Roundup: The sudden concern over redistributing asylum seekers

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There is a particular strain of ugly anti-immigrant rhetoric which has largely been tamped down in this country but has started to re-emerge thanks to the permission structures being formed by the Republicans in the US, and which are being laundered into Canada by blaming the Liberals for somehow “breaking the consensus” around immigration in recent years with high arrival numbers, ignoring that the vast majority of these numbers have been asked for by provincial premiers. Nevertheless, the issue with asylum seekers (which are not economic immigrants) has disproportionately landed in Quebec’s lap because of the ease of border crossing there, and Quebec has made demands of other provinces to share the load.

Well, the federal minster, Marc Miller, has had discussions with provinces about taking more of these asylum seekers—with federal supports—but that was enough to get New Brunswick premier Blaine Higgs to start lying about it over social media. (Higgs is floundering in the polls ahead of an election and has been turning to Christian Nationalists as his strategy to stay competitive). And while Miller has called out Higgs for his fictitious alarm, it has already spread to other provinces like Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, with BC’s Conservative leader also weighing in (and talking out of his ass as he does about many, many files).

https://twitter.com/marcmillervm/status/1834359608481100045

Miller is an effective communicator, unlike most of his fellow Cabinet members, so he’s actually mounting a good defence, but we cannot forget that this particular xenophobic rhetoric has been creeping into the discourse here, enabled by certain premiers and by Pierre Poilievre who have been blowing this particular dog-whistle while the Elder Pundits shrug and insist that it’s not really happening because Canada is different (it is, but it’s not that different), but they see it being used effectively in the US, and in places like Hungary, and they want a piece of that action if it’ll get them the power that they crave. We’ll see if Miller can score enough blows, but I suspect that with the Elder Pundits dismissing the nature of these attacks, the effectiveness of his counters, even with receipts, will be blunted in broader public.

In case you missed it:

  • My Xtra column on the three upcoming provincial by-elections, and how conservative parties all moved further to the right in each of them.
  • My weekend column on the way the Public Accounts committee went from being the best, most non-partisan committee in Parliament to yet another sideshow.
  • My Loonie Politics Quick Take that explains Supply Days, and why they’re going to be a lot more weighty now that the NDP have reneged on their agreement.
  • My column on the tiff at TIFF over that Russian film, and why Conservatives blaming Trudeau are really telling on themselves about their own censorship ambitions.

Ukraine Dispatch

https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1834204204405039436

 

Good reads:

  • While CSIS has had 49 complaints of violence and sexual harassment internally, only eight have been deemed founded, others resolved through conciliation. (Timeline)
  • Public sector union PSAC had to backtrack on their calls for a boycott of downtown Ottawa businesses in retaliation for the three-days-a-week office mandate.
  • Apparently there is still a dispute between Cabinet and the foreign interference inquiry regarding some documents that have yet to be disclosed.
  • Here is what we know (so far) about the Canadian far-right influencers who were on the payroll of Russia to spread disinformation.
  • The Government Operations committee heard from consul general Tom Clark, badgered and hectored him with falsehoods, and threatened his job, for clips.
  • Michelle Rempel Garner claims the Conservatives have a “better plan” for dealing with online harms, but a cursory glance shows instances of magical thinking.
  • Jagmeet Singh is trying to talk tough in advance of Parliament returning (but continues to shred his credibility), including replacing the carbon price.
  • David Eby is now hoping to end BC’s carbon price (because he is suddenly scared of the BC Conservatives), should the federal requirement be dropped.
  • The NDP are hoping that their position on the war in Gaza will win them Muslim votes in the upcoming LaSalle—Émard—Verdun byelection.
  • Justin Ling looks at what is making Jordan Peterson the “philosopher-in-chief” of the right, and how his messages can be countered, which the left isn’t doing.
  • Anne Applebaum looks at the way in which Russia has used Tenet Media to and its fake influencers (including Canadians) to peddle authoritarian narratives.
  • Matt Gurney and Susan Delacourt debate the fallout from Singh’s decision to pull out of his agreement with the government.
  • Paul Wells takes the pulse of where the Liberals are at after their big week of losing their confidence partner and campaign director.

Odds and ends:

https://twitter.com/emmmacfarlane/status/1834245639380557980

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One thought on “Roundup: The sudden concern over redistributing asylum seekers”

  1. I’m not positive I know who the Elder Pundits are, but I can guess…why are they so angry? And sarcastic. It’s not enlightening.

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