… while I don’t have a whole lot of respect for most CPC MPs (not all – there are some who are less morality-challenged than others), a few stand out from the others in my version of the Canadian Political Hall of Shame. Notable among these intellect-challenged excuses for servants of the public good is the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney. To me, he epitomizes the American-style politics of division, hate and cynicism that has crawled its way north from the States. You might blame His Supreme Leaderness for much of what is wrong in Canadian politics these days, but henchmen like Kenney, Polievre, Toews, Del Mastro, etc. make it happen.

As I wrote yesterday, his Department has been planting spies at Citizenship Oath ceremonies to ensure that new Canadians don”t just “mouth” the words “Queen Elizabeth” but actually say it out loud. This is ridiculous – consistent in the way that this Minister and Government think – but ridiculous nonetheless.

So, I was going back and forth on Twitter with some folks yesterday and there was a general consensus that Canada would be better off without the Minster. In fact, he should be deported!

But to where? Who would take him?

I suggested Syria, but it was rejected as our country should be sending them help, not harm.

But, if not countries where dictatorships call the shots (and where said Minister would indeed feel most at home), where?

#where2deportMPKenney

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Jason Kenney edition.

Is Jason Kenney Canada’s Joseph McCarthy?

I think so…

OTTAWA — New Democratic Party MP Don Davies says it never occurred to him when he innocuously snapped a photo at an anti-racism march in Vancouver last month that he would suddenly become the latest target in an increasingly vicious Canadian political culture.

That single act would result in the Vancouver MP being described in the House of Commons, and in a news release from Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, as a cheerleader for “anarchists and anti-capitalist mobs” and a defender of the rights of “violent foreign criminals, war criminals and bogus asylum claimants.”

The Vancouver march, involving several hundred people on a Sunday afternoon, was to mark the United Nations-sanctioned International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

It was promoted on the websites of a number of mainstream organizations that included the NDP, several public sector unions and a Vancouver students’ association.

But Davies, who represents the riding of Vancouver Kingsway — arguably the most left-wing in the country — committed an unpardonable sin, according to Kenney, who represents the very conservative riding of Calgary Southeast.

The march was organized by the anarchist organization No One Is Illegal. The group’s supporters carried signs and banners, including one amateurish sign that declared: “People’s March Against Jason Kenney!”

Davies, who is Kenney’s official critic in Parliament, tweeted the photo along with the comment that this was his “favourite” sign at the march.

“You’re at a No One is Illegal event, Don?” Kenney replied on Twitter several minutes later. “That’s pretty extreme. They’re anarchists who oppose any limits on immigration & . . .”

Davies immediately shot back: “Jason, it’s actually a multi-party community event to mark Int’l Day Against Racism on March 21. I’m marching for tolerance . . .”

The House of Commons wasn’t sitting that week but a week later, when MPs returned to Ottawa, Davies was accused of being sympathetic to NOII’s positions.

The depths to which Kenney will sink knows no bounds. I’m waiting for the Inquisition legislation to be introduced.

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Sticking with Jason Kenney for a minute… as much as that makes bile rise in my throat…

A government official wrongly denied an immigrant his Canadian citizenship because he wrongly believed the man was mouthing the oath of citizenship rather than repeating it out loud, Citizenship and Immigration Canada says.

The mix-up took place at a March 29 ceremony, CIC said in a letter to the CBC’s Evan Dyer.

“A citizenship officer at the ceremony determined that the candidate was not articulating the words of the Oath of Citizenship,” said CIC spokeswoman Mary Jago.

“Subsequently, it was found that the officer made a mistake in the determination that the oath was not taken. The office has been attempting to contact the candidate to rectify the situation.”

The man, whom CBC has not identified, was pulled out of line in front of his family while awaiting his citizenship certificate and was told he would not receive it.

CIC said the officer made a mistake and the man was not trying to avoid or alter the oath. They are looking for the man but have yet to find him.

The mistake comes after stricter supervision began around swearing loyalty to Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors.

Since December 2011, CIC has been watching to make sure all new Canadians recite the oath verbatim, which includes asking women to remove their veils.

Polls show a majority of Canadians would like to see the oath changed so new Canadians swear loyalty to Canada rather than Queen Elizabeth. Statistics show only five per cent want the oath to remain the same.

