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.