consuming hatred’

Since the middle of last year, MI5, the security service, has been tasked with helping the police tackle the growing threat from British far-right extremists.

Counter-terrorism officers have been using a range of methods, including phone taps, to gather intelligence on what the most violent individuals have been planning or aspiring to do.

In some cases, arrests have been made after suspects have been caught downloading child pornography. But officials say that neo-Nazis and other extremists have also been accessing material to plan attacks published by their ideological enemies, Islamic State.

This may seem strange, but it should not come as a surprise.

Their ideologies may be diametrically opposed to each other but there are some disturbing similarities between them, some of which are obvious, others less so.

Many white supremacists and violent Islamist extremists tend to inhabit a narrow-based world dominated by an all-consuming hatred and a total intolerance of anyone’s views but their own.

For the jihadists of IS, for example, this means treating not only non-Muslims as enemies but also Shia Muslims and anyone they see as co-operating with “the non-believers”.

Using the concept of “Takfir”, jihadists will declare even their co-religionists as “unbelievers” and “apostates” and therefore in their eyes a legitimate target.

This narrow-based intolerance, coupled with gratuitous violence, has been a major factor contributing to the inability of al-Qaeda, IS and other groups to appeal to a wider swathe of Muslim populations around the world.

Likewise in the UK and the rest of Europe, far-right extremists see as enemies all those who – in their eyes – have helped enable changes that they dislike, such as allowing inward migration from Asia and Africa.

In 2011, the Norwegian extremist Anders Breivik carried out his murderous attack in Oslo, not on Muslims or immigrants, but on youth members of a party he blamed for changing the racial mix of Norway.

‘Vile material’

White supremacists rail against a multicultural society.

So too do jihadists. They refer to Muslims living in the West as being “in the grey zone” and constantly urge them not to mix with the predominant non-Muslim populations in Europe.

Both far-right extremists and jihadists see themselves as righteous purists, yet they want very different societies.

What they do share in common is an often obsessive interest in extremely graphic imagery online, much of it encrypted but some of it circulated more widely for recruitment purposes.

Counter-terrorism officers have described some of this material as so vile that staff monitoring it have had to be given counselling.

In the years immediately after the 9/11 attacks of 2001, al-Qaeda made constant use of the imagery of planes going into the Twin Towers.

IS took this a stage further, shocking the world with its gruesome videos of hostages appearing to be beheaded on camera, as well as other atrocities such as men being thrown off high buildings after being “convicted” of homosexuality.

While these had the effect of alienating mainstream Muslim populations, they simultaneously attracted to the cause young men from around the world who often had criminal, psychopathic or sadistic dispositions.

During the IS self-declared caliphate between 2014 and 2019, its practice of enslaving Yazidi girls as young as nine for sex is known to have attracted paedophilic recruits from European countries.

Whitehall officials say far-right extremists have been sharing violent, satanic and occult images and videos, sometimes using gaming and music forums to recruit new members.

The aim, they say, is partly to desensitise people for the violence they believe is inevitable in a coming clash of civilisations.

Lack of cohesion

However, one area where the two groups do differ widely is in co-ordination and cohesion.

Broadly speaking, jihadists are united in wanting to see their ultra-strict version of Sharia Islamic law forcibly imposed on everyone under their rule.

But in Britain, far-right groups that have mostly splintered off from the now-banned National Action show little sign of working together.

Some aspire to what they see as racial purity, others want their own territory where only their own laws apply, while others are simply anarchists, bent on destroying “the system”.

Filed under Multiculturalism, Radicalization Tagged with ,

Canada must bring home its own from the ruins of Islamic State

2019/04/03 Leave a comment

Almost completely silent on the challenges of successful prosecution. And there is a different in terms of letting them return to Canada and actively facilitating their return:

I despise Daesh (the Islamic State group) and its ilk. In fact, I have spent a better part of my life challenging their religious  interpretations and practices.

Yet, I believe that Ottawa must repatriate Canadians who answered the Daesh call, because this is the right thing to do if we truly believe in human rights and constitutional principles.

For children’s sake

We must learn from the recent death of Jarrar, the newborn son of British-born Shamima Begum, who left the UK as a 15-year-old. The baby died after London revoked Shamima’s citizenship and left them both to ostensibly stew in her hate.

Under British law, Shamima Begum was a child when she left. Now, a British baby is dead for his parents’ sins. As British MP Anna Soubry wrote, the UK breached its duty to Jarrar.

