Sears | How the federal Liberals have opened their leadership race to foreign interference

2025/01/13 Leave a comment

Good reminder that more work needs to be done beyond reversing the most egregious rule. Implementation and vetting:

…But there is a much larger question here. National party executives and directors are not running the Oakville Seniors’ Lawn Bowling Club. They are the governors of organizations who control who gets to compete to be prime minister. The comparison to any other civil society organization is laughable given that power. They determine who leads our government, and have this time heavily tilted the scales.

The Liberals would have risen in public esteem if they were to have set membership as restricted to 18 year old citizens, who can prove they gave their own money to become a member. And if they had taken the admitted risk of setting a fairer campaign period — I suspect that the NDP could have encouraged not to defeat the government in return for the appropriate policy concession, for example.

Finally, they could have helped erase the memory of their unbelievably lax approach to foreign interference by creating a vetting process advised by a group knowledgeable about national security warning flags.

They chose to do none of these things.

So this race remains wide open to foreign interference and closed to any candidate who is not already a front-runner. This is a blow to Canadian democracy. It will be the most rushed and nontransparent process in the choice of leaders in recent Canadian history.

Source: Opinion | How the federal Liberals have opened their leadership race to foreign interference

Conservative MP Rempel Garner made similar critiques: https://michellerempelgarner.substack.com/p/integrity-questions-loom-over-pm

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Housefather and Baker: What Liberals must do to regain Canadians’ support [Immigration]

2025/01/10 Leave a comment

Reasonable approach:

…• Restoring integrity to our immigration system: Our immigration and visitor levels and mix must be regularly adjusted by taking into account not only economic benefits and costs, but Canada’s capacity to welcome newcomers by considering our housing supply and our ability to deliver critical services like health care. We must also work closely with the U.S. to share information and use the most modern technology to better screen applicants to protect our continent from bad actors and those with links to terrorist organizations, detect fraud and strengthen the system’s integrity. Finally, we need to strengthen our ability to ensure anyone moving to Canada will respect the values we hold as Canadians and will not import hatred to this country….

Source: Opinion: What Liberals must do to regain Canadians’ support

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More than half of recent Senate appointments have ties to Liberal Party

2024/07/13 Leave a comment

Of note. Haven’t done a political linkages analysis but the table below contrasts senate appointments by PM from a diversity perspective:

Despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise to rid the Senate of partisanship and patronage, most of the senators appointed to the upper house over the past year have ties to the Liberals.

Since July 2023, Trudeau has nominated 12 senators, eight of whom — 66 per cent of the total — have donated money to the federal Liberals or have worked with the federal party or a provincial Liberal party.

That’s a significant jump in the number of Senate appointees with partisan Liberal ties — up from about 30 per cent of all senators appointed between January 2019 and July 2023.

“I think it is a disturbing trend,” said Emmett Macfarlane, a political science professor at the University of Waterloo who wrote a draft document that became the basis for the advisory committee on Senate appointments.

“The appointment of the occasional partisan or person with a partisan history is completely, I think, valid,” he said. “What is troubling is to see a slew of partisan appointments, particularly those that match the government stripes. This actually goes against the whole spirit of the reform.”

In 2014, as the Senate was mired in an expenses scandal, then-opposition leader Trudeau expelled senators from the Liberal caucus.

As prime minister, he created an independent and nonpartisan advisory board for Senate appointments in 2016. Since then, he’s named only senators recommended by the board. Trudeau has named more than 80 senators since taking office.

Source: More than half of recent Senate appointments have ties to Liberal Party

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To blunt Poilievre’s outreach in cultural communities, Trudeau gives high-profile cabinet roles to MPs with diverse backgrounds, say some senior Liberals 

2023/07/28 Leave a comment

Of note. Of course, implementation and results count more than new faces around the table. But 29 percent of ministers are visible minority, a new high, and slightly higher than their share of the population:

In a major shuffle that is expected to set the stage as the prime minister’s election cabinet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promoted seven MPs to the front bench on Wednesday morning. He also shuffled some senior cabinet members with visible minority backgrounds, who were holding internationally focused portfolios to new portfolios with a domestic focus.

