Today's Score: Harper Base 1, True Canadians 0

My previous post reflected on the Faustian nature of Chris Alexander's rise to prominence within the Harper regime. Further evidence of his moral departure from true Canadian values is reflected in this breaking news, which suggests that Canada is preparing to admit Syrian refugees, but only if they fit certain criteria, the biggest one being that they be religious minorities, i.e., Christians, but not Muslims.

Score another one for the Harper base:



Perhaps John Cleese best reflects my sentiments over this disgraceful pending policy:

Chris Alexander's Faustian Pact

By all accounts, before he entered politics, Immigration Minister Chris Alexander was a competent and respected member of Canada's foreign service; his resume includes the fact that he was Canada's first resident Ambassador to Afghanistan. The lustre attending his career, however, has vanished since he become a member of the Harper cabinet, surely a Faustian deal if there ever was one. To dispense with integrity to merely parrot one's master is a choice hard to comprehend.

Earlier in the week, Tim Harper wrote a column on some of the Prime Minister's 'performers' and non-performers. Here is what he said about Alexander:

While his predecessor Jason Kenney could look tough but sell what he said were necessary immigration measures, Alexander usually looks defensive and a little flinty.

He has been accused of fudging the numbers of Syrian refugees who have been accepted by Canada, looked heartless in cutting medical care for refugee claimants, triggered a constitutional challenge with changes to the Citizenship Act and hung up on a CBC host on live radio.

That, in my view, is a rather restrained assessment of the man. In today's Star, letter-writer Pam Churchill of Toronto offers what is perhaps a more penetrating evaluation:

Re: Some weak players in PM’s dream-team cabinet, Dec. 8

Columnist Tim Harper speaks for many of us when he ponders the mystery of Chris Alexander, “a young, smart, former ambassador with world experience who should be a natural, but is still finding his way in a complicated portfolio.”

Maureen Dowd offers some insight (New York Times, May 19, 2014). When I think of Chris Alexander, her words come to mind.

She was speaking of Condoleeza Rice, “who had all the qualities to dazzle. Smart, attractive, hardworking, personable, chic . . . she sailed to success at an early age.” Yet, says Dowd, “she exceeded at failing better” because “her real ideology was succeeding.” So, says Dowd, “in order to succeed, she rejected old mentors, Brent Scowcroft and Colin Powell, and went along with the preposterous pre-emption plan of the old hawks who had far less respect for her: Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld” and “made a Faustian deal to sell a fake war.”

To Dowd, it is a lesson in selling your soul, which should teach us about “the perils of succeeding at any cost, about how moral shortcuts never lead to the right place.”

Perhaps Chris Alexander does not believe what he says nor support the policies he espouses. That could explain why he is still finding his way. Whatever the answer, thinking about him always brings Dowd to mind and leaves me sad.

To be sure, both Rice and Alexander are sobering object lessons of the heavy price many are willing to pay to be key participants in today's political arena.

Not In My Name, Please

In a regime rife with duplicity, one of the most dishonest aspects of the Harper cabal is its endless capacity to pretend that the decisions it makes and the legislation it enacts are being done 'for the people'. One of most recent examples of this egregious misrepresentation is the decision by the federal government last year to cut off medical care for failed refugee claimants when

it amended the interim federal health program to reduce coverage for most refugees and discontinue basic care to asylum seekers from so-called “safe countries, failed refugees and others sponsored by community groups such as churches to resettle here from overseas camps.

The federal government said the cuts could save taxpayers $100 million over five years and genuine refugees continue to receive comprehensive health care coverage on par with what Canadians receive.

Not only was this an anti-humanitarian measure wholly at odds with our country's former and proud tradition of helping the disadvantaged, it was done dishonestly, the Harper cabal employing the fiction that it was simply responding to public demand:

“Canadians have been clear that they do not want failed asylum claimants and asylum claimants from safe countries receiving better health-care benefits than Canadian taxpayers,” Alexis Pavlich, spokesperson for Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, said in an email.

“Our government listened and acted with regard to Canadian taxpayers’ concerns on this issue, and we remain committed in our effort to preserve the integrity of our immigration system.”

