Would-be Canadian terrorists are often made in Canada
OTTAWA—What is a citizen? Well, it depends. The concept appears to date back to city states in ancient Greece, but in the modern era each state decides what the rules are. For the average person citizenship is determined by the particular country in which they were born. There are, however, exceptions. Some nations recognize anyone […]
Let’s put Daesh leader’s threat to Canada into perspective
OTTAWA—Last week there was a media flurry in Canada over a new audiotape allegedly released by the sinister evildoer Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic extremist group Daesh (also known as ISIS, ISIL, and Islamic State). The only reason his comments garnered any attention in Canada was that in his latest diatribe he […]
China’s repression of Uyghurs targets symptoms, not cause of unrest
LONDON, U.K.—Two weeks ago Professor Gay McDougall, co-chair of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, alleged that up to a million people belonging to the Uyghur and other Muslim minority groups in China’s northwestern province of Xinjiang have been detained in concentration camps to be “re-educated” about religion. Hu Lianhe, who shapes […]
Canada must criminalize all gun possession
Among developed nations, Canada has one of the highest levels of gun violence. The most telling comparison is with Japan, which has an absolute ban on handguns. Japan reports an average of 0.027 gun-related deaths per 100,000 people per year. Canada, by the same measure, has an average of 2.31. This is nearly 86 times […]
400 per day? Advocate questions reliability of summer border-crossing predictions after figures fall short
Recent figures on monthly border crossings show that a prediction made by the Quebec government on flows of people coming into Canada this summer—and one frequently cited by the media and federal Conservatives—has so far fallen flat, raising questions about how border-crossing predictions are handled, says one advocate. In April, the Quebec government told the […]
How much airport security is too much?
OTTAWA—Is there any less desirable way to travel these days than by air? Long lineups everywhere, intrusive searches, the delicate dance of holding up your pants while shuffling (since you have to remove your belt before you pass through the scanner), trying to figure out what 100 ml of liquid is, etc., etc., etc. The […]
‘Emergency’ House Citizenship and Immigration Committee meeting was a waste of time
The House Citizenship and Immigration Committee agreed on July 16 to meet to study the issue of the irregular crossing of migrants into Canada from the U.S. It was a rare summer meeting held on July 24. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, Border Security Minister Bill Blair, and Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen were all called to testify along with […]
Bill Blair is a solid cabinet choice
OTTAWA—Apparently serving as Toronto’s chief of police is a good training ground for federal politics and ultimately the federal cabinet. In last 10 years, two former chiefs have gone from locking up the bad guys to making the laws that mete out the punishment. First it was Julian Fantino who served in Stephen Harper’s Conservative […]
Blair’s focus will be guns, drugs, organized crime, more than migration, suggests Parl. Sec. Vaughan
Though his new cabinet post gives him responsibility for irregular migration, the job of newly appointed cabinet minister Bill Blair will be about so much more, including “guns, drugs, and organized crime,” says Adam Vaughan, the parliamentary secretary for housing and urban affairs. “Where I see this [post] going is not around border security vis-a-vis […]
Amid strained relations with U.S., Ontario, Trudeau debuts bigger cabinet with fresh faces, new posts
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled on Wednesday a larger cabinet, shuffling familiar faces to new posts and creating fresh portfolios, in a bid to emphasize his government’s push to diversify international trade in the face of Washington’s protectionist policies and to brace his party for the 2019 election. In a morning ceremony inside Rideau Hall’s […]
