Page 5 - DURHAM CITIZEN - SEPT 29TH 2021

September 21, 2021 durhamcitizen.ca 5

Trudeau Liberals to make immigration

to Canada much easier

The Trudeau Liberals are planning indigeneity, political beliefs, Don’t exclude them.
to remove nearly all grounds the socioeconomic status, age, sexual Staff and adjudicators are
Immigration department uses to orientation, culture, disability, or instructed to give applicants the
exclude applicants, the Toronto immigration status,” that “impact benefit of the doubt. Unless the
Sun has learned. an individual’s lived experience of officer or judge involved has
I t h a s b e e n t h e Tr u d e a u discrimination, marginalization or incontrovertible proof an applicant
government’s goal since 2020 to oppression.” is lying, the claimant should be
increase Canada’s intake of No longer will claimants need to admitted. His or her claims of
immigrants and refugees by nearly prove, for instance, that they face discrimination are to be accepted
one-third to 400,000 annually. torture or death if forced to return b y d e f a u l t a n d h i s o r h e r
How they plan to achieve this to their home countries. Nor will application approved.
elevated level is outlined in an they have to satisfy the UN’s Their falsehoods might just be the
internal draft document sent to definition of a “refugee.” side effect of some traumatic
immigration and refugee judges — Now, if they merely claim they have experience that is impeding the
documents that have been been discriminated against or applicant’s ability to provide
exclusively shared with the Sun. persecuted for being poor and old, evidence that would benefit him or
In an email sent to staff and or Indigenous and holding her.
adjudicators on Sept. 20, Richard political views targeted by some Wex describes a traumatic event as
Wex, the Liberals’ appointee as developing country’s strongman, one that elicits “intense feelings of Already, 22 of just over 300 they will be sent out of Canada
chairperson and chief executive in the Liberals come. fe a r, te r ro r, h e l p l e s s n e s s, adjudicators already admit 100% of because what applicant and his or
officer of the Immigration and One of the principal tasks of the hopelessness, and despair” that is the claimants appearing before her immigration lawyer isn’t going
Refugee Board of Canada, laid out a immigration officers and judges is perceived “as a threat to the them. (The median acceptance rate to be capable of thinking up some
massive expansion of the reasons to determine whether a claimant is person’s survival.” across the country is about 70%.) “ i n t e r c o n n e c t e d n e s s ” o f
immigrants can be allowed to enter telling the truth. Adjudicators must employ “a ‘Do Accepting 100% of claims is an discriminations or “trauma,” or
and stay in Canada. The Trudeau Liberals have that No Harm’ approach” during impossibly high rate, unless these both?
Under the new guidelines, covered, too. h e a r i n g s , t o l e a d w i t h 22 judges are deliberately looking That’s how the Liberals intend to
contained in a document marked Chairperson Wex instructs his staff “compassion, cultural humility, to admit anyone and everyone. turn 300,000 or so immigrants a
“Draft” and covered by solicitor- and judges to remember that and patience in order to avoid Most of the 22 are Liberal ye a r i n t o 4 0 0 , 0 0 0 a l m o s t
client privilege, civil service officers trauma — whether physical or retraumatization” of an applicant. appointees. Now it would appear overnight.
who do an initial screening of emotional — can cause people to These new rules render examining they are to be the models for all the Just get rid of all the rules and —
immigration and refugee claims, recollect information or incidents refugees’ claims pointless. other adjudicators. presto — a boom in newcomers.
plus the immigration and refugee incorrectly. Therefore, if applicants Adjudicators, essentially, must Claimants, on average, wait two How long do you think it will take
judges who hear appeals of the provide evidence that turns out to now say yes to everyone who makes years for their cases to be heard. for word to get out around the
officers’ decisions, are instructed to be false, it may not be because it to Canadian soil and claims (not During that time, their medical, world that Canada, which is
accept any applicant who has an they’re lying. proves, merely claims) they are a dental, and even internet is paid for already one of the countries most
“intersectional” claim. Rather they might just be victim of two more of a broad range by taxpayers. Sometimes, their open to immigration, is removing
Intersectionality is defined as two misremembering due to the of abuses — some invisible and housing and food, too. all barriers and throwing the doors
or more of “race, religion, lingering stress caused by a trauma. mild. And now there’s almost no chance open wide? -Lorne Gunter -Toronto

Green Party leader Annamie Paul resigns her post

that I was breaking a glass ceiling in Canadian politics.
that was going to fall on my head, “The degree to which people inside
and leave a lot of shards of glass the party were willing to oppose
that I was going to have to crawl and frustrate her leadership, to my
Party board members attempted to have Paul
over,” she said. mind, is absolutely unprecedented
removed as leader with several proposed
Paul was the first new leader of the in Canadian politics. And I
non-confidence votes.
Green Party since Elizabeth May sincerely hope it never happens
Board members also considered revoking her took the helm in 2006. May won again,” he said.
membership in the party and they laid off most her seat in last week’s vote, and the Party executives actively and
of her staff. Even as the campaign began, there party elected one other MP, Mike publicly trying to oust a party
was an ongoing legal challenge into her Morrice, in Kitchener Centre. leader with just weeks to go before
May declined to speak with the an election is a rarity in Canadian
leadership that was eating into the party’s
National Post on Monday. She has politics. Former Conservative
valuable campaign dollars.
remained largely silent on the issue leader Andrew Scheer was only
The board also restricted the amount of money of Paul’s leadership since the issues removed after an election loss and
she could use for her Toronto Centre campaign. first arose in the spring. while he faced significant outside
Victoria Galea, Paul’s executive pressure, his caucus was largely
assistant and the party’s candidate supportive of him publicly until he
OTTAWA — Green Party Leader as a Liberal. Atwin quit the party amount of money she could use for in Hamilton West-Ancaster- stepped down.
Annamie Paul who had to fight off after disagreeing with comments her Toronto Centre campaign. Paul Dundas, said from the beginning Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair
critics in her own party to even run Paul made on the Israel-Palestine did not run a traditional leader’s of her time as leader the party’s also had his party’s backing until a
in the federal election only to lose conflict. tour, staying mostly within her board rejected almost all her leadership review, held a year after
at the ballot box, has resigned. Atwin called Paul’s statement on riding and only travelling to suggestions. the 2015 campaign where he failed
Paul said she received notice that the conflict “totally inadequate,” at campaign with a handful of Green “Every new mandate that Annamie to get enough support.
the party’s board wanted a the same time Paul’s then adviser, candidates. tried to bring in based on her Yo said he is not sure what
leadership review immediately Noah Zatzman, said some MPs, Paul said she knew immediately leadership, the social justice issues motivated the party’s leadership to
after the election and sensed she including Greens, were displaying after the election, in which the she ran on, were constantly met be so hostile to Paul, but he hopes
would be under attack. anti-Semitism. Atwin apologized party was held to just two seats and with backlash and she was told that t h e p a r t y l e a r n s f ro m t h e
“I asked whether I was willing to for some of her comments on Israel its share of the popular vote cut in that’s not an option,” Galea said. experience. He said he hopes they
continue to put up with the attacks and Palestine and won re-election half, to 2.3 per cent, that she would Galea said there will be a challenge see the profound damage they
I would have to put up with,” she as a Liberal in Fredericton, N.B. not be able to continue as leader. getting some people to run for the caused.
said at a news conference in Party board members attempted to “It is quite clear I am not going to Greens now, but she hopes people “All I can say is that the way she was
Toronto. “I just don’t have the heart have Paul removed as leader with have the opportunity to lead,” she see that Paul moved things treated was profoundly unfair and
for it.” several proposed non-confidence said “I will not spend any more forward. “I hope for the most part w a s a r e a l s q u a n d e r e d
Paul, who won a leadership race votes. Board members also time on political games.” people see, as Annamie mentioned opportunity,” he said. “When
j u s t a y e a r a g o , p l a c e d a c o n s i d e r e d r e v o k i n g h e r Paul was the first Black and first today, the baton being passed on in Canadians had the chance to be
disappointing fourth in her membership in the party and they Jewish woman to lead a federal a relay race, and they see the work introduced to Annamie during the
Toronto-Centre riding in last laid off most of her staff. Even as the party. She said she knew that would that she did.” English language debate, people
week’s election. It was her third campaign began, there was an lead to some discrimination, but Sean Yo, another close adviser who could, in a much more broad way
attempt to win the seat. ongoing legal challenge into her she was deeply disappointed in also managed Ontario Green across the country, see the things
She has also faced an internal revolt leadership that was eating into the how she was treated after taking Leader Mike Schreiner’s campaign, that the people who have been
since May when former Green MP party’s valuable campaign dollars. control of the party. said the actions of the party’s board fighting by her side saw this past
Jenica Atwin crossed the floor to sit The board also restricted the “What I didn’t realize at the time is are unlike anything ever witnessed year.”