“This will help us re-solidify support within the visible minority communities,” said one Liberal MP who spoke with The Hill Times on a not-for-attribution basis to offer their candid views.

One of the biggest winners of the shuffle is three-term Liberal MP Arif Virani (Parkdale-High Park, Ont.) who joins the cabinet as the minister of justice and attorney general.

Liberal MP Gary Anandasangaree (Scarborough-Rouge Park, Ont.) also received a big promotion, moving into cabinet as the minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. Rookie Liberal MP Rechie Valdez (Mississauga-Streetsville, Ont.) joins cabinet as minister of small business. Soraya Martinez Ferrada (Hochelaga, Que.) picks up the portfolios of tourism and the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the region of Quebec. Ya’ara Saks (York Centre, Ont.) is the new minister of mental health and addictions and associate minister of health.

Virani is an Ismaili Muslim Canadian, Anandasangaree is Tamil Canadian, Valdez is Filipino Canadian, Ferrada is Chilean-Canadian, and Saks is Jewish Canadian. 

As for senior ministers who have been shuffled within cabinet, Anita Anand (Oakville, Ont.) leaves defence to become the Treasury Board president. Former international trade minister Harjit Sajjan takes on emergency preparedness, as well as responsibilities for the King’s Privy Council for Canada and the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada. Kamal Khera, the former minister for seniors, is now minister of diversity, inclusion, and persons with disabilities.

Sajjan and Khera are Sikh-Canadians, and Anand is Hindu.  

Traditionally, visible minority Canadians have been a strong base of support for the Liberal Party.

When Pierre Poilievre became Conservative leader last year, he quickly appointed Tim Uppal (Edmonton Millwoods, Alta.), a Sikh-Canadian, and Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, Ont.), a Jewish Canadian, as his deputy leaders. He also appointed Jasraj Singh Hallan (Calgary Forest Lawn, Altal), a Skih Canadian, as his finance critic. Recently, Arpan Khanna (Oxford, Ont.) and Shuvaloy Majumdar (Calgary Heritage, Alta,), both Hindu-Canadians, were elected as MPs in byelections. Khanna had previously served as the party’s outreach chair.

“That’s the main thing,” said the Liberal MP who spoke on a not-for-attribution basis. “To confront Poilievre and to break into new territory. Tamils are very enthusiastic about us, but Gary [Anandasangaree] will help us in maintaining that enthusiasm. Filipinos like us, but there’s no anchoring, and Veldez will do that.”

Visible minority communities play a key role in the outcome of swing ridings in major urban centres like the GTA, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal. Conservatives believe that the next election is theirs to lose and are going all-in to secure support from visible minorities—an important part of the Liberal voter coalition.

“We need to go back to domestic local messaging. Bringing Sajjan, Anand back [to portfolios with domestic focus] is a good step,” said a senior Liberal. “They can be assets in the South Asian community. Arif [Virani] will be very helpful in the Muslim community.” 

Source: To blunt Poilievre’s outreach in cultural communities, Trudeau gives high-profile cabinet roles to MPs with diverse backgrounds, say some senior Liberals 

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Indo-Canadians tend to vote Liberal. But will they continue to do so?

2021/10/02 Leave a comment

Interesting discussion of the generational differences:

For nearly two weeks, pundits have scoured pre-election surveys and post-election exit polls to analyze the voting patterns of Canadians in granular detail. So it’s surprising that scant attention has been paid to how Canada’s burgeoning immigrant communities voted.

Among immigrant groups, Canada’s large and rapidly growing Indo-Canadian population deserves particular consideration. According to the 2016 census, there are nearly 1.4 million people of Indian origin residing in Canada, accounting for four per cent of the population. Those numbers have grown dramatically since then; today, Indians represent the largest group of new immigrants in the country. In 2019 alone, more than 80,000 Indians made their way to Canada from India — one-quarter of all immigrants arriving that year.

For years, the Indian community in Canada — much like other ethnic minorities — has been perceived as a strong votary of the Liberal party. But the community’s rising socio-economic profile and young demographic skew, combined with the emergence of the Indo-Canadian NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, have raised questions about its political leanings.

On the eve of the election, we collaborated with YouGov on a nationally representative survey of Indo-Canadians. Our survey of 724 citizens of Indian origin suggests that the Indo-Canadian community continues, in large measure, to support the Liberals, with 38 per cent of respondents indicating their support of the party — twice the number that planned to vote Conservative. One in five (21 per cent) backed the NDP.

Remarkably, this breakdown is nearly identical to the distribution of Indo-Canadian votes in both 2015 and 2019, according to our analysis of the Canadian Election Study. How do we explain the voting habits of Indo-Canadians?

For starters, on a standard left-right ideological spectrum, Indo-Canadians strongly skew left. Nearly three in four Indo-Canadians self-identify on the liberal half of the scale. When it comes to the issues topping their agenda this election season, respondents identify the same bread-and-butter issues that weigh on most Canadians’ minds: health care and COVID-19, the cost of living, the state of the economy. 

If the Indian diaspora exhibits a leftward tilt, why don’t more of them vote for the NDP? Indeed, for many Indo-Canadians, Singh’s allure is undeniable. Nearly half of respondents reported that Singh’s leadership of the NDP makes them more enthusiastic about the party, in large part due to his Indian and/or Sikh roots. Furthermore, when asked to rate their views of Canadian political leaders on a sliding scale from 0-100, Justin Trudeau and Singh are virtually deadlocked — Singh earns an average rating of 67, with Trudeau at 65 and Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole lagging at 49.

However, Singh is handicapped by the one impediment that has arguably prevented many Canadians from voting NDP: the party is perceived to have little shot at forming the government. One in four Indians say the primary reason they do not vote NDP is because they do not want to waste their vote. 

On the other end of the spectrum, when asked why they do not identify with the Conservatives, survey respondents reported that the party is too influenced by big business and seeks to cut public services. On everyday economic issues, Conservatives appear out of step with the left-of-centre policies Indo-Canadians favour. Misaligned policies on the right and limited electability on the left seem to funnel Indo-Canadian voters to the Liberal camp. 

The seeming stability of the votes of the Indo-Canadian community, however, elides deeper changes underway. While older voters (above 30) favour the Liberals over the NDP by a two-to-one margin, younger Indo-Canadians split their vote almost evenly between the two. The divide between first-generation Indo-Canadians (who came as immigrants) and second-generation citizens (born and raised in Canada) is starker. While half of naturalized citizens support the Liberal party, just one in three born in the country do so. The NDP is the principal beneficiary of this shift: the party’s vote share among second-generation Canadians is twice as large as among their first-generation counterparts. Indeed, country of birth is the single most important predictor of whether Indo-Canadians are likely to vote Liberal, even after controlling for age, education, gender and religion. 

The relative absence of a religious divide is worth emphasizing, as it stands in contrast with the voting attitudes of Indians in another large, English-speaking country — the United Kingdom. There, Hindus have abandoned the left-of-centre Labour Party in droves and embraced the Conservatives, which has given British Indians prominent cabinet berths and adopted pro-India policies. In Canada, partisan polarization on religious lines is not so evident in the Indian community. But differing views over how Canada should engage with India’s government and concerns that the Liberal party favours Sikhs over the Indo-Canadian community at large could trigger a realignment.

Looking forward, the voting behaviour of the community will be shaped by two competing demographic trends. As the size of the diaspora increases, so will the number of young, Canadian-born Indians who are eligible to vote — increasing popular support for the NDP. At the same time, the sharp increase in recent Indian immigration will boost the numbers of naturalized citizens, who are more likely to support the Liberal party. The net effect of these trends, and how the Conservatives respond, will determine if the stability in the voting preferences of the Indo-Canadian community continues.

Caroline Duckworth and Milan Vaishnav are with the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Devesh Kapur is Starr Foundation Professor of South Asian Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Source: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/10/01/indo-canadians-tend-to-vote-liberal-but-will-they-continue-to-do-so.html

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Saint-Léonard: un ex-député libéral outré par la candidature d’un non-Italien

2019/06/14 Leave a comment

More on Saint-Léonard-Saint-Michel which some in the Italian Canadian believe should “belong to them” despite demographic changes:

« Libéral ou Italien ? » C’est la question-choc posée par l’ex-député libéral fédéral de Saint-Léonard-Saint-Michel, Nicola Di Iorio, qui s’insurge contre l’élection d’un candidat non italien à l’assemblée d’investiture. Une première en près de 50 ans.

Le député démissionnaire, qui ne sera pas candidat aux prochaines élections, demande à Justin Trudeau, dans un texte paru dans un journal local de langue italienne, d’annuler le résultat du vote à l’investiture du 27 mai.

C’est Hassan Guillet, ancien imam révélé au grand public par son discours après le drame de la mosquée de Québec, qui a été choisi par les membres comme candidat du Parti libéral du Canada.

« La communauté se sent tassée », déplore M. Di Iorio, dont le siège à la Chambre des communes est vacant depuis sa démission en janvier dernier. En entrevue à La Presse, l’ex-député se confie sur la course à l’investiture, qu’il qualifie de « chaotique ».

Sans parler d’irrégularités, M. Di Iorio se plaint notamment d’une salle trop petite et d’une file d’attente trop longue, ce qui aurait, selon lui, défavorisé les électeurs italiens, en moyenne beaucoup plus âgés. Autour de 600 personnes n’auraient pas pu voter et seraient reparties bredouilles, dénonce-t-il.

« Si on est pour faire des investitures, qu’on en fasse des vraies », a-t-il dit durant l’entrevue, visiblement irrité.

Les libéraux affirment que tout s’est déroulé dans les règles de l’art.

« Le processus d’investiture a été mené en totale conformité avec nos règles nationales de sélection des candidats. »

– William Harvey-Blouin, stratège du Parti libéral, dans un courriel

Une deuxième course à l’investiture n’est pas envisagée. Personne ne semble y croire, pas même M. Di Iorio : « Est-ce que je pense que mon parti va faire ça ? Est-ce que je pense que mon chef va faire ça ? J’ai appris à être réaliste dans la vie. »

La réplique d’Hassan Guillet

« C’est de la foutaise », a affirmé d’entrée de jeu Hassan Guillet à propos de la requête de M. Di Iorio. « Il peut dire ce qu’il veut, mais il n’y a aucune raison pour faire une autre course à l’investiture simplement parce qu’il en demande une. »

M. Guillet souligne ses « bons rapports » avec la communauté italienne et rappelle qu’il a commencé son discours de victoire dans la langue de Dante. M. Di Iorio tempère. « Hassan ne s’est jamais manifesté auprès de la communauté italienne de sa vie », soutient-il.

« Je trouve que c’est un faux débat, signale M. Guillet. [M. Di Iorio] avait juste à mobiliser plus de monde, à obtenir la confiance des gens et la confiance du parti. Maintenant, les gens ont choisi. Je ne sais pas pourquoi on s’éternise sur ce débat-là. »

La circonscription Saint-Léonard-Saint-Michel est depuis belle lurette un château fort libéral grâce à une loyauté indéfectible de la population d’origine italienne qui s’y est installée et y a pris racine.

Le président du Congrès national des Italo-Canadiens, Antonio Sciascia, est clair.

« C’est un désastre. Ça nous met en tabarouette, en bon québécois. On a commis une grande bêtise. »

– Antonio Sciascia en entrevue avec La Presse

Comme d’autres au sein de la communauté, il préfère imputer la faute à la division du vote italien. Deux candidats d’origine italienne se sont présentés, ce qui a laissé la voie libre à M. Guillet. Francesco Cavaleri, le dauphin de M. Di Iorio, est arrivé troisième. « Je pense qu’il [M. Di Iorio] doit prendre une partie de la responsabilité de ce qui s’est passé à Saint-Léonard », a dit M. Sciascia.

Ce nouveau contexte causera-t-il un réalignement des allégeances politiques dans la circonscription ? S’il est trop tôt pour le dire, selon M. Sciascia, un grand nombre de « mécontents » pourraient retourner leur veste. Pour la première fois, un non-Italien au Parti libéral devra affronter un candidat conservateur italo-québécois connu, l’avocat Ilario Maiolo.

Alors, libéraux ou Italiens ? « Jusqu’à maintenant, libéral et Italien ont toujours été synonymes », a répondu M. Sciascia, sans toutefois se prononcer sur l’avenir.

Qui est Nicola Di Iorio ?

Nicola Di Iorio s’est fait connaître après avoir lancé Cool Taxi, une OBNL qui lutte contre l’alcool au volant. L’avocat spécialisé en droit du travail s’est présenté aux élections fédérales de 2015 pour le Parti libéral du Canada dans Saint-Léonard-Saint-Michel. Son passage en politique a été marqué par de longues périodes d’absence. M. Di Iorio avait annoncé sa démission en avril 2018 pour des « raisons personnelles », mais il s’était ravisé quelques mois plus tard. Alors qu’il était toujours député, il s’est associé au cabinet d’avocats BCF. M. Di Iorio prétendait qu’il avait été libéré par le premier ministre pour travailler sur une « mission secrète », qui reste secrète à ce jour. Il a finalement annoncé sa démission le 29 janvier, après avoir remis 100 000 $ à un organisme non identifié. En entrevue avec La Presse, M. Di Iorio est demeuré évasif sur ce mystérieux revirement de situation.

Qui étaient les candidats à l’investiture ? 

Le vote à l’investiture de Saint-Léonard-Saint-Michel pour le Parti libéral s’est tenu le 27 mai à la salle de réception Le Rizz, à Saint-Léonard. Trois candidats étaient sur la ligne de départ : Patricia R. Lattanzio, conseillère de la ville pour Ensemble Montréal à Saint-Léonard ; Francesco Cavaleri, avocat chez Cavaleri Donatelli, un bureau situé à Saint-Léonard ; et Hassan Guillet, ingénieur et avocat qui a fait carrière chez Bombardier avant de devenir imam. Selon les règles du parti, une course à trois requiert un vote à deux tours où les électeurs doivent choisir les candidats par ordre de préférence. M. Cavaleri a été exclu au premier tour avec seulement 275 voix, contre 588 pour M. Guillet et 474 pour Mme Lattanzio. C’est finalement Hassan Guillet qui l’a emporté au deuxième tour.

Source: Saint-Léonard: un ex-député libéral outré par la candidature d’un non-Italien

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Well-known former imam wins Liberal nomination in Montreal riding, becoming its first non-Italian nominee

2019/05/30 Leave a comment

Of note. Those of Italian ancestry are 22.5 percent of the population, compared 16 percent Arab and 17.3 percent Muslim (2011).

Full riding demographic, economic and social characteristics can be found here: 24069 Saint-Léonard-Saint-Michel.

A former imam who gained international attention for speaking at a funeral for victims of the Quebec City mosque shooting has won the Liberal nomination in the Montreal riding of Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, the first time the party has nominated a non-Italian in the Liberal stronghold.

Hassan Guillet said the Liberals were reluctant to have him run in Saint-Léonard, afraid of antagonizing the large Italian community. But he pushed ahead, and insists that he represents the community “better than everybody else,” pointing out that the riding is increasingly diverse and is now home to sizeable North African and Haitian populations as well.

“The Muslim community is as big as the Italian community,” Guillet told the Post in an interview. “The demographic changed enormously.”

Guillet claims to speak six languages, including Italian, and said he was the only potential candidate who could speak to the majority of the riding’s constituents in their mother tongue, whether it be French, English, Italian or Arabic.

His nomination ahead of the fall federal election marks a dramatic shift in the Montreal riding, which has been represented by members of the Italian community since its creation in 1988. The seat was held until 2002 by Alfonso Gagliano, a central figure in the Quebec sponsorship scandal, followed by Massimo Pacetti, who was expelled from the Liberal caucus in 2015 over accusations of sexual misconduct. The riding went to Nicola Di Iorio in the last federal election, who announced his resignation in April 2018 but didn’t officially resign until the end of January 2019.

Last fall, CBC News reported that Di Iorio had expected to hand-pick his successor, and changed his mind about resigning when he was told there would be an open nomination process. Ultimately, he vacated his seat late enough to prevent a byelection from being held before October’s election.

Guillet said he approached the Liberals when Di Iorio first announced he planned to resign, thinking he would run in a byelection. He doesn’t live in the community, but said much of his family does, and the idea of running in a Liberal stronghold was appealing. “The Liberal party is the party that is closest to my ideals, to my principles, to my way of life,” he said.

