Canadians apparently not as ‘welcoming’ as their
Prime Minister, by Ann Corcoran, 8/5/18.
Shortly
after President Trump announced his travel ban, you will remember that Canadian
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the world in a tweet that they would be
welcome in Canada.
Well,
Canada’s welcome is wearing thin and here is one more story, this time in
the Wall Street Journal telling us that the public opinion
tide has turned on Trudeau.
Although
the article (hat tip: Cathy) is focused on the asylum seekers coming across
their border with the US, I am sure that the 52,000+ Syrian refugees they
admitted in less than three years had already strained Canada’s ability to
provide shelter and welfare for that many needy people.
The Wall Street Journal: OTTAWA—Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s open-arms policy on
refugees is facing pushback at home.
A poll published Friday by Vancouver-based Angus Reid Institute
indicates Canadian anxiety over asylum seekers entering the country by foot
from the U.S. has intensified from a year ago, when such border crossings hit a
peak. Their concern “shows no sign of abating,” said Shachi Kurl, executive
director of the polling organization.
According
to the poll, 58% of Canadians surveyed said the country is “too generous” to
unofficial border crossers, an increase from 53% when Angus Reid asked a
similar question a year ago. Nearly
two-thirds, or 65%, said the roughly 31,000 asylum seekers who have come to
Canada from the U.S. since the Trump administration took office are too much
for the country to handle.
Also, 67% of the 1,500 survey respondents said they would describe the
asylum situation as a “crisis”–a term the opposition Conservative Party has
repeatedly used in recent months to describe the situation. The online survey was conducted July 25-30, with a margin
of error of 2.5 percentage points.
Critics
of the government attribute the border-crossing surge to a January 2017 message
from Mr. Trudeau on his official Twitter account, in which he said Canada would
welcome people fleeing persecution, terror and war. His tweet was posted a day
after President Trump imposed a travel ban on people from several predominantly
Muslim countries. The U.S. Supreme Court this year affirmed Mr. Trump’s power
to issue the prohibition.
The increase in the number of border crossings has placed added
pressure on the Canadian cities of Toronto and Montreal, where many asylum
seekers are living while they await refugee hearings. Regional politicians have called
on the Liberal government to provide additional financial support to help house
the asylum seekers and provide social services.
The
poll indicated 48% trusted Andrew Scheer, the leader of Canada’s Conservative
Party, to best handle the issue of asylum seekers, versus 35% who chose Mr.
Trudeau.
More here if
you subscribe to the WSJ.
Go here for
my complete Canada category (218 previous posts).
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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