Seriously, Jason? Your Department has nothing better to do but ensure that new citizens say “Queen Elizabeth” aloud? Seriously? I can think of some easy WFA cuts, if that’s the case!

Bring on the Republic of Canada!

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Question: my iPhone 3s is tanking more often than not. How sure are we that the iPhone 5 will roll out this summer? If it looks pretty certain, I’ll put up with the glitches for a few more months. If not, off to Rogers to upgrade to a 4s.

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Good article by former Grit candidate Daniel Veniez on how Canadians shouldn’t forget about Robogate in the face of the furour around the latest CPC scandal involving the F-35 purchases.

In light of the unprecedented incompetence exposed by the Auditor General on the F-35 procurement scandal, the swirl of parliamentary and media attention surrounding the other simmering scandal of fraudulent robocols has died down somewhat.

But the issue will not go away because a fraud occurred and Canadians must find out what happened. A few weeks ago, the Chief Electoral Officer told a Commons committee that impersonating officials responsible for the integrity of the voting system is an affront to our democracy. Indeed it is. Those that perpetrated this crime must be found.

Despite the lame attempts of Conservative MP’s to shrug off, minimize, or even make the incredulous suggestion that this must be all Elections Canada fault, all signs point to them. The technological tools they use and the black-op tactics they employ are widely established. These underlying behaviors and kill at all costs culture is also perfectly in keeping with how the Harper Conservatives operate.

No Daniel, folks like you and I will ensure that the Cons won’t be allowed to merely sweep these illegal activities under the rug.

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Speaking of the damning AG report on those very same fighter jets… how long until we start hearing grunts from the Harperite backbenchers that the AG was influenced by extremist environmental groups funded by the NDP?

I’m guessing next week.

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Speaking of next week… many Government departments are going to release the specifics of the program cuts to their staff on Tuesday.

To my friends and colleagues: good luck.

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Watched the Jays’ opener last night which they won in 16 innings! If the first game is any sign of things to come, it’s going to be an exciting season! GO JAYS!!!!!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

This so-called “government” is such an embarrassment and its media propaganda machine is a discredit to journalism.

Citizenship is something that can just can “faked” for the cameras, eh, Jason Kenney?

Six federal bureaucrats were drafted to pose as new Canadians for a citizenship reaffirmation ceremony broadcast on the Sun News network, an event requested by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s office.

The bureaucrats smiled and held Canadian flags as the TV hosts referred to a group of 10 people as “new Canadians” that had “finally” received their citizenship.

Documents released under Access to Information legislation show that just a few weeks before Canada’s Citizenship Week last October, Mr. Kenney’s staff directed departmental officials to add a last-minute citizenship ceremony at the network to their list of scheduled events.

Bureaucrats scrambled to work out the logistics, suggesting to the minister’s office that Sun News could cover one of the 13 scheduled ceremonies in Ontario – four of them in Toronto, including one at the Air Canada Centre.

One senior bureaucrat at the registrar of Canadian citizenship expressed concern to Mr. Kenney’s office that Sun News seemed to want to feature “only” the oath, which might short-change new Canadians from the full ceremony experience.

“We have to keep in mind that the ceremony should first and foremost be a special (sic) for the new citizen, most of whom will want family and friends (sic) attend this very special day in their lives,” the bureaucrat wrote.

When a bureaucrat sent Sun News a list of possible citizenship ceremonies to cover in Ontario, a network employee suggested another scenario.

“Let’s do it. We can fake the Oath,” reads an email from a sunmedia.ca email address, the name blacked out of the document.

A Facebook friend puts it nicely:

Absolutely incredible… the disrespect and disdain for the meaning of Canadian citizenship, credible journalism, the independence of the bureaucracy and seperation of media from state control… this one is really too much and really shows the CPC hasn’t formed a government, its formed a propaganda machine with a majority of seats.

Sun News? Get out of the business! You are a shame to all honest media outlets! You are the Canadian version of Pravda! Cons complain about CBC bias but Sun Media is nothing but a propaganda machine – pure and simple.

Kenney? He should apologise! But we all know that the CPC folks NEVER apologise for anything… ever.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Thanks to Sister Sage’s Musings for this… hilarious example of how the Cons say one thing but but do another… yeah, yeah, (anticipating Squid and Ken) they all do this – but catching someone (especially JK) red-handed is especially satisfying!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Jason Kenney, who has fervently opposed same-sex marriage when it was debated in Parliament (I remember this clearly) has personally nixed the idea of having a text box in the study guide that includes a bullet on ‘equality rights’ under list of rights. His departmental officials had noted earlier that this bullet should be reinserted into the list as a means of noting the equality of all based on race, gender, sexual orientation etc.

He spoke against the Civil Marriage Act, or Bill C-38, when it was debated in the Commons in February 2005. And days earlier, Kenney told a session with Toronto-area Punjabi journalists that gays had every right to marry — as long as it wasn’t someone of the same sex.

The huge problem I have with this interference is that the government of the day has a duty to promote and support the laws of the land – even if they personally do not agree with them. ESPECIALLY in this case where new immigrants are being educated about Canadian values.

Equal rights regardless of sexual orientation is one of these values.

Such decisions should not have been placed in the hands of the Minister and should have remained the decision of his unbiased staff in CIC – decisions to be made on the basis of sound policy principles and strategic and operational considerations.

Mr. Kenney should resign.

I wonder what his colleague John Baird had to say about this.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Good ol’ Jason Kenney. Always the nice politico with kind words for little old ladies, soccer moms and anyone else eligible to vote. The “target audience”, one might say.

To Jason and the rest of the Harperites, the immigrant population is an important part of this group.  It is reckoned that by capturing the hearts and minds of Canada’s immigrant communities, then the Promised Land of Majority Government is within reach.

So it is no surprise to me that one of Harper’s chief lap dogs was in a Hogtown Chinatown grocery store yesterday to offer moral support to a grocer that is facing charges including kidnapping, forcible confinement and assault after he collared a shoplifter who came back to his Toronto store. The guy was pretty sick of losing a considerable amount of his inventory to those folks who advocate the 5 finger discount method of pricing, so he took matters into his own hands.

Whether or not you agree with taking the law into your own hands is moot. What is relevant is that a Minister of the Crown, in a blatant attempt to gain political brownie points, has broken one of the key tenets of our judicial system and interfered with a case that is before the courts.

Afterward, the minister said he didn’t want to interfere in a court case. But he offered sympathy to merchants of shoplifting. He said Mr. Chen, who arrived as a refugee in 1991, is an exemplary newcomer to Canada and a victim of crime.

But he HAS interfered. Just by showing up and expressing support for the shopkeeper, he has in essence thrown out the principal that politicos shall NOT interfere or APPEAR to have interfered.

Funny thing is that this is by no means the first time that JK has been accused of political interference. Reported in the Embassy Magazine on July 22, 2009;

Jason Kenney has compromised his position as immigration minister by repeatedly slamming the validity of various refugee claims and blatantly undermining the independence of Canada’s refugee tribunal, legal and immigration experts, including former IRB chairman Peter Showler, are charging. Over the past several months, Mr. Kenney has publicly declared asylum claims by U.S. war deserters to be “bogus,” accused would-be Mexican refugees of systematically abusing the system, and questioned the legitimacy of refugee claims by Roma from the Czech Republic.

As above, it matters not if you agree with the move to impose the added conditions to Czech refugee claimants; it’s not the point.

The Minister of the Crown is responsible for the way that his or her department carries out business and interprets and acts upon policy directives. It is therefore correct to reason that if the Minister is expressing a strong opinion about a particular issue that is relevant to the department, the department will likewise follow that course in its actions. An institutional bias is introduced.

Peter Showler, a former chairman of the IRB and director of the Refugee Forum at the Human Rights Research and Education Centre at the University of Ottawa, said Mr. Kenney has absolutely introduced institutional bias into the refugee board’s decision-making. He said Mr. Kenney’s comments have caused a “significant amount of damage” to individual refugee claimants from Mexico and the Czech Republic, as well as to the judicial process.

“I am not aware of a single previous minister of immigration who has made such remarks, who has intruded on the judicial process in this way; not one,” Mr. Showler said. “This is extraordinary and I think he has overstepped the line, and I think the courts are going to tell him that he’s overstepped the line.”

This interference is unprecedented and must not continue if we Canadians hold an independent and non-political judiciary and immigration system to be an important part of our society.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario