Almost Canadian

I would simply suggest that anyone living in the US that wishes to claim asylum in Canada can easily do so at any US/Canada border crossing, where their claims will be processed according to the laws in operation in Canada.

MarkG

As others have pointed out, I didn't say that. But the only legitimate refugees arriving in Canada across the border from the US would have to be fleeing persecution in America, which probably amounts to a handful every year. Anyone else is a scammer, and should immediately be sent back.

Again, those who are legitimately at risk are not going to be sent back from the US. Only the scammers.

Yeah, maybe a tiny minority might fall through the cracks and face deportation even though they're legitimate. But they'd be the ones who would have a legitimate claim in Canada.

As for 'compassion', these scammers are hurting legitimate refugee claimants by their actions. Why would anyone who cares about real refugees possibly support the scammers?

MarkG

Seriously, I think Trudeau will go down in history as the man who broke Canada. I can easily see Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan leaving in the next twenty years as a result of his policies.

Almost Canadian

I seriously doubt he'll be around long enough to do so.

BristolUK

So you are, in fact, saying all but a handful are scammers. Not all, then, but about 99.999999999%. Nitpicking isn't it?

dbd33

It seems to me that Canada is taking the wrong approach to refugees. No one is turning up at the Canadian border fleeing a conflict that puts their life at immediate risk. At the same time, the world has a surplus of people who are displaced and in imminent danger through no fault of their own. They're a cross section of society, some are criminals, some not. My daughter sent me pictures of businesses in a refugee camp in Iraq, hairdressers, book keepers, even a pool hall. Some gumption there. That said, even driven, talented, refugees may not be easy to integrate into Canada, they may not speak the language, they may be damaged through their experiences, they may not have been nice people in the first place.

A while back I worked with someone who had been sitting in a refugee camp in Laos, hoping to go to England. Canadians approached him, said that Canada was taking so many refugees that year and they were cherry picking. He spoke French, he was a computer person, would he like to be part of their quota? He hadn't previously heard of Canada but, if you're in a refugee camp, what you gonna do?

Cherry picking is the approach that makes sense to me. Determine how many refugees is reasonable, accept that it's a hard road for them to integrate and that they're going to move in Canada to wherever there are people like them, know that some won't work out. Go and grab the most promising ones. Refuse all border applicants.

magnumpi

Siouxie

Excuse me?
Where did I do name calling? You really don't know me very well if you think I would resort to that low tactic.

YES South America. Try reading up on it... oh and no I do not have any prejudices regarding those countries, or any other.. I don't have a prejudice bone in my body.

An estimated 500,000 people from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala flee into Mexico every year from the three violence-plagued countries, where rates of murder, kidnapping and sexual violence are comparable to those in full-blown war zones.

Oh - and nearly 70 per cent of the migrant and refugee populations entering Mexico reported being victims of violence during their transit north, from members of gangs and other criminal organizations as well as the Mexican security forces responsible for their protection.

as to your pont about 'nobody saying they are all scammers' - I beg to differ. I suppose it depends on your point of view as to how you perceive what has been said. Each to their own.


I'll leave you to it, as apparently I am one of the minority in my viewpoint.

BristolUK

I think you missed my point there mags. The other guy denied anyone said all but it was essentially described it as 99.9% - even "pretty much all" were the words used. The nitpicking part was to deny the "all" part when only a handful were described as the exception.

magnumpi

Souvy

I am gobsmacked at the amount of racist bile in this discussion!

Yes, some people are jumping the border into Quebec. They don't have much choice. A few might be crooks. Most are not. They are just normal people wanting to find a safe place to work and raise their families. I have neighbours (Lebanese and Iranian) that legged it from their countries for obvious reasons. You won't meet nicer or more hard-working people anywhere. Quebec could do with more people. There is a huge labour shortage.

Perhaps worth mentioning that two of our last four Governors General were refugees (China and Haiti).

Who the hell brought up the Bloc (or PQ)? Busted flush. The younger generation really don't give a toss about all that.

dbd33

I don't think the primary tone is racism, posters are not saying "keep out the refugees of type x". It's not even xenophobia, the posters are foreigners seeking to keep refugees out of somewhere that's not theirs anyway. I think it's misplaced personal greed, an illogical feeling that letting other people in, any other people, will take something, I'm not sure what, away from those who are already here.

Souvy

I do not disagree with you. Except on one point. It's something I noticed when I lived in Oakville. Rampant racism, from Brit immigrants.

For a while, I really hoped that my stepson would find himself a black girlfriend, just to piss off certain family members. He didn't. His bird, and probable future mother of his kids, is from Saguenay. I've done the finger/toe count. She's OK.