There are at least 32 Canadians being held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces

The former Conservative MP rightfully argued that Shamima should have been brought to the UK, questioned, and had the law books thrown at her while her son should have been given the “protection and the support that a civilised country provides for all its children.”

Kurdish authorities say that 5,000 former alleged IS fighters and their families are being held in makeshift prisons in Iraq.

This includes 1,300 children. Russia repatriated 27 children in February. France has agreed to repatriate around 130 fighters and their families.

Belgians, who composed the largest number of Caliphate fighters per capita, are not feeling particularly welcome. Late last year, going against public opinion, a Belgian court ruled that the government must repatriate its citizens.

In a principled and courageous decision, the Solomonic judge ruled that bringing the children without their mothers – who were convicted in absentia – would violate their human rights. The judge also imposed a daily penalty of 5,000 euros per child against the government until they were returned.

Belgium’s migration secretary said: “We won’t punish young children for their parents’ misdeeds. They have not chosen the Islamic State.”

Unfortunately, an appellate court overturned the decision a few weeks ago and now 160 Belgian children are in limbo.

A mature debate

Canadian Public Security Minister Ralph Goodale says the government has not decided what to do.

Canada needs to act before we read about Canadian children dying in Syrian camps.

Rather than having a mature  debate about bringing IS members to justice, our politicians appear to be gauging the public mood rather than stepping up

According to CBC, there are at least 32 Canadians being held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. Dr Alexandra Bain of the Canadian group Families Against Violent Extremism (FAVE) claims that more than half of those held in Syria are under the age of five.

Rather than having a mature and constitutionally rooted debate about bringing Daesh members to justice and dealing with non-combatants as well as women and children, our politicians appear to be guaging the public mood rather than stepping up.

Leadership may require that you sometimes stand up to mobocracy (the whims of the majority) and it always means standing up for constitutionally entrenched rights – even for the detested.

Why bring them back?

Rather than following the examples set by Macedonia, Russia, France, etc, Canada caved into British “arm-twisting” and breached a deal with Kurdish authorities to repatriate Canadian citizens, according to a report by the Guardian.

These individuals went there for reasons ranging from ideological affinity, out of a sense of religious obligation, due to being brainwashed, the promise of adventure, the opportunity to create an Islamic utopia, out of empathy to relieve the suffering of others, while others were duped, forced or taken against their will.

Why should we bring them back?

First, as citizens, they have a right to come back to Canada. Though this does not impose an obligation on Ottawa to take proactive steps to bring back adults, a strong argument can be made that there is a mandatory duty owed to Canadian children.

Indeed, under the common law, our government through the courts have the parens patraie jurisdiction to look out for the best interest and welfare of our children. This is reason alone.

Setting a precedent

Second, contrary to what many people want, under international law we can’t just watch as these people are executed without due process, or held to rot even as evil as they are. Otherwise, as President Trump said correctly, if they are left alone they may continue to create havoc elsewhere.

We must set a precedent and send out a message to any of our citizens who may contemplate such actions in the future that there are consequences for such actions. This is best done by putting those who are culpable on trial.

Leaving Canada to participate in a terror group is an offence under the criminal code punishable to a term of up to 10 years. Indeed, as General Lord Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British army, told the Guardian about British fighters:

“They have to be put through due process and imprisoned if that is the right thing to do,” he said. “But I think it is also important that we treat them fairly with justice and tempered with a bit of mercy as well because I think the way we treat them may well have important significance for the way other people view our society.

“We don’t want to see others radicalised and going off overseas in the future. How we treat these people coming back – fairly but firmly – we’ve got to get it right.”

We have failed

Third, most of these individuals were born “here” and more importantly were radicalised “here” not “there”. We bear part of the responsibility because we – as a society – and our institutions failed in not preventing them from being radicalised and in the case of many women from being groomed as brides.

It is tempting to dehumanise them and easy to “other” them, but let us not forget that we extend full due process rights even to paedophiles, mass murderers and serial killers.

Fourth, some of these individuals may serve as resources to fight radicalisation after they have been de-radicalised, after serving time, if deserved.

As argued in a New York Times op-ed by Bryant Neal Vinas, America’s first Al-Qaeda fighter, these returning fighters “can be a strategic asset” to fight radicalisation if we play it right.

