“Between 2010 and 2014, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees found that Canada dropped from fifth to fifteenth in the list of refugee-receiving industrialized countries.”
This fact about Canada’s failure to take in its share of refugees, and about the way it imprisons refugees in Canada for years on end, with children being born and growing up in jail, comes from the excellent website NeverHome.ca. It is shocking to realize I didn’t know much of what I learned on this site. They have a done great job with it and I’m glad it’s getting good press.
The death of Aylan Kurdi, the baby who was found dead on the Turkish beach, is at Canada’s door. His aunt lives in Port Coquitlam, a suburb of Vancouver. Months ago her application to sponsor Aylan and his family was hand-delivered to the Ministry of Immigration by Member of Parliament Fin Donnelly on their behalf. Canada had already said it would allow such sponsorships. But as always it stalls, endlessly stalls, taking in even fewer refugees than its own meagre targets. The death of those children is at Immigration Minister Chris Alexander’s door.
Every day Canada becomes more of an international pariah, and we are increasingly isolated among nations. This is one reason why. If this country does find a way to vote Stephen Harper out on October 19, it will be impossible to undo the damage he has done to this country.
1,300 out of 2,500,000 Syrians settled in Canada in 3 years by PM Stephen Harper
Refugees admitted to Canada – comparison:
People given permanent resident status in Canada in 2011, 2012 in the ‘investor class’: