Liberals would ease restrictions for Mexicans to come to Canada

   Canada column for Sunday, Sept. 27/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Saying that Canadians are “a generous and compassionate people,” Liberal leader Justin Trudeau wants to make it easier for Mexicans to come to Canada.

   Campaigning for the Oct. 19 federal election, Trudeau said his government would remove visa requirements for Mexican citizens and undo strict regulations put in place by the Conservative government.

   The visa requirement and tougher refugee status conditions were imposed since 2009 to deal with a big jump in the numbers of Mexican asylum seekers.

   The government said it was acting because many refugee applications were bogus with those fleeing Mexico for economic reasons rather than for security.

   Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has soured Canada’s relationship with Mexico, Trudeau said vowing to “do right by our continental neighbor.”

   Claims of bogus refuges are an example of the government “continually stoking fear and anger among Canadians,” he added.

   “We need to ensure that Canada is a country that is accepting refugees who are fleeing persecution from all sorts of places around the world for all sorts of different reasons,” Trudeau said.

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Conservatives retake the lead in public-opinion polls before the October election

   Canada column for Sunday, Sept. 20/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Brushing off criticism that the Conservative government hasn’t done enough to resettle Syrian refugees, the ruling party is back on top in public opinion polls for the Oct. 19 election.

   Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives regained the lead with 32 per-cent support in a Forum Research poll.

   The party lagged behind – dropping to as low as third place – in recent weeks but Forum president Lorne Bozinoff said the Conservatives likely got a boost with news that Canada has a $1.9-billion budget surplus this year.

   Second was the socialist New Democratic Party with 30 per cent followed by the Liberals at 28, Green, 6, and Bloc Quebecois, 4 percent.

   Forum pollsters asked Canadians if the Conservatives are doing enough to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis and offering resettlement assistance.

   Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they were while 36 percent believe more should be done.

   At a leaders’ debate in Calgary about the economy, Harper said “staying the course” with tax cuts and balanced budgets is the safe road to prosperity.

   Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau called for more spending as an “investment in the future” while the New Democrat’s Tom Mulcair said he would invest in social programs and raise corporate income taxes.

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Refugee father of drowned Syrian boy blames Canada

   Canada column for Sunday, Sept. 13/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   The father of a three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a Turkish beach said he blames Canada for the tragedy that also killed his wife and another son.

   Abdullah Kurdi’s comment comes as Canadian premiers, mayors, church groups and citizens put pressure on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to welcome more Syrian refugees to Canada.

   Kurdi said he does not understand why Canada rejected his application for asylum but Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials said they received no such notice on his behalf.

   His sister, Tima, of Coquitlam, British Columbia, said she submitted an application for his brother Mohammed and planned to later apply to sponsor Abdullah’s family as well.

   Mohammed Kurdi’s application was said to be incomplete and he is now in Germany with his family.

   Tima said she sent money to Abdullah to pay smugglers for the deadly ride to Greece from Turkey in a boat that capsized.

   At an election campaign stop, Harper said he will unveil plans “in the very near future” to expedite the process for refugee resettlement.

   “Let me assure you that the position of this government is we have been the world leader in refugee resettlement and we intend to do that in a responsible and affordable way for Canadians,” he said.

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Refugee crisis tops concerns in Canadian election campaign

   Canada column for Sunday, Sept. 6/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   The image of a drowned three-year-old boy on a Turkish beach derailed the Canadian election campaign as attempts failed to bring his Syrian refugee family to Canada.

   The boy was the nephew of Tima Kurdi of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia who was trying to sponsor the family.

   Alan Kurdi, drowned along with his five-year-old brother and mother in an unsuccessful attempt to reach Europe on a smuggler’s boat, while the father, Abdullah, survived.

   Tima wanted to bring another brother, Mohammed, to Canada first and then Abdullah and his family.

   The government said it did not receive a refugee application for Abdullah but did get an incomplete one for Mohammed that didn’t meet the requirements for proof of refugee status.

   Member of Parliament Fin Donnelly said he delivered a letter in March to Immigration Minister Chris Alexander about the family’s reunification bid.

   The news led to Alexander being pulled off the election campaign to return to Ottawa to address the crisis.

   Stephen Harper, seeking re-election as prime minister, tearfully expressed his feelings while underscoring the need to continue the military fight against the Islamic militants in Syria and Iraq.

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Additional security officers working for Stephen Harper's campaign stops

   Canada column for Sunday, Aug. 30/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Conservative leader Stephen Harper, seeking to be returned as the prime minister in the Oct. 19 federal election, had beefed up his security detail.

   Along with the Mounties who are assigned for his personal protection, the Conservatives are also using former members of the Canadian military to act as security during campaign stops.

   Security expert Chris Mathers, a former undercover Mountie, said the private security officers are likely there to deal with “uninvited guests” and to keep the peace at events.

   Conservative spokesman Kory Teneycke said “we don’t talk about it” when asked about the additional security contingent.

   “The whole point about having security at these things to is try to avoid somebody else who has their own agenda ... destabilizing the agenda that you have,” said Alex Marland, a political science professor at Memorial University.

   This happened on Thursday when a man was escorted out of the room when he tried to join journalists asking Harper a question in suburban Toronto.

   The Mounties are providing security for New Democratic Party Leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau but they have not hired additional security.

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Ashley Madison hotbed uncovered in Ottawa

   Canada column for Sunday, Aug. 23/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Canada’s capital, Ottawa, appears to be the hotbed in the country for members of the Ashley Madison cheating website.

   The distinction of being the infidelity capital of Canada with 189,000 users, or nearly one in five people living there, was determined through analysis of leaked data.

   The Canadian Press newswire search found some of the Toronto-based company’s users made credit-card transactions from computers attached to the Department of National Defense and the House of Commons.

   It reported that one Member of Parliament was registered by name and hundreds associated with the Canadian Armed Forces, other departments and agencies, including justice, public works, the Canada Revenue Agency and the Mounties.

   The website’s slogan is “Life is short. Have an affair” and is marketed to facilitate extramarital affairs.

   Avid Life Media, the parent company of AshleyMadison.com, is facing a Canadian class action lawsuit for a breach of sensitive user information.

   The suit, launched by an Ottawa widower alleges, the privacy of thousands of Canadians was compromised with the leak of personal information.

   Hackers released the full names, street addresses and partial credit card numbers of 1.2 million customers who had paid for the dating service.

   The news media so far in Canada has not been publishing any of the names.

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Harper insists he wasn't aware of payment for suspended Sen. Mike Duffy's challenged expenses

   Canada column for Sunday, Aug. 16/15

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Stephen Harper continues to insist that he was unaware of any arrangements to have suspended Sen. Mike Duffy’s contested expense claims paid.

   Duffy, a former national TV news commentator, is on trial on 31 counts of breach of trust, fraud and bribery.

   Senior officials in Harper’s prime minister’s office were said to be among those who knew in 2013 that Duffy didn’t pay back the $90,000 in disputed housing and travel expense claims.

   Nigel Wright, who was then the prime minister’s chief of staff, wrote a personal check to repay the money for Duffy, who had been appointed to the Senate by Harper.

   The payment was described as a “deliberately deceptive scheme” concocted by the prime minister’s office to quell a political scandal, Duffy’s attorney Don Bayne said.

   Emails showed that Harper was briefed as his staff attempted to manage the scandal.

   On the campaign for the Oct. 19 federal election, Harper said the information he received was that Duffy was going to repay the money and would “explain his own story.”

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