Feds forcing provinces to beg for financial help

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/07/2018 (2782 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It is not unusual in the world of politics for an individual politician to be right and wrong at the same time. For example, we need only look as far as federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen.

Last Friday following a meeting of provincial and territorial immigration ministers in Winnipeg, Hussen got into a verbal firefight with Lisa MacLeod, Ontario’s minister responsible for immigration, over asylum-seekers.

In response to what she described as a deliberate attempt to intimidate her during the meeting, MacLeod refused to sign a joint communiqué or join the other ministers for a closing news conference, choosing instead to stand at the back of the room in silent defiance.

The exact details of what transpired between Hussen and MacLeod are not known, but after the meeting, the federal minister more or less confirmed that he called out Ontario for fear-mongering on the issue of asylum seekers. “Ontario, sadly, has chosen the language of fear,” Hussen told reporters on Friday. “They’ve chosen to intentionally use language that could potentially criminalize asylum-seekers in the minds of Canadians.”

Those comments were in direct response to statements made by newly elected Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who prior to the Winnipeg immigration summit, continued to refer to “illegal border-crossers” while threatening to halt all flow of financial support to municipalities to cover the mounting costs of sheltering those fleeing a hostile environment for immigrants in the United States.

MacLeod accused the federal minister of accusing her of being “unCanadian,” which may be explicitly what Hussen said or merely the Ontario minister’s interpretation. Either way, it’s a big, fat, hairy mess. Now, back to the idea that politicians can be right and wrong at the same time.

Given what’s happening in the U.S. right now, Hussen is right to defend Canada’s policy of accepting and sheltering asylum-seekers and railing against the attempt to attach the term “illegal” to those who are crossing our border to seek protection in Canada.

Although critics of the policy have tried to drag the debate down into the arcane tall-grass, the short and simple truth of the matter is this: although it is against the law to cross the border without permission, it is not a Criminal Code offence. And if the person crossing the border has a legitimate claim to asylum, then the actions they took to get into the country are not deemed to be illegal in any context.

Political commentators, journalists and politicians that use language similar to the Ford government may not be “unCanadian,” but they are using dangerous language to demonize immigrants in general and asylum-seekers in particular. I count myself among those who believe that deliberately using language to whip up anti-immigrant sentiments is, at the very least, not an example of our best Canadian selves.

However, that having been said, Hussen and the federal Liberal government have been wrong in the way they have managed the issue.

In particular, it seems pretty clear now that Ottawa’s decision to starve provinces and municipalities of necessary financial resources to pay for the increased costs of sheltering and caring for asylum-seekers fanning the flames of hateful rhetoric by some of greatest immigration skeptics in this country.

Every province that has seen asylum-seekers arrive on their doorsteps has asked Ottawa for extra money to help care for asylum-seekers. Fortunately, not every province has used that frustration to fuel anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Manitoba, for example, has been pretty clear that it wants additional support from the federal Liberal government to help bolster an array of social services — including housing, health, education and Legal Aid — that have been stretched to the breaking point by the flood of asylum-seekers. Although there have been concerns expressed by the federal policy on asylum-seekers, Premier Brian Pallister and his ministers have generally chosen their words very carefully.

There was one regrettable incident involving Manitoba Tory MLA Cliff Graydon (Emerson), who authored several tweets that referred to the asylum seekers as “a drain on society” and retweeted posts calling Trudeau a “traitor” for allowing the asylum-seekers into Canada. Although Pallister did not respond directly to Graydon’s outburst, his comments were denounced by the Tory caucus.

How has Ottawa rewarded Manitoba and other provinces that have steered clear of the toxic language used by provinces? Financial support has been slow and inadequate. In June, Ottawa announced $50 million to help Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba with the cost of caring for asylum-seekers, and promised that more money would be forthcoming. However, even to get to this point, Ottawa has forced those three provinces through a tortuous process of negotiation that has often degenerated into public sparring.

The failure to provide more resources, more quickly, has allowed Ford and others like Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe to use fiscal concerns to mask their darker intentions. If Ottawa provided more money, more quickly, then those political leaders would be forced to be more explicit about why they are so opposed to the federal policy on asylum-seekers. And wouldn’t that make for an interesting debate.

Hussen is certainly right to call out MacLeod and others who would try to misrepresent the legal context that surrounds the asylum seekers.

But he and the Trudeau government are wrong to make those provinces most affected by asylum-seekers beg for financial support.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca