Emigration from Canada to USA hits 10-year high

It's not just Jordan Peterson and Gad Saad; emigration from Canada is at a 10-year high, with over 100,000 a year leaving for the USA.

Emigration from Canada to the U.S. hits a 10-year high as tens of thousands head south | CBC News | John Paul Tasker:

May 30, 2024 - "Tens of thousands of Canadians are emigrating from Canada to the United States and the number of people packing up and moving south has hit a level not seen in 10 years or more, according to data compiled by CBC News. There's nothing new about Canadians moving south of the 49th parallel for love, work or warmer weather, but the latest figures from the American Community Survey (ACS) suggest it's now happening at a much higher rate than the historical average.

"The ACS, which is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, says the number of people moving from Canada to the U.S. hit 126,340 in 2022. That's an increase of nearly 70 per cent over the 75,752 people who made the move in 2012. 

"Of the 126,340 who emigrated from Canada to the U.S. that year, 53,311 were born in Canada, 42,595 were Americans who left here for their native land, and 30,434 were foreign-born immigrants to Canada who decided to move to the U.S. instead. That Canadian-born figure is notably higher now than it has been in the past. It's up roughly 50 per cent over the average number of Canadians born in Canada who left for the U.S. in the pre-COVID period....

"United Nations data compiled by Statistics Canada and shared with CBC News shows the U.S. is by far the most common destination for Canadian emigrants. There were about 800,000 Canadians living in the U.S. as of 2020, eight times more than the 100,000 who live in the U.K., according to the latest UN figures.

"A number of Facebook groups have popped up to help Canadians make the move. Recent arrivals use them to share tips on how to secure a visa or green card, where to live and what to do about health insurance. One group called 'Canadians Moving to Florida & USA' has more than 55,000 members and is adding dozens of new members every week.

"The real estate agents and immigration lawyers who help Canadians make the move say the surge is being driven partly by a desire for a more affordable life. But there are also people who say they have lost faith in Canada under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership.... 

"While the U.S., like Canada, has grappled with inflation, the cost of living can be cheaper in some states. The average U.S. home price is lower than it is here — $580,700 Cdn in the U.S., compared to $703,500 in Canada. That's 20 per cent lower after adjusting for exchange rates. The price gap is even more stark in some states....

"The tax burden is less onerous in many states. There's no state income tax in Florida. In Arizona, a popular destination for western Canadian emigrants, there's a flat state tax rate of 2.5 per cent. Some daily staples are also a lot more affordable south of the border, with lower so-called 'sin' taxes on alcohol and tobacco in some states."

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadians-moving-to-the-us-hits-10-year-high-1.7218479

Skilled newcomers are leaving Canada in record numbers: report | Canada Tonight | CBC News |  November 19, 2024:

Rand Paul opposes using military for deportations

Senator Rand Paul is strongly opposed to using the U.S. military to enforce deportation measures.

Sen. Paul to Newsmax: Military Should Not Be Used for Deportations | Newsmax | Jim Thomas:

November 19, 2024 - "Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has voiced strong opposition to using the U.S. military to enforce deportation measures, emphasizing that immigration enforcement should remain the responsibility of domestic law enforcement agencies on Newsmax Tuesday. Paul, a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, criticized the idea of deploying the military to enforce immigration policies, calling it a 'terrible image' for the United States.

"In an interview on Rob Schmitt Tonight, Paul addressed reports that President-elect Donald Trump or his spokesman suggested declaring an emergency to involve the military in deportation efforts.... 'I'm not in favor of sending the Army in uniforms into our cities to collect people, Paul said. 'That's not what we use our military for; we never have. And it's actually been illegal for over 100 years to bring the Army into our cities.'

"Paul underscored that the military's purpose is distinct from domestic law enforcement. 'Our Army and our military are trained to shoot the enemy. They're not trained to get a warrant to do what they're doing,' he said, adding that 'the police have a difficult job, but the people removing people from our country need to be a police enforcement domestic agency, not the military'....

"The senator advocated for prioritizing the deportation of undocumented individuals who have committed violent crimes. Citing statistics, Paul noted that the U.S. is harboring approximately 15,000 individuals who have committed murder and 13,000 who have committed violent sexual crimes.... 

"Paul further criticized the broader use of presidential emergencies, describing them as undermining congressional authority and checks and balances. 'They smack of martial rule. They smack of no congressional approval,' he warned.

"While supporting strong immigration enforcement, Paul urged caution in implementing extreme measures. 'The American people will be behind him 100% if he goes immediately after the people that have committed crimes,' he said, advocating ... focusing first on individuals who pose clear risks to public safety. 

He also expressed reservations about targeting long-term undocumented residents who have integrated into American society. 'The housekeeper who's been here 30 years — I don't see the military putting her in handcuffs and marching her down the street to an encampment,' Paul said. Instead, he proposed expanding work permits for certain individuals while denying them voting rights.

"Paul concluded by advising conservatives to temper their support for drastic actions involving the military. 'We, as conservatives who are supportive of Trump, need to caution him about sending the army into our cities,' he said. 'It's a terrible image to send the world, and it's a terrible image for us as citizens.'"

Read more: https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/rand-paul-deportation-donald-trump/2024/11/19/id/1188730/

Rand Paul explains where Trump should 'think twice' on deportation operation | Rob Schmitt Tonight | Newsmax | November 19, 2024:

Trudeau gov't, premiers quarrel over relocating asylum-seekers

Some Canadian premiers are rejecting Trudeau government plans to send more asylum-seekers to their provinces, but immigration minister Marc Miller promises to use any available "levers" to ensure co-operation. 

Liberal gov. threatens uncooperative provinces with forced asylum seeker relocation plan | True North | Clayton DeMaine:

September 12, 2024 - "Immigration Minister Marc Miller threatened to use any available 'levers' against provinces that don’t comply with a proposed plan to relocate asylum seekers originally destined for Quebec and Ontario to provinces with a lower ratio of refugee claimants to its population. According to a Liberal government briefing document obtained by True North, the proposed plan would have provinces take in a 'proportionate share' of the asylum claimant population. It outlines a quota for each province to accept based on a proportion of each province’s current population.... Quebec and Ontario are currently the most popular destinations for asylum seekers to Canada.... 

"According to the document using Statistics Canada reports from June 30, 2024, 453,302 individuals are seeking or have been granted asylum in Canada. The briefing said 235,825 asylum claims are currently open where a decision has not been rendered. If each were accepted, the plan would have Ontario take in 91,972 asylum seekers, ... down from the 105,926 they would take in otherwise.... Quebec would take in ... 51,882 new potential asylum seekers, down from 99,726 ... a reduction of 47,671 new asylum seekers.... This week, the Bloc Quebecois positioned itself to form a coalition with the Liberal government keeping them in power. One of its demands is that the government reduce immigration to Quebec.

"British Columbia could take in 32,544 new asylum seekers if their claims were accepted. Before the plan, B.C. was positioned to take 11,421 new refugee claimants to the province.... Premier Blaine Higgs of New Brunswick fought back against the government’s plan, which outlined an increase of more than ten times the number of claims the province currently has. Instead of 384 refugee claims, the province would take in 4,568 new asylum seekers if their claims were accepted....

"As reported by the National Post, Miller told reporters on Wednesday that the government would use its levers against uncooperative provinces. 'There’s only so far the federal government can actually be nice and say "please, please,"' Miller said. 'We also have levers that we need to pull and push.'
Read more: https://tnc.news/2024/09/12/liberal-gov-threatens-forced-asylumseeker-relocation/

Asylum seeker claims in Canada reach record high | Global News | July 23, 2024:

Provincial leaders shut doors on Ottawa’s plan to relocate asylum seekers | True North | Isaac Lamoreuz:

September 13, 2024 - "The first premier to strike down the idea was New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs. 'Yesterday, provincial officials were invited to a conference call in which it was shared by federal officials in Ottawa that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government is considering a plan to send 4,600 asylum seekers to New Brunswick without providing any financial assistance,' said Higgs. 'We are calling on the Liberal government to drop this plan'.... According to a Liberal government briefing document obtained by True North, there are 235,825 asylum claimants where a decision has yet to be rendered. If each claim was accepted under the proposed redistribution, asylum claimants in New Brunswick would rise from 384 to 4,568, an increase of nearly 12-fold. 

"An even bigger increase would be seen in Nova Scotia, whose asylum claimants would increase from 397 to 5,734, a more than 14-fold increase. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston followed by saying that the province does not have the capacity to absorb thousands of asylum seekers. 'Nova Scotians are caring, compassionate people, but we will not be taken advantage of by the federal government,” said Houston. “We cannot let the failure of federal policies derail our plan, and we have communicated to Trudeau’s cabinet that any attempt to ship asylum seekers to Nova Scotia will be challenged.' 

"Alberta Premier Danielle Smith did not mince words in her own statement on the matter. 'Section 95 of the constitution is clear – immigration is an area of shared authority between the federal government and the provinces. Yet, the Trudeau Government’s unrestrained open border policies permitting well over a million newcomers each year into Canada is causing significant challenges, and it’s simply not sustainable,' said Smith. She added that while Alberta represents 11.8% of Canada’s population, it currently supports around 22% of Ukrainian evacuees.... 'We are informing the Government of Canada that until further notice, Alberta is not open to having these additional asylum seekers settled in our province. We simply cannot afford it,' said Smith....

"Conservative Party of BC Leader John Rustad chimed in and expressed his dismay with Trudeau’s proposal. 'We are a welcoming province, but Trudeau’s failure to provide the necessary resources is a betrayal of both the newcomers and the communities already struggling to make ends meet,' said Rustad. 'The federal government needs to step up, provide the support necessary, and address the backlog of asylum claims that their failed policies have created.'"
Read more: https://tnc.news/2024/09/13/provincial-leaders-shut-doors-asylum-seekers/

No plan to give illegals path to citizenship: Miller

Canada's immigration minister says that the Trudeau government has no plans to give permanent residency to illegal immigrants in general, but is exploring doing so in certain key sectors of the economy.  

Immigration Minister says Ottawa will not be granting residency status to illegal immigrants | True North | Quinn Patrick: 

August 3, 2024 - "Immigration Minister Marc Miller confirmed that the government has no plans to give residential status to illegal immigrants in Canada. The Trudeau government had initially planned to 'explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities' in 2021 but are now acknowledging that it’s not a desire for most citizens. 

“'As frustrating as that is to hear for people that are in a precarious position of being undocumented in Canada and are contributing to the economy — and perhaps kids that are Canadian — I think we have to be quite clear with Canadians and quite realistic about what’s achievable,' Miller told CBC News.... 'Canadians are not there and that’s just reality'.... The Immigration Department estimates that there are approximately 300,000 to 600,000 illegal immigrants currently residing in Canada.

"Immigration lawyer Sergo Karas said that the government must first get a handle on how many undocumented migrants are in Canada before it can begin discussing issuing statuses. 

The government has no idea how many undocumented migrants are in Canada, so the discussion about granting them status outside the regular immigration process is premature.... Many of the people illegally in Canada are failed refugee claimants who have gone underground,  overstaying visitors, and foreign students whose permits came to an end and were unable to apply for permanent residency.

"Karas agreed with the government’s latest stance, saying that granting them amnesty would be an 'affront to the millions of immigrants who followed the law and paid their dues.... It is also an invitation to others to flaunt deportation and removal orders to bide their time and wait for the next amnesty. It is bad policy,' he said. 

"Ottawa pledged to reduce the number of temporary residents from its current share of 6.2% of the population to 5% by 2027. 'I think we have to be quite practical and realistic about whether we can achieve that in a way that demonstrates to Canadians that we’re capable of doing that in the next year,' said Miller....

"Miller said that he was still 'actively considering' making status exemptions for migrants working in sectors like healthcare and construction, which are facing desperate labour shortages. However, Karas said reviewing illegal immigrants for certain sectors would ... lead to a further expansion of Canada’s immigration bureaucracy and divert resources from other 'worthy immigration programs.' He said that the 'cost would be staggering' considering the 'Liberals already expanded' the program 'by 42% since the pandemic.'

"Karas also noted that granting residency to certain sectors may open the door for those looking to exploit such exceptions.... 'It will open Pandora’s Box for unscrupulous individuals to “create jobs” for their friends and relatives and will spur a cottage industry where people will be willing to pay for employer confirmation letters and the like. It will become a nightmare.'”

Read more: https://tnc.news/2024/08/03/immigration-minister-not-granting-residency-status-illegal/

Why is anti-immigration sentiment on the rise in Canada? | The Guardian | August 6, 2024:

Foreign-funded serial blockader avoids deportation

Thanks to an unidentified Liberal cabinet minister, foreign-funded eco-activist and serial blockader Muhammad Zain Ul Haq aka Zain Haq avoided being deported from Canada this week. 

Trudeau government intervenes at last minute to save serial blockader from deportation | National Post | Tristin Hopper: 

April 23, 2024 - "For years, every time a port, highway, work site or rail line was blockaded by B.C. activists, there was a good chance Zain Haq was not too far away. A Pakistani national who first came to Canada in 2019 on a study permit, he’s been arrested at least 10 times [and] convicted of mischief charges, and has been pretty open about his role in leading a foreign-funded 'rebellion' against the Canadian government. And now, after a years-long effort by the Canada Border Services Agency to secure Haq’s deportation, the 23-year-old’s removal was stayed at the 11th hour, potentially due to the intervention of the Trudeau government.... 

Shaun Polczer, Western Standard, April 22, 2024.

"Haq had been scheduled for deportation by no later than Monday, April 22 — and a last-minute appeal had already been rejected by a federal judge. But on Friday, Haq received a cryptic call from the office of .. the Liberal MP for his riding ... telling him to stay by his phone. He was soon contacted by a CBSA case officer telling him he could stay in the country. 

"Haq’s lawyer, Randall Cohn, told Glacier [Media] that he suspected someone in the federal cabinet was 'listening and paying attention to the timing and decided to step in.'

"Haq wasn’t facing deportation because of his arrests or conviction.... Rather it was due to violations of his study permit. Haq was away from class for long periods, and at one point was put on academic probation by Simon Fraser University.

"Over the last five years, Haq has been at the centre of two of the province’s most extreme environmental groups: Extinction Rebellion and Save Old Growth, of which he’s a co-founder. Between them, the groups have been the singular cause of activist-led disruptions throughout the Lower Mainland through their chosen tactics of blockading roads, bridges and other infrastructure. They also both carry demands that cannot feasibly be met. Extinction Rebellion demands the immediate abandonment of all fossil fuels. Save Old Growth demands the immediate suspension of all old-growth logging.... The 'no old growth' demand, in particular, has been denounced by B.C. First Nations who say it ignores Indigenous land-use rights....

"A mischief case brought against him in 2023 detailed Haq’s central role in extended closures of bridges, intersections and — in October 2021 — a two-hour blockade of Vancouver International Airport. In July of that year, court documents said that Haq helped organize a road closure that 'interfered with emergency vehicles trying to access St. Paul’s Hospital.' 'Mr. Haq has shown disdain for the rule of law and he has publicly encouraged others to break the law while publicly celebrating his arrest,' read a 2023 decision convicting Haq of mischief. Although prosecutors sought a 60-day jail sentence, Haq was instead given 61 days of house arrest....

"Haq has routinely acknowledged he was breaking Canadian law and threatened to continue doing it until his demands were met. 'Every single day we will be disrupting the highways in multiple locations, both on the Island and in Vancouver,' he warned British Columbians at the start of the 2022 summer travel season.... In a 2020 Extinction Rebellion statement, he was quoted as saying 'occupying private and public spaces is an essential step towards truly understanding what a democracy looks like.' He added, 'it is impossible to frighten people who have declared a non-violent rebellion against the government.'

"He’s even admitted that his actions were foreign funded. In a 2022 New York Times interview, he said he’d received $170,000 from the California-based Climate Emergency Fund....

"Haq’s wife ... has applied to sponsor Haq for permanent residency, the CBC reported. However, it remains unclear how long he may be able to stay in Canada."

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/first-reading-trudeau-government-intervenes-at-last-minute-to-save-serial-blockader-from-deportation

Zain Haq speaks before being sentenced to prison | The Georgia Straight | February 18, 2022: 

NY AG wages lawfare against anti-immigration site

New York Attorney General Letitia James is using the same lawfare tactics she has used against Donald Trump to shut down anti-immigration website VDARE.

Letitia James’s Offensive Against VDARE is Harrowing for Free Speech | The American Conservative | | Christopher Brunet:

April 3, 2024 - "After spending several years hauling the former President Donald Trump through court in an attempt to puncture his bottom line, New York’s Attorney General Letitia James is now employing the same lawfare tactics against VDARE, an anti-immigration website. This appears to be a war, not of laws, but of ideology, where the stakes are nothing less than the foundational principles of free speech and dissent.

Watch video on X.

“'I launched VDARE.com on Christmas Eve 1999,' wrote Peter Brimelow, VDARE’s founder and editor, on Friday. 'So it is perhaps appropriate that, on Good Friday 2024, the anniversary of Christ’s death, I must announce VDARE.com’s crucifixion by New York State’s communist Attorney General Letitia James.'

"VDARE has not been charged with any crime, yet has 'fought NYAG Letitia James, at a cost of up to $1 million, for nearly three years.' An onslaught of onerous subpoenas marks not a quest for justice but an orchestrated attempt to financially and morally bankrupt those who dare resist the liberal creed. 

"Letitia James’s electoral platform was built on this very promise: she vowed to 'shine a bright light into every dark corner of [Donald Trump’s] real estate dealings,' just like she promised to 'take tougher legal action on organizations that engage in…online hate speech against protected classes.' Except, James cannot actually take legal action against VDARE for their 'hate speech against protected classes' because everything that VDARE writes is protected by the pesky First Amendment. So she has been digging for a reason, any reason, to bring them both down, desperately searching for anything that could be construed as a misstep.... 

"After years of aimless fishing expeditions, what James has latched onto is VDARE’s real estate dealings, just as she latched onto Trump’s real estate dealings. In 2020, the VDARE foundation bought a castle for $1.4 million in West Virginia to use as a conference space because hotels kept canceling their meetings. (Similarly, VDARE can’t get any bank to enable credit card donations.) They needed a cancel-proof event space. VDARE is hardly the first charitable organization to buy a nice conference space. The American Institute for Economic Research has its own mansion, and the Aspen Institute has its own ski resort. And who can forget Black Lives Matter buying a $6 million dollar mansion to use for parties?

"The legal case against VDARE’s castle now appears to hinge on whether or not the founders of VDARE use it as their personal dwelling. In December, President of the VDARE foundation Lydia Brimelow (Peter Brimelow’s wife) denied she lived there: 'It’s not our home. It’s our office,' she said.... 'It is not our home. We do not live here. We have a house with our family, which is not this house.' One month later, New York trial court judge Sabrina Kraus ruled that the Brimelows 'paid rent to live in the cottage [on castle grounds]...and Lydia Brimelow signed the document as both landlord and tenant.' (Per Brimelow, his family was paying independently determined rent to the VDARE Foundation, a distinct 501(c)(3) charity, in a transaction that had been carefully reviewed by VDARE’s lawyers.)...

"As part of this investigation, Letitia James is demanding that VDARE hand over 40 gigabytes of emails which 'could in fact reveal the names of [our] pseudonymous writers, as well as our donors.' VDARE’s donors and writers wish to remain anonymous because they will lose their jobs — or worse — if their identities are linked to what they support online. While the court has ostensibly extended a courtesy by permitting VDARE to redact their names from these emails, the estimated fees for such redactions are projected to come to $150,000. This presents VDARE with a stark dilemma: incur a hefty $150,000 expense to protect the anonymity of its donors and writers, or risk revealing their identities. The lesson here is that if your speech falls outside the Overton window, the state of New York will aggressively attempt to bankrupt and/or doxx you."

"In this crucial moment, when the principles of free speech are under direct threat, the silence from prominent conservative outlets is deafening. The American Conservative is not afraid to stand up for free speech, but where is Con Inc.? Crickets. Fox News, Ben Shapiro, National Review, and the MAGAverse, among others, must recognize the slippery slope they tread by allowing VDARE to face this battle alone. Today’s targeting of VDARE sets a precedent for the suppression of any form of dissent tomorrow.... The absence of solidarity today not only betrays a lack of genuine commitment to free speech but also risks validating a future where such 'lawfare' becomes a standard tactic to silence opposition, leaving no voice safe from suppression."

Read more: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/letitia-jamess-offensive-against-vdare-is-harrowing-for-free-speech/

Canada caught in population trap, say economists

What’s a population trap and how do you get out of it? | Financial Post | Denise Paglinawan:

January 23, 2024 - "Economists at the National Bank of Canada released a report recently arguing that Canada is caught in a 'population trap'. But what exactly does that mean and how does a country get out of it?... 

"The Oxford dictionary defines population trap as an economic 'situation where no increase in living standards is possible, because the population is growing so fast that all available savings are needed to maintain the existing capital-labour ratio.' In layman’s terms, this means there are so many new people, that all our investment capacity is getting used up incorporating them into the economy and getting them up to speed — there is nothing left over to actually increase the overall standard of living. 

"Stéfane Marion, one of the National Bank economists who authored the report, described a population trap as something akin to a toolbox not big enough to hold all the tools people need. 'If you invite three people into the country and you only have two hammers, the third person is lacking capital and can’t be as productive (as the other two),' he said....

"Canada’s rapidly rising population, a result of recent immigration policies, appears to be mimicking that effect of high birth rates. Immigration is good for Canada’s potential gross domestic product, said Marion, but 'all good things have their limits.'

"Canada’s population increased by more than 1.2 million people or 3.2 per cent in 2023, five times higher than the average for nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The economists said this population growth is extreme relative to the absorptive capacity of the economy, given that the workforce is not aging faster than the OECD average. This absorption challenge is most evident in Canada’s housing market, where the supply deficit reached a new record of only one housing start for every 4.2 people entering the working-age population, compared to the historical average of 1.8 ratio, they said.

"The economists say Canada lacks the infrastructure and capital stock to adequately absorb current population growth and improve the standard of living. While the housing shortage has attracted the most attention, capital stock includes components of everything from infrastructure, hospitals, schools, machinery, equipment to software. 'Given that we’re running a current account deficit in this country, the only way that we can grow our capital stock is to attract foreign capital at the same time,' said Marion.

"The economists said Canadian policymakers should set population goals against the constraint of Canada’s capital stock, which goes beyond the supply of housing. They estimate that to escape this trap, total population growth should not exceed 300,000 to 500,000 a year."

Read more: https://financialpost.com/news/economy/what-is-population-trap-how-do-you-get-out

Read National Bank report: https://nbf.bluematrix.com/sellside/EmailDocViewer?encrypt=6d202d55-71e0-4c3b-8199-04b133d6f897&mime=pdf&co=nbf&id=pheaven@postmedia.com&source=mail

What’s driving Canada’s ‘population trap’? | The Globe and Mail | January 18, 2024: 

UK man's deportation stayed due to misgendering

A UK citizen with a record of "serious criminality" has had his deportation order from Canada stayed because a government document referred to him using "they/them" pronouns.  

Federal Court judge delays deportation over gender neutral pronouns used by government | National Post | Christopher Nardi:

August 25, 2023 - "A U.K. citizen set to be deported because of “serious criminality” gets to stay in Canada for at least a bit longer because a judge, unprompted by either the Crown or the defendant, wondered if the use of gender-neutral pronouns in a single government document violated the man’s Charter rights.

Photo courtesy National Post.

"On June 6, the day before he was set to be deported from Canada, Colin James Ewen, who is male and uses he/him pronouns, was at the Federal Court attempting a last-ditch effort to have his expulsion delayed.... Ewen was first ordered to be expelled from the country by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) in October 2019 over the fact that he had been convicted of assault causing bodily harm while he still lived in the U.K.... Ewen has unsuccessfully argued that the charge should not be taken into account since it was considered 'spent' in the U.K. He was also arrested for assault by Ontario Provincial Police in March 2022.

"As Bell began the June 6 hearing, he warned Ewen and Joyal that he wanted to bring up an issue that 'will come as a bit of a surprise' as it had not been raised by either the government or Ewen, who was self-represented, according to a transcript of the hearing. The senior justice, who was appointed by Stephen Harper in 2015 and is also the chief justice of the Court Martial Appeal Court, said he noticed that in a document filed the day before, the government occasionally used gender-neutral pronouns 'they/them' alongside male 'he/him' pronouns.

“'One of my questions is this: is gender identification a protected right under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,' Bell asked [prosecutor Nathan] Joyal. 'If one reads the social science literature on this whole issue of gender identity, some authors go so far as to call this, this misnaming of identity as being a violence committed towards somebody, which is quite shocking to me, but that’s what some of the social scientists say,' the judge later added.

"Joyal quickly responded that he did not believe there was a violation of Ewen’s rights because 'it is a gender neutral term, the use of it would thereby not violate the applicant’s gender identification in the circumstances. I don’t believe that this is a live issue in this matter, respectfully,' he added.

"Bell then turned to Ewen to ask him how he felt about the occasional use of 'they/them' in the document. Ewen first complained that it was 'a little bit confusing' to read and that 'it’s not very direct.' It was only when Bell asked if he felt it affected his dignity that Ewen responded, 'kind of, yes.' That’s when Bell announced he would adjourn the hearing and request that both Ewen and the government provide their arguments as to if they believed the use of gender neutral pronouns had violated his Charter rights. He also stayed Ewen’s deportation scheduled for the next day, meaning he would be allowed to stay in Canada until the new Charter question was resolved....

"Shortly after Bell suspended Ewen’s deportation, government lawyers appealed the judge’s order and asked the Federal Court of Appeal to set it aside or declare the 'new constitutional issue' he raised to be irrelevant. The appeal argues the Federal Court 'exceeded its jurisdiction by raising a new Charter issue' that 'does not arise from, and is unrelated to, the matters which were under review' and that 'has no factual foundation' in the case. According to the appeal, the fact that the order made Ewen miss his scheduled flight out of Canada meant that the government will likely have to restart the removal process.... 

"On June 29, the Federal Court of Appeal agreed to expedite the case.... 'The Federal Court has taken an immigration matter that in the public interest requires a prompt hearing and determination, and has transformed it into a section 15 Charter matter unrelated to any immigration issues whatsoever,' reads the order by Federal Court of Appeal judge David Stratas. 'And for good measure, through its June 6, 2023 interim stay order, the Federal Court has prevented the immigration matter from continuing,' Stratas add[ed].... The Federal Court of Appeal case is scheduled to be heard in mid-September."

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/federal-court-judge-deportation

'Mass exodus' from Hong Kong since 2020

Hong Kong exodus | CBC News - Bernice Chan & Winston Szeto:

June 30, 2022 - "The Hong Kong government’s increasing hard line and China’s growing control over the region has coincided with more than 100,000 people leaving the region in the past two years, mostly to the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore and Canada..... Hong Kong has changed so much — with Beijing increasing its control over the city’s political and legal system and gutting its civil society and media landscape — that people like ... Arial Wong ... have sought new lives elsewhere. 

"Wong was ... active in the 2019 protests, which were sparked by an extradition bill that Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam proposed in the spring of that year.... In the ensuing months, the authorities arrested more than 10,000 people related to the protests, more than 2,900 of whom were prosecuted, according to figures released up to February 2022.... 'I formed groups to support the persecuted political prisoners that were sent to jail … I just helped them out with the legal aid and living expenses,' she says, noting she regularly visited people in jail. However, in recent months the Hong Kong government has charged groups like hers of aiding and abetting those related to the protests. To evade prosecution, Wong fled to Vancouver in January....

"By late January 2020 the protests were abruptly halted in two ways: the COVID-19 pandemic gave the Hong Kong government an opportunity to impose strict social-distancing measures, and six months later Beijing passed the national security law on Hong Kong, bypassing the city’s legislature. It is a vaguely worded law where anyone anywhere in the world can be charged with endangering China’s national security if the authorities deem someone has colluded with foreign forces, committed sedition, secession or terrorism.... When the national security law came into effect in 2020, Jeff Nankivell was the Canadian consul general of Hong Kong and Macau..... 'It [the national security law] became effective within minutes of having been promulgated. And the next day, already 10 people were arrested,' he said, adding that no one in Hong Kong knew the details of it, not even Lam, the city’s leader....

"A few months after the national security law was enacted, Nankivell says, Canada announced an extraordinary immigration measure: it allowed graduates from any worldwide recognized post-secondary institution in the past five years to apply for work permits that could lead to permanent residency. Many who have arrived though the new stream are young families concerned about the government overhauling the education system in Hong Kong.... Not only students are leaving Hong Kong, but teachers are too — 4,460 students and 987 teachers left the education system in the 2020-21 academic year, according to a survey released by the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools. That’s nearly double the number of teachers who left in previous years, the survey notes, with a 'seven-fold increase' in emigration."

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/hong-kong-handover

Hong Kong lost residents in 2020 and 2021, but this year is expected to far surpass both years in terms of the numbers of people leaving for good | CNBC - Monica Buchanan Pitrelli:

May 27, 2022 - "For the past 60 years, Hong Kong’s population has grown nearly every year, from some 3.2 million people in 1961 to 7.5 million in 2019, according to Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department. From 2015 to 2019, the city gained an average of 53,000 new residents per year. Yet that is roughly the same number of people who departed Hong Kong during the first two weeks of March alone, according to the city’s Immigration Department. Hong Kong lost some 93,000 residents in 2020, followed by another 23,000 in 2021. But early estimates show this year will see far more people go.    

“''In the last couple of years people have thought about leaving, but in the last six months there’s been an absolute mass exodus,” said Pei C., who has lived in Hong Kong for 17 years. She asked to be identified with her last initial because of sensitivities surrounding the topic in Hong Kong. The trigger, she said — one echoed by numerous people who spoke to CNBC for this story — was the highly-publicized policy that separated Covid-positive children from their parents earlier this year.... Pei estimates that 60-70% of her friends have left in the past six to 12 months.... 'Everyone’s going to Singapore,' said Pei, especially those working in finance, law and recruitment, she said. 

"Kay Kutt, CEO of the Hong-Kong based relocation company Silk Relo, agreed.... Families are transferring to Singapore, she said, but small- and medium-sized businesses are also on the move. Whereas one company executive might have left in the past, now 'they’re all going,' she said. Small companies are 'taking the entire team and putting them into Singapore.' Large companies are also relocating to Singapore, said Cynthia Ang, an executive director at the recruitment firm Kerry Consulting. Other companies are staying in Hong Kong, but downsizing their offices, and moving regional headquarters to Singapore, said Ang....

"Others have moved to the United Kingdom and Canada.... During the pandemic, both countries launched visa programs granting eligible Hong Kong residents the right to reside within their jurisdictions. Immigration from Hong Kong to Canada is 'booming,' according to the Canadian immigration website.... Yet even more are relocating to the United Kingdom, with more than 100,000 applying to move as of March....  Silk Relo and Asian Tigers are also seeing an 'uptick' in moves from Hong Kong to Japan, South Korea and Thailand.... Dubai is also absorbing talent from Hong Kong, said Kerry Consulting’s Ang. She said that is especially true for American and European employers that already have a presence there."

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/27/people-are-leaving-hong-kong-and-here-is-where-they-are-going.html 

Libertarians want to keep the borders open

Libertarian Presidential Candidates Champion 'Open Borders' | Reason.com - Matt Welch:

February 26, 2020 - "Donald Trump, the most anti-immigrant president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, is running against a Democratic presidential field that almost unanimously favors providing government-run health insurance to illegal immigrants. Surely there is some middle ground....

"The Libertarian Party, still the country's number-three political grouping (however distantly), has a platform very copacetic toward immigrants.... 'Libertarians believe that people should be able to travel freely as long as they are peaceful,' the party's immigration plank reads. 'A truly free market requires the free movement of people, not just products and ideas.... Of course, if someone has a record of violence, credible plans for violence, or acts violently, then Libertarians support blocking their entry, deporting, and/or prosecuting and imprisoning them'....

"To a notable degree, the L.P.'s top 2020 presidential candidates are hewing to the party's radical-for-American-politics immigration platform. 'One of the proudest positions that we have in this party is our open-border plank,' Future of Freedom Foundation founder Jacob Hornberger, who won the party's non-binding presidential caucuses in Iowa and Minnesota this month, said during a California debate that I moderated Feb. 16.... Adam Kokesh, whose big campaign idea is signing an executive order on day one that dissolves the federal government, posited that 'Government borders are not legitimate,' and that 'only private property borders' deserve respect....

"Vermin Supreme, who won the party's only other early-state contest so far (New Hampshire), quipped that 'You cannot outlaw people. If you outlaw people, only people will be outlaws.' Mark Whitney, an ex-convict comedy enthusiast who founded THELAWNET, said of undocumented immigrants, 'I not only want them to be citizens, I want them working on my campaign'....

"Jo Jorgensen complained that, 'Right now, we've got a system in which we keep everybody out, except we just let a few people in. What we need to do is flip it'.... And ... Lincoln Chafee stressed the political expediency of it all: 'I see this as a political advantage that with our open-border policy and libertarian views on immigration, especially the fastest-growing voting bloc in the United States, the Hispanics, are going to have the opportunity in 2020 to look at our platform and come to our side'....

"At the Massachusetts state Libertarian convention last July, months before he jumped into the race, Hornberger gave a fire-and-brimstone defense of open immigration as essential to a free society.... Part of what makes Hornberger's immigration message saleable to Libertarians is that he couples it with obliterating, not expanding, the welfare state.

"'We live in a society that is based on massive mandatory charity,' he said in Massachusetts. 'With the crown jewels of this system being Social Security and Medicare, along with a host of others. There is no way to reconcile a genuinely free society with mandatory charity. No way at all. Because people have a natural, God-given right to keep everything they earn, and decide for themselves what to do with it'....

"The L.P. presidential race, which will be settled at the national convention in Austin, Texas, May 21-25, has so far been a battle to see who can best represent the libertarian wing of the Libertarian Party. As such it is striking, in this moment of major-party polarization and deep immigration-policy divides, to see a principled Libertarian immigration message emerging: Mr. Trump, tear down this wall."

Read more: https://reason.com/2020/02/26/libertarian-presidential-candidates-champion-open-borders/

Max Abramson wants to ban sanctuary cities

NH rep. wants to ban sanctuary cities. He put question on WHS school ballot. | fosters.com - Max Sullivan:

February 13, 2020 - "A Seabrook state representative is bringing the debate over sanctuary cities to the local polls this March with a petition on the Winnacunnet Cooperative School District ballot. The non-binding citizen petition put forth by Libertarian state Rep. Max Abramson asks voters to agree that 'no school district nor town official shall establish "Sanctuary Cities" policies that prevent immigration laws from being enforced.' It seeks to see that police officers be permitted to enforce federal immigration laws and comply with detainer requests.

"The petition required 25 signatures to be placed on the ballot, which will go before voters March 10 in Hampton, Seabrook, North Hampton and Hampton Falls. Abramson has drawn criticism from opponents of the petition who said they wished the article could be removed from the ballot for being out of place.

"Abramson co-sponsored a bill that was killed in the Legislature last year seeking to ban sanctuary cities in New Hampshire. He said he chose to poll local voters with an intentionally non-binding article on the school ballot because it would reach a wide swath of residents across four towns. 'Immigration is one of the issues that affects you more than probably any other single one policy issue,' said Abramson, who is also seeking the Libertarian nomination for president. 'I felt it was worthwhile to just open the issue up and let people talk.'

"The issue of sanctuary cities protecting undocumented immigrants from federal authorities has remained a heated debate across the nation. U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced this week there would be a 'significant escalation' from the government against sanctuary communities across the nation.

"In New Hampshire, the city of Manchester, Cheshire County and other communities have been identified as sanctuary cities by the Federation for American Immigration Reform for their policies on how law enforcement handles undocumented immigrants, according to the Union Leader....

"Hampton Police Chief Richard Sawyer said New Hampshire law gives local police chiefs ultimate authority over their department’s enforcement action.... He said from his interpretation of the law, New Hampshire still needs to pass legislation that even allows municipalities to become sanctuary cities. He said New Hampshire is not a 'home rule' state and municipalities cannot enact their own laws without enabling legislation from Concord. 'I’m not aware of any legislation that would permit a designation of a sanctuary community in this state that would be enforceable,' Sawyer said."

Read more: https://www.fosters.com/news/20200213/nh-rep-wants-to-ban-sanctuary-cities-he-put-question-on-whs-school-ballot

Carlson & Graham: libertarians run Washington

The bizarre fiction of libertarians' control of Washington - Bonnie Kristian, The Week:

October 9, 2019 - "It is with great pleasure that I announce to my fellow libertarians: We have won.

"We thought ourselves the acolytes of a largely ignored vision for American governance. We saw a $22 trillion national debt ... while both major parties bailed out big business, using tax dollars to paper over the consequences of bad policy calls. We watched the rise of the post-9/11 security state — mass digital surveillance, the terror watchlist, the TSA.... We wondered if these numerous and apparently permanent wars, with their deplorable carelessness about civilian casualties, war crimes, and due process, would ever end. We objected to the brutality and militarization of American law enforcement.... We talked about abolishing the Federal Reserve, ending the drug war, eliminating entire federal departments, and more, all with relatively little reason to believe our goals would ever be realized on any mass scale....

"But we were wrong! We didn't realize it, but we controlled Washington this whole time. This is big news for us, and I think we owe Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) a huge thanks for letting us know.

"Carlson was the first to give us an inkling of our true power. 'The leadership class is resolutely libertarian,' he revealed in early June, bemoaning Washington's plentiful 'libertarian zealot[s] controlled by the banks, yammering on about entrepreneurship and how we need to cut entitlements.' Later that month, he indicated this dynamic exists because the Koch brothers are 'libertarian ideologues, passionate and inflexible' who 'run the Republican Party,' dictating the GOP platform on key issues including immigration, drug and prison policy, and free speech.

"You may find this surprising — I know I did! — as it seems to bear little resemblance to the actual state of Republican policymaking in 2019. On immigration, for example, the bulk of the GOP has followed Trump into calls for strict border security and limited refugee and immigrant admissions ... but the Koch brothers' perspective Carlson decries includes support for DACA and liberalized immigration policy more generally.... Carlson correctly noted Koch support for the First Step Act, but libertarians like yours truly deemed it a limited achievement. Is backing it anyway what it means to be ideologically 'inflexible'?.... And as for free speech, we do tend to be passionate about the First Amendment.... Rising GOP stars like Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), by contrast, back proposals that would, as National Review's David French put it, 'invite an enormous amount of bureaucratic meddling online'....

"Even more surprising for me was Graham's disclosure this week that we libertarians also control America's foreign policy. 'The Obama-libertarian foreign policy does not make America safe,' the hawkish senator tweeted Monday in response to Trump's reshuffling of U.S. troops in Syria. 'If ignoring radical Islam made America safe, there would NOT have been a 9/11.'

"I never would have guessed libertarians dictated U.S. foreign affairs not only from 2008 to 2016 but also in the run-up to 9/11. I thought we were very angry about American foreign policy in those years, always complaining about the blowback, the drone strikes, the unconstitutional executive war-making, the attacks on innocent civilians, the costly and incompetent nation-building efforts, and so on. I thought we were always raising objections to former President Barack Obama's foreign policy on pretty much every possible basis.... Little did we know we were Obama's puppet masters all along!...

"I jest, obviously, but only because it is enormously bizarre to find oneself attacked in wildly inaccurate effigy. The most plausible explanation I can muster for this fiction of libertarian power is that libertarianism is in broad strokes the opposite of the Trumpian GOP's ... current mood of state-enforced social conservatism and what Carlson has dubbed 'economic patriotism,' which we would call protectionism, corporatism, and rank profligacy....

"Libertarians may sometimes punch above our weight in national debate, but when it comes to effectively wielding power in Washington, we're weaklings. I wish Carlson and Graham were right about us running the country. The reality is they're wrong."

Read more: https://theweek.com/articles/870276/bizarre-fiction-libertarians-control-washington
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MD man jailed 82 days for possession of honey

A Man Spent 82 Days in Jail on Meth Charges. The Meth Was Actually Honey. – Reason.com - Billy Binion:

August 27, 2019 - "Leon Haughton, a legal green card holder from Jamaica who has lived in Maryland for almost 10 years, arrived at Baltimore-Washington International Airport on December 29 following his yearly pilgrimage back home. U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained him. For what, he wasn't sure.

"Maryland Transportation Authority Police then arrested him, telling him that the bottles in his bag labeled 'honey' had tested positive for methamphetamine. A police dog sniffed Haughton's bag raising suspicion that he had drugs, and a field test at the airport yielded positive results for meth. He spent the next 82 days in jail.

"Except the bottles really were full of honey. Maryland State Police lab test results confirmed that on January 17, and prosecutors dropped three felony drug counts six days later.

"Yet he stayed in jail. The state was still pursuing a misdemeanor possession charge, the lab results notwithstanding, because Maryland's lab is not fully equipped to test liquids. On January 24, Haughton and his lawyer sought his immediate release on bail. It was denied. Citing the K-9 hit and the positive field test, prosecutors maintained the lesser charge while law enforcement sent the bottles to a Homeland Security lab in Georgia for more testing.

"Normally, Haughton would've been released on his own recognizance since the charges levied against him had been whittled down to one misdemeanor. But the original felony counts triggered an active Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer — so if the state released him, the feds could arrest and deport him. Haughton's legal saga took place in the midst of the winter's lengthy government shutdown, meaning that no one could get in touch with the agency to have the detainer lifted....

"Haughton would not go home until March 21, when the new lab results came in and the state finally dropped the remaining charge.... During the ordeal, Haughton lost both of his jobs, one as a cleaner and the other as a construction worker."

Read more: https://reason.com/2019/08/27/the-meth-was-actually-honey/
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People's Party holds 1st national conference

Bernier tries to walk line between libertarianism and identity politics at People’s Party’s first national convention | Toronto Star - Alex Boutilier:

August 18, 2019 - "Sunday afternoon, ... at the PPC’s first national convention ... Benjamin Dichter — a former Conservative candidate in Toronto-Danforth and co-founder of LGBTory — was warning the crowd about 'political Islam' and how it has infiltrated both Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party and Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives....

"Dichter, who stood at Bernier’s side in a closing news conference, declined to say what he meant by 'political Islam,' and instead recommended a book. Bernier also declined to explain what he thinks 'political Islam' signifies. When asked if he subscribes to Dichter’s position, Bernier dodged the question.... 'It’s important to have that discussion [about “political Islam”] in Canada,' Bernier told reporters.... '["Political Islam"] can be a threat, yes, and we have to have that discussion'....

"A year after his dramatic split from the Conservative party and the formation of the PPC, Bernier still insists his fledgling political movement is all about individual liberty and personal responsibility. But somehow, the conversation around the PPC keeps going back to other topics, such as drastic cuts to immigration and doing away with Canada’s official multiculturalism.

"The party said 500 people — candidates and party volunteers — attended the three-day conference at a hotel near the Casino du Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, just a short drive away from Parliament Hill.... The conference was largely closed to the public — party volunteers and candidates only....

"Bernier has ... lost organizers in Vancouver and practically an entire electoral district association in Winnipeg over concerns his libertarian project was being hijacked by far-right voices. The Star has previously reported that far-right personalities have recommended their followers join the PPC to find a more mainstream avenue to promote their fringe beliefs.

"Bernier told conference attendees that the PPC would campaign on their founding values: the principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility, fairness and respect ... — suggesting it’s a central message the party hopes to tell Canadians in the upcoming election campaign.

"But culture and identity are at the very top of the PPC’s platform. Bernier has pledged to end Canada’s official multiculturalism policy, cut annual immigration levels by more than half, and promote “Canadian values” and freedom of speech. In his speech to the crowd, Bernier tied his project to the 'growing populist option that is quickly taking its place in almost every western democracy'....

"The PPC has polled between 0 and 5 per cent according to CBC’s compilation of public polling over the last month. Bernier’s most passionate support seems to live on message boards, blogs and YouTube channels. It’s an open question how that will manifest at ballot boxes.

"Even if public polling is lowballing Bernier’s popular support, there is the further question of how concentrated that support is in individual ridings. While a party can poll at 5 per cent nationally, that doesn’t necessarily translate into enough votes to win a given riding in Canada’s first-past-the-post system."

Read more: https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2019/08/18/bernier-tries-to-walk-line-between-libertarianism-and-identity-politics-at-ppcs-first-national-convention.html

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Immigration and individualism

by George J. Dance

Immigration is one area in which libertarians have a hard time communicating meaningfully with otherwise libertarianish conservatives and centrists. One reason is that  we look at the topic from two different perspectives (or two different "paradigms" as Thomas Kuhn called them), a difference which, if noted at all, is not discussed.

Libertarians are methodological individualists. They look at social interactions in terms of the individual actors involved, and how their actions harm or benefit other individuals. They would look at why a person comes to this country - to make a better life for himself and his family - which means to work and profit from it. They ask if his coming here and working betters or worsens other individuals' lives.

If an immigrant does and achieves what he wants - if he contributes and earns a good living - then he is purely a benefit. Maybe he gets a job that a native-born Canadian could have held, but he does not stop the latter from working. Maybe the immigrant collects too much tax money, which counts as a harm to some taxpayers, but that makes him no different from the Canadian-born guy - that is how the Canadian tax system is designed, to subsidize some at the expense of others - and if we tolerate the one being subsidized, we  should tolerate the other.

The anti-immigration guy, on the other hand, looks at the problem collectively. He is not looking at Manuel or Mohammed coming here and working, but at "Mexicans" or "Moslems" as a group. He worries about the society's racial and cultural composition - which the libertarian, even if he understands the concern, does not see as something to be addressed by the criminal law.

But the idea of cultural composition is very hard for a libertarian to understand by itself. Libertarians do not deny (as anti-libertarian turncoat Murray Rothbard once claimed we did) that there are no group differences. Given their individualist perspective, though, they believe those differences to be insignificant, vastly overshadowed by differences among individuals within a group. The idea of groups is based on the abstract idea of "group identities," which the libertarian's observations lead him to reject: Group identities are simply averages, which say nothing about any actual group members.

When I look at immigration, I do not see an undifferentiated mass of Mexicans or Central Americans; I see Manuel and Manuel, guys whom I worked with at different companies for years. I do not see a homogeneous crowd of Moslems; I see Mohammed and Mohammed, Pakistani and Syrian-born neighbors in my apartment building. And so on: I think of these people and I ask myself: should what those men have done, and are continuing to do, be outlawed? And I have to say no.

In contrast, the anti-immigration guy sees only masses and crowds. He notices more colored faces in the city, for example, or he reads about their numbers and connects that with other numbers (like the fall in Canadian birth rates) to come up with trends that worry him. He focus is on the total social impact, which he thinks only the government has the power to do something about.

The individualist libertarian sees none of that. Like groups, social trends for him are only generalizations about what really goes on in a societry: real people trying to get on with their lives. And he believes that the latter (provided that those people are peaceful) is not something that the government should be trying to "do something" about.

Until we recognize those two different perspectives, and devise a language that reconciles them, there will be no real dialogue, no mutual understanding, and no possibility of agreement between individualist libertarians and their adversaries on this issue.

Canadian government monitoring social media

Government monitoring social media for posts critical of Trudeau’s immigration record – True North News - Andrew Lawton:

July 23, 2019 - 'Bureaucrats in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada were 'monitoring' social media posts and Reddit threads for 'misconceptions' about immigration last summer.

"Internal emails obtained exclusively by True North under Access to Information [law] reveal a team of 12 communications and social media staffers reporting and conducting 'detailed analysis' on tweets posted not only by Conservative MP Michelle Rempel and People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier, but also ordinary Canadians. The documents date to August 2018, when Bernier took aim at 'extreme multiculturalism,' sparking a national discussion....

"One of the key issues from the emails involved a Reddit thread discussing a Toronto Sun article about refugee housing at a Radisson hotel. The 'social care' team lead with IRCC said in an email that the thread 'had become bigoted in nature'.... 'The comments are unfavorable to the Prime Minister and government, and are also very un-sympathetic (sic) to those claiming asylum,' he wrote.

"In another email in the chain, a staffer says her department will 'continue to monitor' the Reddit thread, which is still online though closed for commenting by moderators in the r/Canada subreddit.... She directed one colleague to share the information with the Privy Council Office, which is the bureaucratic wing of the Prime Minister’s Office. She also assigned someone to prepare notes to brief the deputy minister, the highest ranking bureaucrat in Canada’s immigration department.

"The document also contains a two-page chart of tweets from Canadians critical of the government on immigration, labeled by whomever compiled them with descriptions such as 'Condemnation of the Trudeau government' and 'Commends (Maxime Bernier) for standing up for Canada/rails against diversity and irregular migration.' All of the tweets tagged Bernier and the department’s official Twitter handle, the report noted. It’s not known how the government is storing or using the database of tweets it’s amassing through this....

"These emails prove the public service is monitoring private citizens’ social media comments critical of the government – and sharing them with the Privy Council Office. They also show that Rempel’s and Bernier’s tweets about immigration last summer triggered enough backlash that the government needed a dozen people to work to address 'misconceptions,' suggesting they believe anyone criticizing the government’s ham-fisted approach to running immigration by virtue signalling is wrong, and in need of a dose of the state narrative."

Read more: https://tnc.news/2019/07/23/government-monitoring-social-media-for-posts-critical-of-trudeaus-immigration-record/
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Congress must limit POTUS's emergency powers, says Rand Paul

Sen. Rand Paul says it's time for Congress to rein in the President's power | News | WDRB.com:

June 14, 2019 - "Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said President Trump is acting too much like a king, and it is time for Congress to do its job of checking presidential power. Paul, a Republican who generally supports the president, pointed to Trump’s declaring a national emergency to fund a border wall.

“'You may remember me sometimes saying President Obama was abusing the separation of powers and acting too much like a king. Well, now there's a Republican doing some of the similar things,' Paul told WDRB News ... in Louisville. 'I'm for spending for some border security. I think we do have to have secure borders, but I think Congress has to appropriate the money. I don't think the president should be allowed to.'

"Paul said the separation of powers also applies to tariffs. 'I'm not a big fan of tariffs,' he said. 'I think they're hurting Kentucky. But I really am not a big fan of one person being able to decide there are tariffs.'

"Paul has co-sponsored a bill with Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon to limit the president's emergency powers. Paul said he is 'absolutely' concerned that a president’s power should be checked regardless of which party controls the White House....

"Paul was in Louisville to talk to a meeting of the Kentucky Bar Association about criminal justice reform. He was a big supporter of the First Step Act, which reduced mandatory life sentences for some non-violent drug offenses to 25 years and funded programs to help ex-felons return to society. He believes the federal and state governments should do even more. 'In Kentucky, believe it or not, you can kill somebody and be eligible for parole in 12 years,' he said. 'But you can sell drugs, and be in jail for life. I think we have to reassess.'

"But Paul said he does not want to be misunderstood as supporting drug use. 'I think drugs are a bad thing,' he said. 'I don’t want our kids on drugs. I don’t want our adults on drugs. But the thing is I also don’t want to put people in jail for it either.'

"Justice reform is an issue he pushed during his 2016 presidential campaign, and Paul is not exactly ruling out a second run in 2024. 'It’s just hard to imagine in the future, but I did it once, and it was an exciting time,' he said. 'Unless something would dramatically change, I don't see it happening again. But we'll see.'”

Read more: https://www.wdrb.com/news/sen-rand-paul-says-it-s-time-for-congress-to/article_70cb2d20-8ecf-11e9-86d6-8382b2c25328.html

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Border camp conditions dangerous, says DHS IG

DHS Watchdog Describes Crammed Detention Centers, A Ticking Time Bomb : NPR - Joel Rose & John Burnett:

July 2, 2019 - "The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General is warning about "dangerous overcrowding" in Border Patrol facilities in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. In a strongly worded report, the inspector general said the prolonged detention of migrants without proper food, hygiene or laundry facilities — some for more than a month — requires 'immediate attention and action.'

"The report comes amid growing outrage over detention conditions for migrants and follows reports that migrant children were kept in squalid conditions without enough food and basic necessities in a Border Patrol station in West Texas.

"Inspectors from DHS's Office of Inspector General in June visited Border Patrol facilities and ports of entry across the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, the busiest sector in the country for illegal border crossings. 'We are concerned that overcrowding and prolonged detention represent an immediate risk to the health and safety of DHS agents and officers, and to those detained,' they wrote.

"In its response to the report, the Department of Homeland Security says the surge of migrants crossing the Southern border has led to an 'acute and worsening crisis.' In May, according to DHS, an average of more than 4,600 people a day crossed illegally or arrived at ports of entry without the proper documents, compared to less than 700 a day in the same period two years ago....

"The latest report from the Rio Grande Valley includes photos of migrants penned into overcrowded Border Patrol facilities — including one man pressing a cardboard sign to a cell window with the word 'Help.' The inspectors quote one unnamed senior manager calling the situation a 'ticking time bomb.'

"Inspectors found that hundreds of children were held for longer than the 72 hours, the maximum time federal rules allow. In some cases, kids were held for more than two weeks. And some adults were kept in standing-room-only cells, without access to showers, for more than a week."

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2019/07/02/738179391/dhs-inspector-general-finds-dangerous-overcrowding-in-border-patrol-facilities
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Rand Paul sees return of congressional gridlock

Rand Paul on How Libertarian Philosophy Can Connect Divided Partisans | Duke Today:

November 9, 2018 - "What should we expect from Congress between January and the presidential election in 2020, now that Democrats have won back the House? Not much, according to one U.S. senator.

"'I think very little will happen,' said U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky who spoke Friday at the Sanford School. 'I think Democrats will bring forth initiatives in the House and they will die in the Senate.'

"Paul, who earned his medical degree from Duke in 1988 and has a son who’s a sophomore here, also talked about how his fellow Republicans can work more productively with Democrats.... Paul said he agrees with liberals on a number of issues, including: war ('I’m as anti-war as you can get'); relaxed criminalization for drug offenses ('There is a racial disparity in drug policy and we should do something about it'); less government eavesdropping on Americans in the name of fighting terrorism; and not allowing a U.S. citizen to be held indefinitely as an enemy combatant without a trial....

"Most of the compromising in Washington involves too much shared back-scratching: the left gets its welfare spending so the right can get its military spending, he said.  He believes the main role of government is to protect liberty.... 'I think we should really self-examine what government is.'

"Asked how he reconciles smaller government with economic disparity, Paul said, “There is no world in which there is no inequality'.... He said there’s 'more mobility than you think,' and that while not perfect, the United States’ and other nations’ embrace of capitalism has helped reduce extreme poverty from around 85 percent worldwide in the 1800s to around 9 percent of the world today.... He disagrees with Trump on immigration, which he said is an asset, especially in today’s hot economy where workers can be hard to find.

"Asked about gun control in the wake of recent mass killings ... Paul said he doesn’t believe that’s the answer since '99 percent of gun owners aren’t killing people'.... Better law enforcement work would help, especially investigating potential threats to the fullest extent, he said....

"Asked how he can be against government intrusion into private lives yet oppose a woman’s right to an abortion, Paul said it’s a question that divides Libertarians, but noted their political philosophy typically opposes aggression. 'If you think the baby is not a person, do what you want,' he said. 'If you think it’s a person then Libertarians say the government has a role to stop it.'

"The event was hosted by the Young Americans for Liberty student organization and POLIS: Duke's Center for Political Leadership, Innovation, and Service."

Read more: https://today.duke.edu/2018/11/rand-paul-how-libertarian-philosophy-can-connect-divided-partisans

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Snowden protector comes to Canada as refugee

Canada grants refugee status to some asylum-seekers who hid Edward Snowden in Hong Kong | National Post:

March 25, 2019 - "Vanessa Rodel ... a Filipino national, and her seven-year-old daughter Keana ... stepped off a 15-hour flight to Toronto Monday, granted refugee status by Canada six tense years after they themselves provided refuge to American whistleblower Edward Snowden, a contractor for a U.S. spy-agency who in 2013 became the world’s most wanted man after leaking details of U.S. mass-surveillance programs.

"Their acceptance marks the first breakthrough for a Canadian team trying to help the three asylum-seeking families who hid Snowden, and who believe they have been harassed and targeted for deportation as a result.... The others who helped Snowden — a Sri Lankan couple with two young children and another single Sri Lankan man — are still awaiting word on whether Canada will accept them as refugees....

"Supun Kellapatha, father of the two children, was hospitalized Friday due to increasingly fragile mental health; only his last-ditch court challenge now stands in the way of his being forced back to Sri Lanka.

"Montreal lawyer Marc-André Séguin, who has spearheaded the effort to bring the families to Canada, believes Ottawa is needlessly dragging its feet on the cases, and blames in part the radioactive nature of the Snowden story.

"Meanwhile, the charity the lawyers set up to aid their clients, For the Refugees, is running short of money; the organizers hope a crowd-funding campaign can replenish the coffers. The lawyers themselves have been working for free, making regular trips to Hong Kong on their own time.

"The refugees’ story first came to light in 2016 when [Toronto lawyer Rob] Tibbo revealed that three years earlier he had persuaded them to open their doors to Snowden. The former National Security Agency contract worker was able to disappear for two weeks by staying in their homes, before surfacing and taking a flight to Russia.

"Tibbo, a Montrealer who had been practising in Hong Kong for years when Snowden retained him to assist as he fled from the U.S., said he decided to expose the refugees’ role after learning the episode would be featured in a Hollywood movie. But in the wake of the news reports, Hong Kong authorities began what appeared to be a wide-ranging campaign against the migrants and their lawyer, which included suddenly reactivating their long-dormant refugee applications — then denying all of them on the same day....

"Knowing their clients could be deported at any time, the lawyers have fought to have that process expedited. But the consulate in Hong Kong has seemingly gone out of its way to avoid speeding up their cases, Séguin said, which he believes is to avoid any suggestion Ottawa is eager to assist those who helped Snowden."

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canada-grants-refugee-status-to-some-asylum-seekers-who-hid-edward-snowden-in-hong-kong
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