Guillet said the Liberals were interested in him, but suggested he run elsewhere. “They had a dilemma. On the one hand, they wanted me to be there,” he said. “But they didn’t want to alienate the Italian community, because historically it was always run by an Italian. … They cannot imagine losing Saint-Léonard.”

But Guillet’s mind was made up. He competed for the nomination against city councillor Patricia Lattanzio and Francesco Cavaleri, a notary and friend of Di Iorio’s. On Monday night, he won the nomination, with more than 1,200 members casting ballots. “Everyone was telling me it was unprecedented,” he said.

In a statement, Liberal Party spokesperson Braeden Caley said Guillet is “well-known for his long record of community leadership” and that “Liberals are looking forward to running a positive campaign focused on Justin Trudeau’s progress to strengthen the middle class, grow the economy, protect a clean environment, and make life better for Québec families.”

Guillet said he’d heard that his competition didn’t take him seriously, and that he remained “nameless” for much of the campaign. “I wasn’t even a person,” he said. “I was ‘the imam.’ ” He said he delivered his speech before the vote on Monday night in six languages, and fought throughout the campaign to prove he was “not the enemy.”

He also said the working assumption in the riding was that Arabic-speaking newcomers don’t vote, in part because many of them have immigrated from countries “where democracy was either non-existent or very badly practised.”

“My job was to open their eyes, to educate them and to make them participate,” he said.

Guillet received worldwide attention after speaking at the funeral of three of the victims of the 2017 shooting at a mosque in Quebec City. Part of his sermon, in which he referred to shooter Alexandre Bissonnette as a victim in his own right, was retweeted by author J. K. Rowling, who said his words were “extraordinary and humane.”

Guillet, who moved to Canada from Lebanon in 1974 and is a retired engineer and lawyer, stopped serving as an imam when he decided to run for federal office. Still, his background may prove a hurdle in a province where secularism is a live political issue. However, Guillet insists he had no religious authority as an imam, and that it shouldn’t stop him from “exercising (my) constitutional right.”

“I think the different facets of my experience will enrich debate in the House of Commons,” he said.

Source: Well-known former imam wins Liberal nomination in Montreal riding, becoming its first non-Italian nominee

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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

Filed under Multiculturalism Tagged with , ,

Pressure builds to close ‘birth tourism’ loophole for getting citizenship

2018/06/23 Leave a comment

Interesting coming from a Liberal MP:

Liberal MP Joe Peschisolido is optimistic that he can persuade federal ministers to curb so-called birth tourism, as pressure for action mounts in B.C.

“We are reaching a tipping point,” he said. “Nurses have told me that this is displacing folks from giving birth in Richmond.”

The number of babies born to foreign nationals at Richmond Hospital rose to 384 last year from just 18 in 2010 and now accounts for about 20 per cent of all deliveries, according to Vancouver Coastal Health. Under Canadian law, babies born here get Canadian citizenship regardless of their parents’ citizenship.

An entire industry of citizenship brokers and maternity tourism businesses are profiting from this “illegitimate business model,” said Peschisolido, who represents Steveston-Richmond East. “A whole slew of folks are complicit in this.”

Peschisolido plans to present a parliamentary e-petition — which calls for an end to this “abusive and exploitative practice” and “concrete measures” to eliminate the birth tourism —  to federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.

In response to birth tourism, Australia and New Zealand changed their laws, granting citizenship to babies only when at least one parent is a citizen or a legal resident.

“Birth tourism is wrong and it undermines our immigration system and our health care system,” said Peschisolido. “The reason there are more than 8,000 signatures is that it violates people’s sense of fairness.”

Non-resident births account for two per cent of the 44,000 babies born in B.C. each year.

Non-residents are required to pay the costs associated with their care and the vast majority of these patients pay these fees without issue, said Laura Heinze, who speaks for the B.C. Health Ministry.

“The ministry in no way endorses or supports the marketing of maternity tourism,” she said. “Matters relating to immigration are the responsibility of the federal government.”

Pregnant women who come to Canada specifically to have a child with Canadian citizenship are not breaking the law, but they could be misleading immigration officials about their reasons for visiting Canada.

“If a person, including an expectant mother travelling to Canada, provides false information or documents, IRCC will refuse their application and that person could also be inadmissible to Canada for five years,” according to the federal Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship department.

This is the second time that the petition’s author, Kerry Starchuk, has tried to get the attention of the federal authorities. Her first petition launched in 2016 also gathered more than 8,000 signatures.

A report by Canadian immigration officials recommended changes to citizenship law to then-immigration minister Jason Kenney in 2014.

No action was taken by that Conservative government, but the number of foreign citizens coming to B.C. to give birth in order to secure Canadian citizenship for their child has risen dramatically since then.

People have until July 17 to sign the current petition.

Starchuk became concerned about growth of birth tourism after trying to greet new neighbours with cookies and came to realize the house was being used as accommodation for women from abroad who were about to give birth.

“I’ve done my part being a good neighbour, but this is exploiting the system,” she said. “They are not here to be my neighbours and I’m not OK with that.”

A Vancouver Sun investigation in 2016 found more than two dozen so-called baby houses were providing services and accommodation to birth tourists in B.C.

“These people are jumping the queue when people are waiting to immigrate,” she said. “I don’t see how being born here like this justifies citizenship.”

Petition supporter Gary Liu said the practice of birth tourism is generally “despised” in the immigrant community.

“People who have worked hard to learn the language and raise their families — and everyone has their own struggles and stories — they feel like this is a quick pass for some people,” said Liu, who has lived in Canada for more than 20 years.

Liu believes more rigorous application of existing rules by Canada Border Services Agency and enforcement of zoning bylaws against baby houses would minimize the practice.

Canada and the United States are the only G-7 nations that grant automatic citizenship for babies born in-country to foreign nationals. Critics complain that so-called “anchor babies” become a legal foothold in Canada to gain immigration access for the rest of their families.

Source: Pressure builds to close ‘birth tourism’ loophole for getting citizenship

Filed under Birthright Citizenship, Citizenship Tagged with , ,

Justin Trudeau vows to repeal ‘2-tiered’ citizenship law

2015/09/01 Leave a comment

Unclear whether he would repeal the complete Citizenship Act (the reporting suggested that) or just the revocation and a few other provisions:

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says if elected his government will repeal the Conservative government’s “two-tiered” citizenship law and that he would do more to help free imprisoned Egyptian-Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy.

“Liberals believe in a Canada that is united — strong not in spite of its differences, but precisely because of them,” Trudeau told an audience at the Jalsa Salana Islamic conference in Mississauga, Ont., on Saturday afternoon.

He added that under Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, Canadians are being encouraged to be fearful of one another and there has been a decline in refugees coming to Canada, and in citizenship applicants.

In an accompanying news release, Trudeau said his government would repeal the Conservative government’s controversial Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, saying it “devalues Canadian citizenship by creating two classes of citizenship.”

“Liberals will guarantee that all Canadians’ fundamental rights are respected as guided by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” the statement said.

The act became law in June 2014. While several elements of the law remain controversial, a provision that came into effect in May of this year expands the grounds on which the federal government can strip dual nationals of their Canadian citizenship, even if they were born in Canada.

The provision gives the power to revoke citizenship, in some cases, to elected officials and not a federal court.

“There is a suggestion that some of us might be less Canadian than others, a suggestion of who ought to decide who stays or goes from Canada be an elected politician instead of our justice system. I think that’s wrong,” Trudeau said during his speech.

The changes are currently being challenged in court by a coalition of civil liberties groups.

In a statement, the Conservative candidate for Ajax [and current Minister of Citizenship and Immigration] described Trudeau’s remarks as “more evidence that he’s just not ready,” to be prime minister.

“Canadians know that only Conservatives can be trusted to take action against those who would do Canada harm and stand up for Canadian values,” Chris Alexander said.

Liberal position is consistent with their opposition to the revocation provisions during the C-24 Citizenship Act hearings (NDP also opposed).

In a sign that either the Conservatives continue to think they have a winner on this issue (earlier polling would suggest that) or whether they are worried that they don’t, the heavy hitters, Jason Kenney and Jenni Byrne were denouncing Trudeau’s position vigorously on Twitter.

Source: Justin Trudeau vows to repeal ‘2-tiered’ citizenship law – Politics – CBC News

Filed under C-24, Citizenship, Revocation Tagged with ,

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