Roundup: Refusing to aid so-called “illegal refugees”

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MPs from the Liberals, NDP and even the Bloc are condemning the actions of Conservative MP Richard Martel as he refused to assist asylum seekers in his riding who face possible deportation to El Salvador, where they are threatened by gang violence. More than that, Martel called them “illegal refugees,” which is not a Thing, but is certainly drawing from American and far-right rhetoric.

What I find most interesting in this, however, are the people who think that Pierre Poilievre should intervene if he wants to show that he’s sincere about his outreach to newcomer communities, and should send the message to “treat all refugees equally.” But this ignores that Poilievre has been following the Jason Kenney “curry-in-a-hurry” method of ethnocultural outreach, which was predicated on using these communities in wedging others, whether it was going to socially conservative communities and saying things like “You hate the gays? Us too! You should vote for us!” Even more to the point, Kenney constantly turned different newcomer communities against one another, creating an artificial division between the “good” economic immigrants who “went through the queue,” versus the asylum seekers whom he termed “queue-jumpers,” never mind that there is no queue for asylum seekers or refugees, but that it is a separate process entirely (and no, refugees are not economic migrants. Refugee resettlement is a humanitarian project, and people need to get that through their heads). Getting one group of immigrants to resent asylum seekers was what Kenney was constantly trying to do.

Mind you, he wasn’t all that successful—his efforts never really netted much of a result when you looked at the election data, but the myth of his so-called success has been cemented in the imaginations of conservatives (and a not-inconsiderable portion of the media), so of course Poilievre is going to take inspiration from it. So I don’t expect he’ll take too much exception to the “illegal refugee” line, because it’s right out of the Jason Kenney playbook.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 301:

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the front lines in Bakhmut and met with soldiers there. Zelenskyy is expected to head to Washington today, his first trip since the invasion began, to address Congress as it debates further aid for Ukraine. Meanwhile, Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine are removing signs of Russian influence form public spaces now that the Russian-speaking lobby in the country has largely evaporated.

https://twitter.com/maria_avdv/status/1605101789677867009

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau visited Montreal to meet with François Legault to talk healthcare and Roxham Road, and then visit local shops in his riding.
  • In a year-ender, Trudeau said that “it sucks” when ministers caught up in ethics violations, but it also shows the system is working. (Erm…)
  • In another year-ender, Trudeau is sticking to his guns when it comes to health transfers and using that leverage to do something about driving change.
  • Here is a recap of Trudeau’s annual conversation with former Montreal radio personality Terry DiMonte (and Trudeau confirms he’s a fan of Andor).
  • Trudeau’s office announced that he will be attending the Three Amigos summit in Mexico city on January 10th.
  • Steven Guilbeault says that Canada and China were able to set aside their differences in order to get an agreement at the COP15 biodiversity summit.
  • The ban on certain single-use plastics has gone into effect and can no longer be manufactured or imported, and have one year to use up current stocks.
  • Veterans Affairs says that the agent who recommended MAiD in at least four cases is no longer employed with the department.
  • National Defence has been granted $7 billion to spend on a first tranche of 16 F-35 fighters, so as to keep the planned delivery schedule on track.
  • It turns out that CBSA has been using communications equipment from the same company with Chinese ties that the RCMP got in trouble for.
  • Rainbow Railroad is asking for federal assistance, as they’ve only been able to resettle four percent of LGBTQ+ Afghans who have asked for help.
  • Michael Tulloch, the first Black justice to sit on an appellate court in Canada, has been named the new Chief Justice of Ontario. (This is separate from the OCJ).
  • Justin Ling explains the broader implications of Elon Musk’s attempt to shut down real-time tracking of aircraft around the world.
  • Kevin Carmichael talks to Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem, who says that his focus remains getting inflation back to two percent.
  • My column notes that Trudeau has been tabling bills to secure his legacy in legislation, but not all of it has gone according to plan.

Odds and ends:

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