Fifth, western nations, including Canada, pursue criminals to the far corners of the world using extradition treaties and other means. Indeed, we have even engaged in extraordinary rendition and participated in torture of our own citizens when we thought it was necessary. Yet, now it’s too difficult to pursue these people?

Of course, it would be disingenuous to argue that traitors who engage in terrorism should be treated the same as other criminals, because the state interests are especially compelling. At the same time, the values engaged in this context – equality, freedom of speech, religion, and association – make it important that we tread in a firm but cautious manner.

It is high time that we engage in reasoned, nuanced and considered debate in a manner consistent with our well-established values, including justice, fairness and compassion.

We cannot base our decisions on emotion, populist fear, hatred or our whims, because then we are no better than them.

Source: Canada must bring home its own from the ruins of Islamic State

Filed under Citizenship, Radicalization Tagged with , , ,

L’obsession identitaire

2019/04/02 Leave a comment

Il n’y a pas quinze ans, jamais on n’aurait cru le Québec capable de se plonger à ce point dans les méandres d’un nationalisme de brocante, qui conduit à édifier un tel barrage contre les apparences, sans rien changer pour autant au fonctionnement réel de notre monde.

Les espaces sociaux nous affirment autant qu’ils nous définissent, paraît-il. On peut du coup se prendre à rêver de lieux stables, immobiles, intouchés, intouchables, immuables, enracinés, figés, homogènes, bref de lieux qui constitueraient une sorte de pierre d’assise, de socle sur lequel pourraient se fonder nos existences, de quelque chose qui, pour tout dire, serait à la fois un point de départ autant qu’un point d’arrivée.

Mais de tels lieux n’existent pas. Ils n’ont jamais existé autrement que dans l’espace de nos pensées. Le monde n’est jamais tout à fait rassurant dans la mesure où il ne nous est pas révélé une fois pour toutes. Tout craque, tout se brise, tout s’effondre, tout est sans cesse à revoir, y compris au chapitre de l’identité, n’en déplaise à des zélotes agités. Ce que nous sommes demeure une question mouvante qu’il ne faut pas avoir peur de continuer de se poser. Les gloseurs du repli identitaire, en laissant croire le contraire, ne rendent service à personne.

Comment peut-on penser édifier une identité nationale sur la base du simple principe de la séparation de l’Église et de l’État, tout en maintenant des exceptions pour les écoles dites privées (soutenues à bout de bras par l’État), en faisant de même avec les services de garde, en ne définissant guère ce qu’est un signe religieux, c’est-à-dire en légalisant, au fond, un système qui ne fait que porter atteinte aux droits de certains individus, au point de les empêcher de travailler ? En quoi une société se trouve-t-elle de la sorte plus avancée ?

Le principe de la laïcité était déjà affirmé. Il demandait sans doute des changements ponctuels, ce qui aurait pu se faire sans la glose du repli identitaire et sans l’usage d’un canon législatif.

Voilà que d’un principe on fait un leurre voué, à force de le sublimer, de soustraire à l’attention publique des inégalités autrement plus sérieuses. Tout ce gâchis s’apparente bel et bien, au bout du compte, à un détournement du regard face à des enjeux sociaux plus structurants.

Dans le champ du discours, au nom de cette cavalcade effrénée de la laïcité, les séparations sociales sont dissimulées, comme si les problèmes de société les plus importants étaient tout entiers contenus dans celui-ci. Pendant ce temps, comme on l’a vu encore ces derniers jours, des enfants défavorisés se font supprimer leurs repas du midi ; le nombre d’itinérants s’avère en forte croissance ; des familles parmi les plus pauvres se voient soustraire des allocations pour leur progéniture sous des prétextes fumeux.

Mais dans cette société, plus déchirée que jamais à force d’agiter cette question de la laïcité, on continue de plus belle, comme si de rien n’était, à parler de « vivre-ensemble », en s’illusionnant sur ce que cela veut dire. Cette idée du « vivre-ensemble » fait l’impasse sur des stratifications sociales pourtant de plus en plus claires. On fait comme si, au moment de les enfermer dans une même cage, on disait à un lion et à un lapin : « Mais entendez-vous, puisque après tout vous êtes tous les deux des animaux ! » Nous voici dans une société qui feint d’ignorer quel sort attend le lapin, parce que le seul fait de vivre, croit-on, devrait suffire à affirmer un principe d’égalité en pratique sans cesse bafoué. En somme, nous nous rendons aveugles sur la vie ici-bas au nom d’un principe envisagé de trop haut.

Les mesures favorables à la laïcité sont vouées, telles qu’elles sont du moins présentées, à continuer de soutenir cette illusion d’égalité dans un monde qui multiplie de plus belle les motifs de relégation aux marges de la vie sociale. Sous le mince vernis de pareilles mesures tout en surface, cette société souffre d’un dangereux durcissement de ses artères sociales.

Oui à la laïcité. Mais si l’idée est d’affirmer l’égalité et la neutralité des individus au service de l’État, pourquoi s’en tenir à de frêles apparences, au point de contribuer à encore plus d’exclusions, tout en flattant de la sorte le populisme, en cajolant les pouvoirs de coercition, en endormant les revendications sociales ?

Le grand Tolstoï écrivait : « Je suis assis sur le dos de quelqu’un, je le fais suffoquer et je l’oblige à me porter ; pourtant, je m’assure moi-même et à d’autres que je suis désolé pour lui et que je désire soulager son sort par tous les moyens possibles — sauf de descendre de son dos. »

Source: L’obsession identitaire

Filed under Multiculturalism Tagged with , ,

Metropolis 2019 Halifax Conference notes

2019/04/02 Leave a comment

For the diversityvotes.ca, see our blog entry: https://www.diversityvotes.ca/whats-new/metropolis-conference-doing-immigration-differently

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Overall, the 2019 Metropolis conference had a stronger line-up of plenary speakers than previous years, with substantive discussion of immigration and integration issues in Atlantic Canada. 

The different context of Atlantic Canada, where demographic pressures are sharpest and consequently the need for increased immigration greatest, has parallels elsewhere in rural and northern Canada, as seen in the recently announced Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot and the Alberta UCP’s party platform aiming at increasing immigration to rural Alberta.

The Nova Scotia Minister of Immigration and the mayors of Halifax and Moncton reinforced this need and outlined their respective initiatives to attract and retain immigrants. 

The Atlantic Immigration Pilot, where 800 designated employers have access to Nova Scotia’s share of the Provincial Nominee Program spots, allowed Nova Scotia to introduce new streams: a physician stream and labour market priority (early childhood education, financial professionals, francophone). About 40 percent of employers were located outside Halifax.

Both mayors talked about their focus on retaining international students and events such as receptions to welcome students to the community. Halifax provides free transit and recreation policies to refugees for their first year. Moncton provides a “concierge” service to help newcomers navigate the “system” and holds job fairs to assist them find a job. Both mayors wanted to have a more formal consultative role in immigration along with the provincial and federal government. Additional resources for francophone immigrants were flagged by Moncton and permanent resident municipal voting rights by Halifax.

Michael Hahn of Western noted the vastly improved quantity and quality of data compared to when he did his thesis, particularly the linking of administrative and census data. Immigration was moving outside the major cities, reflecting in part the Provincial Nominee Program and Express Entry (expression of interest by employers). He echoed the call for a greater role for municipalities and suggested that more could be done to assist students to transition from temporary to permanent residency status. He noted, however, that municipalities with a university would benefit compared to those without.

The presentation by the international affairs advisor of Montreal focussed on their international activities in relation to the Global Compact on Migration. Dubious value compared to the practical on the ground initiatives outlined by the mayors. She also mentioned the need for more data regarding indicators of how welcoming a community was at the municipal level.

The plenary on refugees and asylum seekers in North America was a welcome change from last year’s infomercial on the North American Migration Policy forum with substantive presentations and discussion. 

Agustin Escobar Latapi, Director General, Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social, Mexico gave a detailed presentation on how Mexico had changed from an emigration to an immigration country over the past 10-15 years given Mexican returnees and immigrants from Central America and Venezuela (mainly refugees, 30,000 in 2018). Given US immigration and refugee restrictions, most of them will become de facto residents of Mexico.

Julia Gelatt, Senior Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute, outlined the impact of staffing and funding constraints at USCIS on processing asylum applications. The decline of refugees from the Middle East and consequent relative increase in the share of refugees from Africa and East Asia reflect Trump administration changes. At the southern border, there was a shift from Mexican asylum seekers to those from Central American and Venezuela, with more being families rather than individuals.

Anne Richard, former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration in the Obama Administration (2012-2017) noted the 180 degree change in policy under the Trump administration. From the goal in the last year of the Obama administration of 110,000 to 45,000 in the Trump administration, with only 21,000 admitted in 2018. Prejudice against Muslims meant fewer Somalia and Syrian refugees. While stressing the importance of security screening, she animated that the more cumbersome processes were not necessarily more effective. The reduced numbers have had a corresponding impact on organizations that support refugees. On a more positive note, resistance to some of the changes by Congress, the courts, mayors and mainstream press, including the separation of children from their parents, was having an impact.

François Crépeau, Director, Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, McGill University, focussed on the Global Compact on Migration and systematically reviewed the myths regarding the Compact.

One of the strongest plenaries was Shaping the Story of Refugees and Immigrants in the News, covering the changing media landscape and suggestions on how best to get stories out.

Kelly Toughill, University of King’s College and former journalist noted that there were only three full-time immigration reporters in Canada: Doug Saunders (Globe), Nicholas Keung (Star) and Doug Todd (Vancouver Sun). There were many more free lancers on blogs and other media than reporters. Moreover, Communications staff, whether government or private, vastly outnumbered reporters. Reliance on communications officers to respond to reporters, rather than experts, further diminished the ability of reporters to report and analyze policy and program changes. Social media had a further impact: Michelle Rempel, Conservative immigration critic has 84,000 followers, twice as much as Minister Hussen, both dwarfing Saunders and Keung at about 5,000 followers each. Toughil noted that, unlike reporters, other sources all had an explicit agenda: #ImmigrationMatters is perceived as pre-election government propaganda, ISANS (Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia) can be perceived as advocating for more resources, CIC News is designed to attract high value clients to an immigration lawyer. Toughill ended with a plea for academics and service providers to develop relations and share their knowledge with reporters.

Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press, Halifax, noted that immigration-specific news can be easily lost in a “torrent” of other important news on the economy, healthcare etc. It is important to relate immigration to other aspects and stories rather than just stand-alone stories. Reporters have an important role to play in helping to “unpack the black box,” making the contrast between the Harper government not providing access to stowaways, and the arrival of Syrian refugees, where reporters were able to talk to sponsors, service organizations and many of the refugees themselves. Tutton noted that the discussion around the importance of immigration in economic terms — as in input — meant less understanding of immigrants as people. He cited the example of the Prince Edward Island investor immigrant program where most did not remain in the province as an example where people lost faith in immigration. However, that being said, reporters should cover the imperfections and problems of immigration. But the goal should be to tell all stories with knowledge, understanding and empathy.

Madeline Ziniak, Senior Broadcast Executive, Chair, Canadian Ethnic Media Association, noted the importance of ethnic media for marginalized voices. Ethnic media had a long history in Canada dating form a German newspaper in 1777. Ethnic media provides a platform for community building and sense of belonging in the context of the larger Canadian society and the lens of Canadian standards and values. These expressions and reflections of Canada’s diversity are part of the settlement and integration process. For seniors, who generally tend to revert to their mother tongue as they age, ethic media helps them to remain connected. Voices silenced in immigrant countries of origin can find a voice in Canadian ethnic media and thus perhaps influencing events in those countries. Ziniak noted the need for greater public support to ethnic media, citing CBC and TVO as examples, given that their business models were struggling as well, with less private sector interest.

Louisa Taylor, Director, Refugee 613, Ottawa, Ontario, after outlining the activities of her organization, noted the current context where the anti-immigration far right were organized and becoming more active. The challenge of getting the facts out in a “post-fact” world made it harder. She suggested that messaging should mobilize hope, know and focus on goals not means. In terms of engaging with those with immigration-related concerns, she recommended listening without judgment and find a space where values overlap in order to engage in discussion.

Some of the questions focussed around the “bubbles” between those with different views. Panelists noted the dangers of separate “facts,” the contrast between mainstream media’s use of the CP style guide compared to other media, and how to find ways to reach people. The example of Colin Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling during the US national anthems and Nike’s subsequent ad were cited as successful examples, recognizing that these approaches will inevitably annoy some people. Digging deeper into “happy” stories to include some of the problems would be more authentic and credible as well as finding ways to connect a story to the wider community.

The last plenary,  Immigration on the Margins, provided some good examples of how settlement organizations and governments were helping smaller communities welcome immigrants.

Ken Walsh, Association for New Canadians, Newfoundland talked about the range of services provided and how immigration was essential given that Newfoundland and Labrador had the most rapidly aging population in the country. Their approach has a number of satellite offices across the province with considerable focus on direct outreach with employers. Challenges to immigrant retention include lack of ethnocultural groups and social isolation of spouses which the organization which a variety of orientation programs and activities try to address. 

Cathy Woodbeck, Executive Director, Thunder Bay Multicultural Association, noted the work they do with Peel and Windsor to find placement for newcomers from those areas looking for opportunities, given that Thunder Bay has a labour shortage and low unemployment. They are learning from the best practices of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot and work with the community to improve service availability. Pre and post arrival services are available. Note:

Lara Dyer, IRCC and Shelley Bent, Nova Scotia Office of Immigration talked about the Atlantic Immigration Pilot’s experience in Nova Scotia. The AIP is employer driven, with an employer role in settlement services orientation, including a settlement plan for the entire family. Nova Scotia’s experience indicates the need for individual conversations with employers, with dedicated staff to help employers navigate through the system. The major lessons learned to date include: the need for increased support to employers tailored to the needs of the employee and his/her family, and the ongoing partnership with IRCC which has a dedicated team to support provincial staff in answering their questions. While people have fears about immigrants taking jobs, once immigrants are hired, more positive stories start.

Workshops

As has become  my regular practice, I organized a workshop on “how to debate immigration: Atlantic edition” with Kelly Toughill (moderator), Howard Ramos, Dalhousie University, Tony Fang, Memorial University and Alex LeBlanc, New Brunswick Multicultural Council. Although I was unable to locate a reasonable immigration critic for the panel, we did engage in a good discussion on how to engage those with concerns regarding immigration, with the key points a willingness to listen openly, find concrete examples where immigration was beneficial (ranging from the general labour needs to who will buy your house!).

My annual citizenship workshop focussed on birth tourism with my presenting this deck and Audrey Macklin of UofT providing a frank and engaging critiqueI of the substance and magnitude of the issues. Governments also “gamed the system” the deportation of long-term permanent residents who had unwittingly not become citizens (e.g., Abdi, Revell, Moretto, Budlakoti) or imposing a first generation limit on transmitting citizenship. “Meaningfulness” was an elusive concept and there were citizens who had as little connections as the children of birth tourists. Fundamentally, she argued that citizenship laws are a highly imperfect proxy for meaningfulness and connection.  

The most interesting workshop for me focussed on improved data through integration of administrative data (e.g., IRCC’s Longitudinal Immigration Database – IMDB, health data from CIHI) and census data. Improvements to the IMDB include citizenship, children, preliminary 2017 wages and settlement services. External linkages being developed include health, education, and non-immigrant data. For example, with respect to birth tourism, the linkage with CIHI’s DAD will allow separating out temporary residents such as international students from the “non-resident self pay” coding to have a more accurate number of birth tourists along with countries of origin.

 

Filed under Immigration, Multiculturalism Tagged with

Why it’s time to restart the federal immigrant-investor program

2019/04/01 Leave a comment

No, it’s not (apart from creating business for immigration lawyers, some increased pressures on the housing market and some increased consumer spending. It is striking when looking at Canadian immigration data, that the incomes of primary applicants under the previous investment programs, based on tax data, are less than refugees since 1996.

I have not been able to find a Quebec government evaluation of its investor immigrant program on their website so it is hard to substantiate or refute Silverstone’s claim that it has pumped “billions” into the Quebec economy. We do know, however, that most of these immigrants end up elsewhere and pay little to know tax (Opinion | Study reveals awfulness of Canadian investor immigration):

These are exhilarating times for Canadian immigration. Ottawa announced last December that it would be accepting more than one million immigrants over the next three years, with an increase in 2018 to 310,000 from the previous 300,000 annually, followed by a further increase to 330,000 in 2019 then to 340,000 in 2020.The Province of Quebec, which essentially runs its own immigrant selection process, is, however, reducing its intake by some 20 per cent.

The large majority of these new entrants to Canada will be in various economic categories. In particular, the federal government’s new global talent stream, with its quick-processing turnaround time, and enhancement of the startup visa program, are becoming very useful mechanisms for recruiting and retaining international high-tech talent.The express entry stream, which brings skilled workers to Canada, broke a record in 2018, with almost 90,000 invitations to apply issued. This represents an increase of nearly 4,000 over the previous record set in 2017. Immigration authorities are also promising to clear some of the backlog in the family-reunification class, including the families of the much-needed live-in caregivers. The rules for obtaining Canadian citizenship have also been significantly relaxed.

