I was going to do my next Blog on the important issue of the future of Health Care but given that Canada's Refugee System has been topical of late, I thought it best to deal with that now.
Quite simply, our Refugee System is broken and has been since the mid-1980's.
As is happens, I worked in Legal Services with Canada's Refugee Board and as such have first hand knowledge of what I speak.
Recently I read that a liberal commentator had said that the favourable rate for refugee cases was a mere 6 to 7%. I am not sure what he was smoking but when I was there in the late 80's the acceptance rate was upwards of 70% and that did not include the 40% or so of refugee applicants who went 'missing" before their cases were even heard. Nor does it take into account the fact that seldom did applicants leave Canada after having received an unsuccessful decision.
I won't even deal with the appeal process used so effectively by 'immigration' lawyers to line their pockets while delaying final decisions indefinitely.
The figures I have quoted from personal knowledge may have declined somewhat under the Tories but from what I have read in the meantime, I suspect not.
From my perspective, for every 100 applicants perhaps 5% and more likely 1 to 2 % are legitimate refugees escaping persecution. The balance some 95% are merely shopping for a new home. In short, they are queue jumpers and make mockery of those law abiding people who apply for access to Canada through the normal immigration process.
Often those queue jumpers come without identity papers and little to nothing is known about them. The Refugee process is a non-adversarial one and hence, in most cases, there is little to nothing before the deciding Refugee Judge that would lead to a negative decision.
In a high per centage of these cases, the refugee applicant really is trying to enter the United States - hence the 40% that disappear before their cases are even heard. No wonder the US is concerned about its northern border.
A former head of the Refugee Board pointed out recently that it was the Tories and in particular, Barbie McDougall as Immigration Minister who brought in the Board by way of legislation in the late 1980s. She purposely pulled a provision before passage that would have given Canada the power to refuse applicants who came here from a safe-haven country. In other words, if an applicant originated in Asia and travelled to Canada via England, that applicant could be immediately be returned to England for their processing.
We therefore have the Tories of the 1980s to thank(?) for our disfunctional system.
This is another reason why I believe the current Progressive Conservatives / Conservatives are not 'realconservatives'. They are just another shade of red.
Having said that, Harper is finally on record as saying he will deal with this matter on an urgent basis and we have for the first time in memory a Minister - Jason Kenney who has the courage to follow through. I suspect though that Libs, NDPers and Blocists will join to defeat them.
More on this later...
"Galagher"
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Time to Axe the Reserves
In an earlier blog I called myself a liberal libertarian - I have had a rethink, primarily because the term 'liberal' no longer means what it once did. It used to be more or less synonmous with the term 'libertarian'. Today it connotes those who favour government intervention and are prepared to accept ever less freedom.
So - from henceforth on I will refer to myself as a 'humane libertarian'. 'Libertarian' in the sense that I believe the individual should look to himself first for help in improving his lot and 'Humane' in the understanding that in some instances an individual is simply not physically or mentally able to do that.
Modern western governments have subscribed to the belief that bigger is better and that freedom of the individual must be sacrificed for the 'benefit' of the majority. And, of course it is the government which decides what that 'benefit' may be.
What is lost in all of this is individual independence and our society is the poorer for it.
No where is this more evident than in the case of the Aboriginal. He or she is confined to a Reserve System that never made any sense. Politicians have been paralyzed from taking action for fear of being branded rascists. There is also a strong element of guilt attached to this issue as a result of the Indian's culture and way of life having been absolutely destroyed some 200 years ago.
But it is the native who has suffered and continues to suffer through Society's inaction.
Reserves are rife with alcoholism, drug and family abuse, suicide, poor health and diet.
Added to this is the ever growing problem of illegality. Smuggling in cigarettes, alcohol, guns and even in humans is an every day occurence - especially in those Reserve which border the USA. All seem to have casinos and on a per capita basis there are far more natives in our jails than any other race.
Their Leadership calls out for more money to be spent - yet billions are thrown at the problem yearly with no result. We know and they know that more money is not the answer.
The Reserve System must come to an end.
Imagine living in a reserve where nothing of substance occurs and where your main source of legal income comes from the government. You too would quickly be brought down to despair.
If I had the power, I would announce that systematically over a ten year period the reserve system in Canada would come to an end. Funding for natives living off the reserve would continue but for those on the reserve the funding would decline over the ten year timeframe.
At the end of ten years, the Reserves would be sold and the monies placed in trust for all natives
to be used to help them integrate into society. At some point, the funding for even those natives living off the reserve would come to an end as well.
Tough love - you bet, but sometimes tough love is all you are left with.
There would be a hue and cry from the native leadership and from our left of centre politicians but at the end of the day, the individual aboriginal would be so much better off.
Even more important, if we do not axe the Reserve System where government plays the tune through its funding and keeps people dependent, we will be all headed for our own Reserve System.
More on this later...
"Galagher"
So - from henceforth on I will refer to myself as a 'humane libertarian'. 'Libertarian' in the sense that I believe the individual should look to himself first for help in improving his lot and 'Humane' in the understanding that in some instances an individual is simply not physically or mentally able to do that.
Modern western governments have subscribed to the belief that bigger is better and that freedom of the individual must be sacrificed for the 'benefit' of the majority. And, of course it is the government which decides what that 'benefit' may be.
What is lost in all of this is individual independence and our society is the poorer for it.
No where is this more evident than in the case of the Aboriginal. He or she is confined to a Reserve System that never made any sense. Politicians have been paralyzed from taking action for fear of being branded rascists. There is also a strong element of guilt attached to this issue as a result of the Indian's culture and way of life having been absolutely destroyed some 200 years ago.
But it is the native who has suffered and continues to suffer through Society's inaction.
Reserves are rife with alcoholism, drug and family abuse, suicide, poor health and diet.
Added to this is the ever growing problem of illegality. Smuggling in cigarettes, alcohol, guns and even in humans is an every day occurence - especially in those Reserve which border the USA. All seem to have casinos and on a per capita basis there are far more natives in our jails than any other race.
Their Leadership calls out for more money to be spent - yet billions are thrown at the problem yearly with no result. We know and they know that more money is not the answer.
The Reserve System must come to an end.
Imagine living in a reserve where nothing of substance occurs and where your main source of legal income comes from the government. You too would quickly be brought down to despair.
If I had the power, I would announce that systematically over a ten year period the reserve system in Canada would come to an end. Funding for natives living off the reserve would continue but for those on the reserve the funding would decline over the ten year timeframe.
At the end of ten years, the Reserves would be sold and the monies placed in trust for all natives
to be used to help them integrate into society. At some point, the funding for even those natives living off the reserve would come to an end as well.
Tough love - you bet, but sometimes tough love is all you are left with.
There would be a hue and cry from the native leadership and from our left of centre politicians but at the end of the day, the individual aboriginal would be so much better off.
Even more important, if we do not axe the Reserve System where government plays the tune through its funding and keeps people dependent, we will be all headed for our own Reserve System.
More on this later...
"Galagher"
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Needed A Truck...Bought A Cadillac
My wife and I live with our cat Snick on a small hobby farm where having a truck is most handy.
My current truck a 2007 Ford Ranger is on lease and the lease expires at the end of this month. It has been a good vehicle and my only complaint is that it is very hard on gas. This is the second pick-up truck that I have owned or leased.
And, they have certainly come in handy. Our kids and friends have found them to be most helpful as well.
Just yesterday, I went to town with my son-in-law to purchase lumber for a deck my son-in-law is kindly building us. Some of the boards totalled 16' and the truck to them without complaint. Anyway, they always seem to come in handy.
That is why I started several months ago to find a replacement truck to my Ranger.
I looked at several "used" models but could not seem to find the 'right one'. One used car dealer was so honest with me that he suggested I buy new since new trucks were selling for about the same price as older models. I started looking at new.
And, I found the perfect one. It too was red - a colour I get teased about from time to time due to my right-wing bent. It too was a Ranger but had more features than my current truck and sold for the same price as under my current lease. It was a no-brainer - this new Ranger was made for me.
Rather than tell the dealer I'd buy it then and there, I told him I would think about it over the weekend and let him know "first thing on Monday".
Then I got thinking. I did not want another truck regardless of how convenient it was around our farm; I wanted a car - and I wanted one with all the 'bells and whistles'.
Saturday I was off to see the local cadillac dealer. I picked one out and he let me take it home over night. My wife loved it too but she was quick to point out that I was so much like my late father who also loved nice cars. A week before he died, he told me that he was thinking of buying a new buick. This despite the fact that he was living in a nursing home and that his doctor had taken his licence away some five years earlier.
So I asked my father the obvious question: "what would you do with a new car that you were not allowed to drive?" Without missing a beat, he replied: "I'd sit in it".
You know, I understood what he was saying, there is nothing in life better than sitting in a new car - with that new car smell. It even beats driving it. I told my father he should go for it and he might well have done so if his worn out heart had gone on a little longer.
The next day, I took the cadillac back whereupon I broke all rules - I told the salesman immediately how much I loved the car. No hard sell for me.
So here I am, with a car that I really don't need and I truck that I do need but will be returning to the ford dealer in a matter of days. It really makes no sense, but life is often like that.
Did I mention, my cadillac is the colour 'blue'.
"Galagher"
My current truck a 2007 Ford Ranger is on lease and the lease expires at the end of this month. It has been a good vehicle and my only complaint is that it is very hard on gas. This is the second pick-up truck that I have owned or leased.
And, they have certainly come in handy. Our kids and friends have found them to be most helpful as well.
Just yesterday, I went to town with my son-in-law to purchase lumber for a deck my son-in-law is kindly building us. Some of the boards totalled 16' and the truck to them without complaint. Anyway, they always seem to come in handy.
That is why I started several months ago to find a replacement truck to my Ranger.
I looked at several "used" models but could not seem to find the 'right one'. One used car dealer was so honest with me that he suggested I buy new since new trucks were selling for about the same price as older models. I started looking at new.
And, I found the perfect one. It too was red - a colour I get teased about from time to time due to my right-wing bent. It too was a Ranger but had more features than my current truck and sold for the same price as under my current lease. It was a no-brainer - this new Ranger was made for me.
Rather than tell the dealer I'd buy it then and there, I told him I would think about it over the weekend and let him know "first thing on Monday".
Then I got thinking. I did not want another truck regardless of how convenient it was around our farm; I wanted a car - and I wanted one with all the 'bells and whistles'.
Saturday I was off to see the local cadillac dealer. I picked one out and he let me take it home over night. My wife loved it too but she was quick to point out that I was so much like my late father who also loved nice cars. A week before he died, he told me that he was thinking of buying a new buick. This despite the fact that he was living in a nursing home and that his doctor had taken his licence away some five years earlier.
So I asked my father the obvious question: "what would you do with a new car that you were not allowed to drive?" Without missing a beat, he replied: "I'd sit in it".
You know, I understood what he was saying, there is nothing in life better than sitting in a new car - with that new car smell. It even beats driving it. I told my father he should go for it and he might well have done so if his worn out heart had gone on a little longer.
The next day, I took the cadillac back whereupon I broke all rules - I told the salesman immediately how much I loved the car. No hard sell for me.
So here I am, with a car that I really don't need and I truck that I do need but will be returning to the ford dealer in a matter of days. It really makes no sense, but life is often like that.
Did I mention, my cadillac is the colour 'blue'.
"Galagher"
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