I don't recall being polled on such an issue. Was the government deluged with demands that we enact such an odious measure? I would like to see the statistics behind this alleged demand.

That of course is not going to happen because, in all likelihood, it is like the 'thousands' the Tories claimed complained about the privacy intrusions posed by the mandatory long-form census questionaire that led to the decision to kill it. In truth, there was little more than a handful who objected.

By claiming to act in our name, this government is slandering all of us in its attempt to remake Canada into a leaner, meaner, and more American environment where individualism reigns surpreme. Fortunately, the provinces are fighting back. Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Quebec have all stepped up to provide coverage, with Ontario vowing to send the bills to Ottawa.

It would seem that Canadians' characteristic compassion is not yet dead despite the ongoing and concerted efforts by the neoconservatives to kill it.

Tory Attacks on the Canadian Soul

To suggest that the Harper regime is working relentlessly to diminish the Canadian soul is hardly a remarkable insight. Examples abound of its flinty resolve to undermine traditional Canadian values and virtues, compassion and fairness apparently at the top of its 'hit list'.

But while the Conservatives seek to remake Canada in its own morally impoverished image, it is important for all of us to see the human victims of such a governance model.

A number of such faces come into stark relief if one explores the consequences of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney's changes to health care coverage for failed refugee claimants and those from a yet-to-be defined list of "safe" countries [who] will only receive medical care if their condition is deemed a risk to public health or safety.

Here is one example of a woman who, ultimately, did qualify for care but, thanks to the widespread confusion created by the bill, suffered needless stress during a very vulnerable time in her life:

The call came 35 weeks into her pregnancy, right around the time her abdominal cramps began. It was the receptionist from her gynecologist's office saying the government's changes to the Interim Federal Health Program meant her prenatal care was no longer covered.

That's when Tiffany started to panic.

"I asked, `What am I supposed to do?'... I got scared," recalled the 27-year-old originally from the Caribbean.

"She told me that if I come and see the doctor I would have to pay the doctor a fee."

Unfortunately, even sympathetic and compassionate medical personnel are reaching the limits of help they can provide. As reported in today's Star,

Both the Scarborough Community Volunteer Clinic and Muslim Welfare Centre Clinic — the city’s two mainstays for uninsured patients — have reported an influx of refugee patients as a result of the cuts. “Our clinic is at a sustainability crisis point. Everybody is under the gun here and we are swamped. Some nights, it’s being crowd control,” said Dr. Paul Caulford, who operates the Scarborough clinic with seven other family doctors.

The article goes on to detail that many of the patients have chronic conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes, and the clinics are their last hope to receive medications that are covered by donations.

Anna Elumah is another of the human faces of this story. when her two-year-old daughter received stitches after a fall at the shelter where she, her brother and her mother are staying, Elumah was told to go to a community clinic to have them removed.

“We went to a clinic on Morningside. They looked at my paper and said, ‘It’s no good anymore. Go somewhere else,’” recalled Elumah, who also was suffering a nagging headache after she ran out of her medication for high blood pressure.

Her caseworker referred her to the Scarborough clinic, where she receives free drugs for her hypertension and asthma inhalers for her 8-year-old son, Davids.

In answer to all of this, there is the noble lie:

“The changes ensure bona fide refugees continue to receive comprehensive health coverage, while illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers from safe, democratic countries no longer receive health insurance that is superior to what is generally available to taxpaying Canadians,” said Alexis Pavlich, a spokesperson for Jason Kenney.

So, our choice as citizens is clear. We can, as the government wants, turn our backs on the most vulnerable, failed refugee claimants who will eventually be sent back to their own countries, or we can treat them with compassion and care while they are here, something every human being deserves, and something well within even our weakened economic means to provide.

Sayed Shah Sharifi Arrives In Canada

Thanks to the doggedness of The Toronto Star, for whom social justice and journalistic integrity are more than mere words, the long tale of Sayed Shah Sharifi, the Afghan interpreter, is finally over.

In a world where victories are often few and far between for the 'good guys,' today is a day we all should celebrate the fact that despite all of the efforts by Immigration Jason Kenney to prevent his immigration to Canada, likely out of spite for making a public fuss over delays, Sharifi is now safely in Canada.

You can read the full story here.

A Victory To Celebrate

I have expressed more than once in this blog my opinion that the Harper regime aims to make Canadians feel powerless and disenfranchised, thereby facilitating the government's efforts to remake Canada in its own calloused corporatist image. Once in a while, however, a victory comes along to remind us that we still have power and need to continue the fight against that agenda.

Thanks in large measure to The Toronto Star and reporter Paul Watson, Afghan interpreter Sayed Shah Sharifi is soon to come to Canada, after having been initially rejected under an Immigration program designed to rescue those Afghanis who had put their lives at risk helping Canadian soldiers.

Initially adamant in his rejection of Sharifi's application, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney was forced to reverse his department's decision after a groundswell of public indignation arose following Watson's stories.

The latest developments can be read in today's Star, and the entire episode serves as an important reminder that no matter how dispirited and disheartened we may become, none of us must ever stop fighting the intransigence and ideological madness of the Harper government.

Making Political Hay

Well, you have to hand it to them. The Harper regime never forgoes an opportunity to exploit tragedy:

In an interview airing on CBC's Power & Politics on Friday, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said "clearly the recent rash of gun crime in Toronto is connected to criminal gun activity, and we are aware that there have been foreign members, sometimes leading members of criminal gangs in Canada, able to re-commit offences while delaying their deportation."

Kenney went on to specify that his comments were "not in relation to any particular crime, or any alleged particular criminal" but about Bill C-43, which the government introduced last month as the faster removal of foreign criminals act.

Embarrassing The Harper Government

The rhetoric about overpaid doctors notwithstanding, I suspect the public loves it as much as I do when the medical profession defends its principles and embarrasses Tory lap dogs in the process.

As reported in today's Star, although it is not something they are used to doing, doctors feel it is morally incumbent upon them to speak out as frequently and vociferously as they can in their protests over Immigration Jason Kenney's recent cuts to refugee health care.

One of the more audacious, Dr. Mark Tyndal, is shown below as he interrupts one of the Harper faithful. Enjoy:

The Ripple Effect?

I wonder if Dr. Chris Keefer's sterling example helped inspire this.

Interesting that because they disagree with his cutting of refugee-claimants' health care, protesters are identified by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney as 'extremists.'

As opposed to what, enablers?

Sayed Shah Sharifi - The Toronto Star Continues Championing His Cause

Sayed Shah Sharifi, the brave Afghan interpreter, may have been betrayed by the Harper government and our contemptible Minister of Immigration, Jason Kenney, but he has the support of The Toronto Star, countless people worldwide, and the pro bono services of Lorne Waldman, one of the country’s leading immigration lawyers.

In his latest installment of this potentially tragic unfolding tale, Paul Watson reveals that outrage over Sharifi's mistreatment by our government is not limited to right-thinking Canadians. The lead in the latest article sums up the growing anger:

From Africa, through Europe to Mexico, the U.S. and across Canada, thousands of people are joining the outcry against the Canadian government’s refusal to give an Afghan war hero safe refuge.

The article goes on to discuss two petition sites, thepetitionsite.com and petitionbuzz.com, both of which permit one to add personal comments. But as my wise wife tells me, petitions are not nearly as effective as letters. Anyone who wishes to, can use the letter I sent to Jason Kenney as a template for their own efforts.

One final note, and it is hardly surprising: in apparent retaliation for the military speaking up as advocates for Sharifi, the Harper government [has] gag[ged] Canadian soldiers from speaking publicly about the case now.

The Battle of Sayed Shah Sharifi Continues

The Star continues its excellent coverage of the plight of Sayed Shah Sharifi, the brave young Afghan interpreter who has been betrayed by the Harper government, despite glowing Canadian military reports supporting his application for emigration to Canada.

As his last hope after being rejected by faceless bureaucrats and abandoned by the spineless Jason Kenney, Canada's Immigration Minister, Sharifi is reluctantly accepting the offer of pro bono legal help from Lorne Waldman, a Toronto immigration and refugee lawyer who has successfully argued cases all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, who plans to ask the Federal Court of Canada for a judicial review of the government’s decision to reject Sharifi’s visa application.

The article, again by Paul Watson, concludes with the following:

Take heart that a growing number of Star readers haven’t been so timid about speaking up for Sharifi. I get new emails from them every day, often with copies of angry letters they have sent to Kenney and other MPs.

One has started an online petition at www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/canadianpatriotyes, hoping to channel enough public outrage to move Kenney to think again and do right by an Afghan who risked his life to support Canadian combat troops.

Those outraged by Sharifi's contemptible treatment may wish to add their name to the petition.

More From Paul Watson on Sayed Shah Sharifi

The older I get, the longer I live, the more I realize that true justice is uncommon, and that evil frequently prevails over good. The case of Sayed Shah Sharifi, the Afghan interpreter whose work was so highly-prized by the Canadian military, is only the latest example of this fact.

Continuing his series in The Toronto Star on the plight of this young man, Paul Watson today offers proof that Sharifi's life is in danger from the Taliban for his work with the Canadian military, a claim that has been flatly rejected by immigration officials who have denied him a visa to emigrate to Canada. There is speculation that the rejection was prompted by the fact that the interpreter went public about how he was being treated by officials, an assertion that certainly has plenty of precedent with the Harper government, which has time and time again demonstrated its intolerance for those who disagree with it.

In today's article, Hunter cites the eyewitness account of Philip Hunter, a medic in Canada’s army reserves, who worked closely with Sharifi:

Hunter recalls at least three occasions when he witnessed Sharifi receive threats from insurgents.

Once, Hunter was at Forward Operating Base Wilson, in Kandahar province’s bloodied Zhari district, then roiling with Taliban activity.

The two were drinking tea when Sharifi’s cellphone rang.

“He spoke for a few minutes with the other party before hanging up,” Hunter told me from Ottawa, where he is training to be a civilian paramedic. “While my Pashto is limited, I could tell that there was a bit of a confrontational tone to the conversation.

“When he closed his phone he told me, with a shrug of his shoulders and a half-smile, that it was a local Taliban commander calling him to remind him that he had his phone number, and that he was going to kill him when he got the chance.”

In a similar incident at Masum Ghar, near the front line with territory completely under Taliban control, Sharifi arrived with a platoon on a two-week stint with the Canadian battle group’s quick reaction force, Hunter said.

“When we were chatting outside the medical clinic his phone rang, and it was another Taliban commander calling to tell him that he knew he was now at Masum Ghar, and if he saw Sayed with his troops in the Panjwaii bazaar, the foreigners (us) would not be able to protect him,” Hunter recalled.

Ultimately Sharifi quit his job as interpreter after the Taliban threatened to kill his entire family for his continued work.

The Harper government has a reputation of never backing down on anything. Unfortunately, this jejeune characteristic may very well end up costing the life of a young man who would be a real asset to Canadian society.

Jason Kenney Responds to His Critics

In a move that can hardly be described as surprising, Jason Kenney is fiercely defending his immigration officials and their decision to refuse a Canadian visa to Sayed Shah Sharifi, the brave Afghan interpreter who risked the wrath of Taliban insurgents to assist our forces in his country. Despite a program in place to help such individuals, officials have deemed Sharifi ineligible, inexplicably discounting his stories of threats from the insurgents because of his collaboration with the West.

As well, and equally predictably, Kenney, in a letter to the Toronto Star, which has brought to public attention and championed Sharifi's cause, indirectly blames the paper for creating mischief:

“The Government does not make decisions about individual cases based on political considerations,” Kenney asserts. “Nor does the editorial board of the Toronto Star, which does not have the benefit of all the relevant facts, get to decide who qualifies for government programs.

“We leave such decisions to highly-trained and competent civil servants. They have decided that Mr. Sharifi is not eligible under this program.”

Perhaps we should applaud Kenney for having renewed faith in the beaurcrats employed by our government, given the earlier crisis of confidence when it did everything in its power to discredit the judgment of Richard Colvin, the Canadian diplomat who alleged that Canadian soldiers were handing over captured Afghan insurgents to be tortured.

But then again, since this government has shown a pattern of acting with expedience to quell embarrassments whenever they arise, perhaps we should not.