With the national unemployment rate at a 40-year low 5.6 per cent, immigration is on its way to being an ever-more significant factor satisfying the Canadian labour market. It’s the major factor in Canada’s population growth, which rose by about 1.4 per cent last year. About 71 per cent of this growth is as a result of immigration.

However, processing immigration applications as well as refugee claims does not come cheap. The 2018 federal budget supports increased immigration levels to the tune of $440-million, with an additional $173-million for asylum seekers. The government’s pre-election budget earmarked $1.18-billion over five years to “accelerate” the claims process and to “facilitate the removal of failed asylum claimants.”

Quebec’s immigrant investor program 

Since its inception in 1986, the Quebec immigrant investor program has pumped billions of dollars into the Quebec economy. Quebec’s is a passive investment program. This means that potential immigrants must ante up $1.2-million for a period of five years, after which the money is returned in full but without interest. The prospective investor must establish a minimum personal net worth of $2-million and be able to demonstrate the legal provenance of the funds. They also have to be able to show at least two years of business management experience. The vast majority of the thousands of immigrant investors come from China and elsewhere in Asia, with some from the Middle East. Quebec charges a substantial application fee. The program is well run and has proved to be an economic winner.

Although the program is administered by the province, investors and their families must satisfy federal security and medical standards. One of the criticisms is that the bulk of successful applicants do not maintain their residence in Quebec, but rather flow to other parts of Canada, primarily southern Ontario and British Columbia. Quebec has responded to this by adding an intent to reside in the province proviso, but, in practice, inter-provincial mobility will really not be restricted.

Restarting the federal investor program 

Canada’s federal immigrant investor program was terminated in 2014. It is time for it to be restarted. An immigrant investor program geared toward job creation in economically challenged areas of the country should be implemented now. Such a program could require an active investment of $1-million, with perhaps a lower amount geared toward areas of higher unemployment. This money would be risk capital directed toward private-sector enterprises with job creation as an essential component. The Canadian stream should, of course, include all necessary checks to ensure the legitimate source of the funds as well as to determine the net worth of the applicant.

Borrowing from the EB-5 conditional-visa system in the United States, the Canadian plan should provide for the creation of regional centres, which would enable the private sector in any given area to participate constructively in the allocation of the investment by the foreign applicant. Regional centres in the U.S. bring together investors and local and regional entrepreneurs and economic development officials to ensure the best use of funds. Studies have found that, in the U.S., immigrant investor capital has played a key role in financing several large projects in areas as diverse as New York and Las Vegas.

In the Canadian context, the regional centre would always have as its focus the creation of at least two permanent jobs per investor. Substantial application fees and a security deposit, along with strict monitoring of the investment, will keep away tire kickers and fraudsters, and the regional centre must be prepared to provide complete transparency with regard to the investment process and allocation of resources. In addition, it should be tasked with assisting the immigrant investor as well as other classes of immigration, including refugees, by providing integration and employment services in order to ensure that newcomers build successful lives in this country. Refugees could be major beneficiaries of the job-creation component of a rejuvenated immigration investor program.

Alternatively, the government could just reinstate the discontinued federal immigrant investor program as it was, basically mimicking Quebec’s passive investment initiative. Either way, an essential element that would maximize chances for success would be a firm undertaking by the federal government that applications would be handled in a timely fashion. Serious overseas investors are not going to wait four and five years to have their applications processed.

A typical immigrant investor arriving with a family in a struggling area of the country will be serious and motivated. The investor, having paid perhaps $30,00 in application fees, along with a risk capital investment of a million dollars—and spending perhaps nearly that amount again in dwelling costs, clothing, schooling, vehicles, and many other needed expenditures—will surely be an asset rooted in his or her chosen community. This, combined with the establishment of a viable commercial enterprise and the creation of employment opportunities, produces a winning situation that could economically and socially boost many Canadian locales, especially those outside Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver—that attract the bulk of new immigrants.

Ramping up to receiving 10,000 families annually could generate billions and create 20,000 jobs. Now is the time to act and get new money into our system before we lose more highly desirable investor immigrants to other jurisdictions.

Source: Why it’s time to restart the federal immigrant-investor program

Filed under Immigration, Multiculturalism Tagged with , ,

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