Post 79—Prayer for Canadian Governments

                            

In my recent posts about refugees I guess I have given kind of a negative or doubtful impression of our new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  To be honest, I actually do entertain such a picture of him. That’s not only because of the doubtful refugee programme, but also simply because he is Liberal. A major thing I have against Liberals is that they show little respect for traditional social structures and feel free to replace them or experiment with these replacements in a careless way, that is, without having any idea what the new one will look like or what its long-term effect may be. This holds especially true for family and sexual affairs.  Trudeau Sr. simply introduced multi-culturalism without any idea about its limits or whether it is even possible for a society to exist in a completely multi-cultural way. I just find them irresponsible in so many ways. Too wild. 

At the same time, I am aware that the Chretien Liberal government did a great job managing the country’s economy, something that helped the succeeding Harper Conservative government weather the 2008 economic storm better than almost all Western countries. 

In addition, coming back to our current situation, when I see pictures of reunited refugee families with great joy on their faces and other new arrivals displaying such a great sense of relief at finally being in a safe place, even if extremely cold, then I begin to feel bad about the doubts of the refugee programme I have expressed. How can anyone with a heart object to such a policy?  And when I see Prime Minister Trudeau, in informal attire with his sleeves folded up, at the airport personally embracing the new comers, then I am moved to deep compassion and appreciate his passionate display of sympathy and welcome.  There was nothing to remind me of the haughtiness and pride that characterized his father.

Nevertheless, though I feel bad about the doubts I am expressing, I am not now reversing my opinions on this score. As I have written earlier, compassion, like love, must not be blind. 

This is Sunday, the day Christians in most countries go to prayer—where they are free to do so. So, I end this short post with a prayer for our new Prime Minister and his Government as well as all other tiers of governments in the country.  

However, before presenting the prayer, I encourage you to check out the National House of Prayer in Ottawa. This is all about praying for government. Go to < www.nhop.ca >. I insert this plug at this point rather than at the end of this post, for I want to close with the prayer.                                                      

Excerpts from Psalm 72

(From the Old Testament)

God, help the king be like you and make fair decisions.
    Help the king’s son know what justice is.
² Help the king judge your people fairly.
    Help him make wise decisions for your poor people.
³ Let there be peace and justice throughout the land,
    known on every mountain and hill.
⁴ May the king be fair to the poor.
    May he help the helpless and punish those who hurt them.
⁵ May people always fear and respect you, God,
    as long as the sun shines and the moon is in the sky.
⁶ Help the king be like rain falling on the fields,
    like showers falling on the land.
⁷ Let goodness grow everywhere while he is king.
    Let peace continue as long as there is a moon.
⁸ Let his kingdom grow from sea to sea,
¹² Our king helps the poor who cry out to him—
    those in need who have no one to help them.
¹³ He feels sorry for all who are weak and poor.
    He protects their lives.
¹⁴ He saves them from the cruel people who try to hurt them.
    Their lives are important to him.
¹⁵ Long live the king!
Always pray for the king.
    Ask God to bless him every day.
¹⁶ May the fields grow plenty of grain
    and the hills be covered with crops.
May the fields be as fertile as Lebanon
¹⁷ May the king be famous forever.
    May people remember his name as long as the sun shines.
May all nations be blessed through him,
    and may they all bless him.

¹⁸ Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel!
    Only he can do such amazing things.
¹⁹ Praise his glorious name forever!
    Let his glory fill the whole world.
Amen and Amen!  

           

Post 78--Refugees: Letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

This document consists of a widely-circulated forwarded open letter to Canadian Prime Minister (PM) Justin Trudeau, Members of Parliament and Premiers about refugees. It is not the complete letter, for I have deleted a secondary issue embedded in it.  It is also not completely up to date, for it was penned before the PM extended the date for bringing in 25,000 refugees by December 31, 2015. However, the issue remains equally urgent.

November 16, 2015

To the Honourable Justin Trudeau, Members of Parliament, and Provincial Premiers:

Will We Learn Nothing From Paris?

I am a proud Canadian, and proud of our heritage of being a true global leader in Humanitarian efforts. Given the events of recent years and more importantly the recent week, however, I believe prudence requires a pause in our assistance package for Syrian refugees, and indeed all refugees and asylum seekers. I say this not in a tone of political partisanship, but one of Citizenship. Any Parliament, be it Liberal, Conservative, or NDP has as its first mandate the protection of our country and its citizens. This must take precedence over all other considerations and activities.

As a Retired Firefighter/Fire Officer of the City of Calgary, I have an experience I believe is timely and valuable. In my final assignment at the end of my career, I asked for and received a transfer to work on the Airport Crash Rescue Unit at the Calgary International Airport. A requirement for all staff working at the Airport is to undergo a police background check. In between the time the background check is initiated, and the time it is completed, an employee must be accompanied by another employee who has the appropriate screening and credentials. I can’t remember precisely how long it took for the RCMP to conduct my check, but it was several months. Bear in mind that this is for a person who was born in Calgary; completed primary, secondary and post-secondary education in Calgary/Lethbridge; had passed a security clearance to gain employment as a Calgary Firefighter, and had worked in this civic institution for 18 years at the time. I had also been vetted by the Provincial Government’s Lieutenant Governor Norman (Normie) Kwong to sit as a long-term member of the Alberta Labour Relations Board. In short, it would not be difficult to find information on me. I was also required to be finger printed as part of the process.

When the day arrived and I was notified that I had passed the security clearance, I was escorted to the terminal building by a colleague to pick up my coveted airport pass. While in the waiting room, I met and visited with what seemed to be a very nice man of Arab descent, who if memory served me right, was from Jordan. During our discussion, he indicated that his pass had only taken two weeks to get, as opposed to the months mine had taken. He left after receiving his pass, and so when my turn came I asked the RCMP Sargent why on earth it would take so long for me to acquire a clearance when this person who indicated he was a recent arrival to Canada received his in two weeks or less. The answer I received haunts me to this day.

The answer:

 “We can’t really do that much of a search on these people. They often arrive without even a passport or Birth Certificate, and unless they appear on an INTERPOL watch  list, we generally let them pass. Often the police departments from these fractured  countries are unable or unwilling to provide information or detailed data, and we simply  have to go with what we can learn. We also make sure they have no criminal record while  in Canada, which for many of  these folks is a very short period of time”…….or words to that  effect.

In the couple of years I spent at the airport, I never stopped thinking about that. These people were everywhere: loading aircraft luggage, cleaning the airport with access to virtually all areas right up to the jet ways, acting as security guards and everything in between. It was then and there that I realized that the issue of security was truly an illusion in our country. I do not say these things lightly. I represented Calgary and its 1500 members as the President of the Calgary Firefighter’s Association in New York in 2002 at the 911 Memorial which was attended by 77,000 firefighters from all over the world. The hole at ground zero was still a testament a year later as to the impact of what can happen when a country lets its guard down.

So my questions to the Current Government and to the two opposition parties, and to our provincial leaders, in light of the recent events in France are:

1. “Who are the refugees”? How can you possibly screen 25,000 people adequately in such a  short period of time to ensure that none of these people pose a threat to me and my country?

2. What specific process(es)  is/are  engaged to determine the identity of who these people are?

3. What agency is tasked with performing the background checks, and has the capacity to  conduct appropriate checks on what amounts mathematically to about 800 people per day if  they are all to arrive by Christmas. I note that in the U.S.A., the head of the Department of  Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson admitted that “we don’t know a whole lot about these  people” and that we have “no real protocol for screening refugees” – My guess and fear is if  they can’t do it between the DHS, FBI, and CIA, there is no reasonable hope that Canada can  possibly have any credible system. I believe Canadian citizens are entitled to know this. I would  commend to you the words of Governor Greg Abbot of Texas who today said: “Given the  tragic attacks in Paris and the threats we have already seen, Texas cannot participate in any  program that will result in Syrian refugees — any one of whom could be connected to  terrorism — being resettled in Texas.” That seems like a very reasoned approach at the  moment.

4. Bill C-45 (2003), which became an amendment to the Criminal Code of Canada after the  Westray Mine accident, allowed the courts to find officers of corporations criminally  negligent if their actions either willfully or by gross negligence contribute to the preventable  death of an employee. Does this legislation reach to the political elite if, in the future, an innocent citizen is harmed or killed by a refugee because the sitting government failed to  properly screen them? If not, we need to amend it. As I read the Act, Clause 1(1) extends the  reach of Bill C-45 to “all organizations”…..which I assume includes political parties. Would you  concur with this view?

5. What is the projected, long-term cost per refugee and what current, existing  benefits will  suffer because of this for existing citizens?

6. What is the demographic make-up of the refugees being allowed into the country? What  percentage are women, children, married men accompanying a family, and single men?

7. Will refugees be required to undergo a polygraph test, be finger printed, and be drug tested  as is required of several types of employment for Canadian Citizens such as the Calgary Fire  Department?

8. Will Refugees be screened for infectious diseases including TB, HIV, hepatitis, leishmaniosis,  meningitis, and the host of other physiological problems which have been identified with these  disadvantaged people?

9. Why are neighboring, wealthy countries of Syria with similar cultures such as Qatar, Saudi  Arabia and Kuwait not accepting ANY refugees?

10. There are reportedly 19 million refugees globally from places as diverse as Libya to  Myanmar. Are we to take them all?  In the case of Syria, is it not better to spend our money  pushing for a UN peacekeeping force to be deployed and contributing our resources in that  fashion so that these people can have the opportunity to stay put and rebuild their own  country? How we managed the war in Cyprus comes to mind. Is that not the road we should  be following instead of pretending that  we are blind to what the USA and Russia are doing  there?

In all of this, I am not suggesting that as a nation we turn a blind eye to those in need. We do have an enviable reputation in the world that each of us is proud of. Having said that, we unfortunately live in an ever-changing world.  For all of the forgoing reasons, I would ask that the sitting government halt the refugee program until it can be demonstrated to all Canadians that every single refugee being allowed access to our country, and being offered benefits that most of us have worked a lifetime to fund, have been thoroughly vetted. In closing, are we going to learn anything from Paris? While social media is replete with people stating, “We are Paris”, my suggestion is we make immediate alterations to the issues noted above, before that Facebook slogan changes from an echo of support to a prophesy.

Respectfully,

D. S. (Scott) Wilcox
Cold Lake, Alberta.

My (Boer’s) question is what you think of this letter and what will you do about it?  

Post 74--Refugees: Ezra Levant's Take

Ezra Levant does not sweep sensitive or unpopular news under the carpet. Instead, he accuses main stream media of doing so. He distributes hard news that most people don’t like to hear, for it upsets them. Personally, I want to hear both the soft and the hard, the main stream and “the other,” such as Levant’s. Perhaps by Levant’s standards, the previous two posts about refugees were relatively soft, easy to read and to digest. Even though there might have been some surprises and certainly some reasons for serious disconcertion, those posts would not keep you awake at night. And they might even be true! Who can tell when it comes to media, whether soft or hard.

But today, it’s hard stuff, right from Levant’s computer heart, stuff that is almost sure to upset you. But you need to hear it. Putting your head in the sand may help you sleep, but it won’t help us get our refugee policies right. And getting them right is crucial for the future of our nation and of the Western world as a whole. So, here I share a Levant post with you—from the other side, if you like. I’m getting away easy today, since I blatantly copy his. I believe that in so doing, I am advancing the cause he is advancing—as well as that of the entire country, rightly conceived. 

Okay, here goes: POLL: 31% of Syrian migrants support ISIS terrorists (Ezra Levant (ezra@therebel.media). Justin Trudeau says he’s going to import 25,000 Syrian migrants by Christmas. That’s six or seven weeks from now. How is he going to do security checks on 25,000 people, coming from a terrorist no-man’s-land, in seven weeks? Remember, this is the same Liberal Party that doesn’t even think you should have to show picture ID, or take off your niqab, to vote. Trudeau has no clue how to screen for terrorists. But what about Syrian migrants who haven’t committed violence — but who support terrorism, and sharia law, and extremism? What about them?

 It’s a serious problem: an opinion poll of 900 Syrian migrants shows that nearly a third of Syrian “refugees” support terrorist groups. The poll, taken last year by the Arab Centre for Research and Public Policy Studies, shows that 31% of Syrian migrants in refugee camps in the region do not want the Islamic State to be defeated. They’re cheering for the terrorists. So, out of 25,000 Syrian refugees Trudeau wants to bring in, 7,500 could be ISIS supporters.

 It gets worse. In that same survey, only 10% of Syrian migrants say radical Islam is a serious problem. But 41% say America or the Jews are. Great: so we’ll be importing thousands of bigots, anti-Semites and conspiracy theorists. You simply have to watch my video report on these Syrian migrants, by clicking here. I guarantee you won’t hear a peep about this by any mainstream media outlet.

 Yours truly,
 Ezra Levant

 P.S. Be sure to forward this e-mail with your friends and share www.TheTruthAboutRefugees.com as your Facebook status.

 P.P.S. I know for a fact no other Canadian media are reporting the truth about Trudeau’s rush to bring in 25,000 risky Syrian migrants. Please help us continue our investigative journalism by contributing to our viewer-supported journalism, here.

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So, Trudeau II and his cabinet have some serious sorting out to do if they are going to stick to their promise—or is it threat?) to bring in 25,000 of these refugees into Canada before end 2015. Though I am as eager to help genuine refugees as anyone and have as much compassion for them, realism tells me the Government should not even try to meet that quota and keep that promise. Really, it is more a threat than a promise. Trudeau may be ready, but I doubt that the country would be if they were to know the entire truth of the situation. Bring in as many as possible by that time, but only after proper check outs. Perhaps I should not treat this as a serious issue and regard it only as just another cheap campaign promise. I hope so.