Roundup: Case management conundrum

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MPs complaining about the changes to the way that immigration files are handled returns to an old bugaboo of mine, and as it seems, Aaron Wherry’s as well. In other words, MPs shouldn’t be doing immigration casework, because it’s not what they’re there to do.

https://twitter.com/aaronwherry/status/765943599573897216

https://twitter.com/aaronwherry/status/765944593057808384

https://twitter.com/aaronwherry/status/765952888388583424

What I will add to this is that MPs’ jobs are not just as legislators, but rather, their primary function in a Westminster system is to hold the government to account – something that most MPs spend very little time doing these days. And the civil service has a lot to blame for this, don’t get me wrong, and everything I’ve heard has indicated that they are just as culpable by not even looking at some files until the MP’s office brings it up to them in cases, and that’s unacceptable. But we shouldn’t be making this situation worse by reinforcing the broken system that has MPs playing this role, because that’s a losing proposition. There needs to be political will to fix those problems, and if MPs would rather spend that will to reinforce the broken system (because they think it will win them local votes), then the cycle perpetuates. Enough has to be enough. Let’s draw the line.

Good reads:

  • Jane Philpott’s staff made a poor decision in choosing a car service in Toronto, and everyone performed the cheap outrage dance to its predictable conclusions.
  • Ralph Goodale says that he’s not going to rush to pass any new laws in the wake of the Aaron Driver case, and reiterated the commitment to de-radicalization.
  • John McCallum says we need more Chinese immigrants across the country, not just clustered in Toronto and Vancouver.
  • The PBO calculates that an NDP bill to extend pension benefits to military and RCMP families would create a $6 billion liability.
  • Public Works has a list of 29 women to who deserve to have federal buildings named after them, but little has been done with it.
  • While police may want a law to force people to turn over passwords to them (albeit with a court order), it’s likely to be found unconstitutional.
  • He may have been a middling parliamentary secretary at best, but now defeated MP Andrew Saxton is mulling a run at the Conservative leadership.
  • Tributes are pouring in for the passing of Mauril Bélanger.
  • Paul Wells looks at the differences and similarities between how Harper and Trudeau handled the terrorism file.

Odds and ends:

Noticing that Trudeau referred to women Olympians as “girls” gives an excuse to look at ingrained sexist terminology in our language.

One thought on “Roundup: Case management conundrum”

  1. I agree with you that MPs should never get involved in immigration cases. But unfortunately many Ethnic families in Canada put pressure on the MPs to get visas and priority processing. In turn this put pressures on Immigration Officers who have to uphold the law and procedures in processing cases. MPs know or hope to get votes and money from constituents. It is in my eyes a form of corruption and we allow it under the false idea that this is what MPs do. It is far worse if the MP is himself or herself from an ethnic group and has many in his, her own riding. It can get really out of hand and become nothing short of badgering and harassment of Immigration staff. Prior to 1976 it was not like that of course but with Lloyd Axworthy as Minister then and with multicultural policy taking hold everything changed. As a colleague use to say, Immigrants chose us we do not chose them.

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