[DtTO]

Kristyn Wong-Tam proved again how dumb she really is by stupidly stating “Unless there are aboriginal people in this building, every single one of us and our ancestors arrived to this country at some point in time as undocumented workers,”

Wong - Tam is one of the biggest idiots in city hall. She should speak for herself. My family arrived in Canada legally through my parent's hard work and education. We had no money when we came, so I don't understand how some people can actually think you need a lot of money to get here. What's sad is that other immigrants we know that were forced upon the country (ex. UN programs, etc.) are for the most part disgusting. They come here and do all kinds of illegal activity, work without paying tax while also collecting welfare, etc. Many of those people we know personally, and they chose the UN route because they were not admissible by the Canadian government, usually due to crimes they committed before seeking to immigrate into Canada. The last thing we want is for more criminals to come to our city. We already have enough of those.

 

[RC8]

So much misguided bitterness and hatred.

I know many legal immigrants (from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Eastern Europe, and China mostly) who beat their wives and daughters viciously, who openly threaten their daughters with violence if they dare date someone of the wrong caste or ethnicity, and who would refuse to hire or befriend people based on their skin colour. I know a 'legal' immigrant for instance who insisted that Pakistani women who got raped were asking for it by dressing like whores, and that we should do more of that here. All these people are massive Harper/Hudak/Ford fans, and they would pretty much like to boil alive all illegal immigrants for 'cutting in line'. They themselves are usually truck drivers or cheap labour, even though they come from privileged families abroad - they were let in because Canada needs reliable cheap labour.

On the other hand, I know people who were refused the chance to stay because, even though they were wonderful self-sufficient human beings, they wouldn't boost the economy all that much.

The immigration system in Canada is not all that draconian, but whether you get in or not is hardly a measure of whether you deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

 

[Hipster Duck]

I know many legal immigrants (from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Eastern Europe, and China mostly) who beat their wives and daughters viciously, who openly threaten their daughters with violence if they dare date someone of the wrong caste or ethnicity, and who would refuse to hire or befriend people based on their skin colour... They themselves are usually truck drivers or cheap labour, even though they come from privileged families abroad - they were let in because Canada needs reliable cheap labour.

On the other hand, I know people who were refused the chance to stay because, even though they were wonderful self-sufficient human beings, they wouldn't boost the economy all that much.

The immigration system in Canada is not all that draconian, but whether you get in or not is hardly a measure of whether you deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

Well, here's the thing: our immigration system is based on matching the labour and economic needs of Canada and not on one person's anecdotal judgement of character.

 

[jaycola]

So much misguided bitterness and hatred.

I know many legal immigrants (from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Eastern Europe, and China mostly) who beat their wives and daughters viciously, who openly threaten their daughters with violence if they dare date someone of the wrong caste or ethnicity, and who would refuse to hire or befriend people based on their skin colour.

I have a suggestion for you. Call the police and report their criminal behaviour. Why do you stand by and watch while this occurs with your knowledge? Call 222-TIPS(8477) and report their crimes. If I knew a girl, one of my daughters friends was being abused by her parents, I would surely turn them in for her safety. Had they been convicted of such crimes before their arrival in Canada, CBSA would have refused them immigrant status. It's a shame they hadn't been before.

 

[nfitz]

Where in any of the above comments do you see anything remotely racist?

It's all over the place. Starting with the use of the word "sanctuary" which has absolutely nothing to do with what the city passed. Trying to discuss a simple decision to not to worry about immigration status when providing libary cards, or services to abused women, is not "sanctuary".

Try discussing the facts rather that throwing around ignorant statements.

That's rather ironic isn't it? Especially given your racist scaremongering! How dare you automatically equate immigration status to war crimes!

 

[toraerach]

Well, here's the thing: our immigration system is based on matching the labour and economic needs of Canada and not on one person's anecdotal judgement of character.

One of the reasons the population of undocumented people in Canada is about to skyrocket is the temporary foreign worker program. We bring workers here legally to extract cheap labour from them in crucial sectors of the economy, yet we refuse to pay the longterm social costs of that labour (i.e. healthcare into old age, education for their children, etc.) as we used to do through the naturalizaton process. It was naive to think that we could bring in tens of thousands of people from the poorest and most desperate places on the planet and then expect them all to leave when their work permits expired. The program is exploitation, it's morally wrong and now we're paying the price for it.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

nfitz:

You're been told before not to casually accuse others of racism.

DtTO:

Wong - Tam is one of the biggest idiots in city hall. She should speak for herself. My family arrived in Canada legally through my parent's hard work and education. We had no money when we came, so I don't understand how some people can actually think you need a lot of money to get here. What's sad is that other immigrants we know that were forced upon the country (ex. UN programs, etc.) are for the most part disgusting. They come here and do all kinds of illegal activity, work without paying tax while also collecting welfare, etc. Many of those people we know personally, and they chose the UN route because they were not admissible by the Canadian government, usually due to crimes they committed before seeking to immigrate into Canada. The last thing we want is for more criminals to come to our city. We already have enough of those

Evidence that other immigrants "forced" upon the country (like what UN program does that, exactly?) are for the most part "disgusting", and engages in a life of criminality by default? Strong statements like that should be backed up by facts. Beyond that, I do believe immigration rules have changed significantly over the years and what was easy before could very well not be so now.

jaycola:

I have a suggestion for you. Call the police and report their criminal behaviour. Why do you stand by and watch while this occurs with your knowledge? Call 222-TIPS(8477) and report their crimes. If I knew a girl, one of my daughters friends was being abused by her parents, I would surely turn them in for her safety. Had they been convicted of such crimes before their arrival in Canada, CBSA would have refused them immigrant status. It's a shame they hadn't been before.

Child abuse is criminal - harbouring prejudices aren't. Not much one can do about the latter.

AoD

 

[jaycola]

It's all over the place. Starting with the use of the word "sanctuary" which has absolutely nothing to do with what the city passed. Trying to discuss a simple decision to not to worry about immigration status when providing libary cards, or services to abused women, is not "sanctuary".

That's rather ironic isn't it? Especially given your racist scaremongering! How dare you automatically equate immigration status to war crimes!

I posted a response to exactly that question here previously. If you care to read any posts other than your own, you would see that none other than Joe Mihevc, the cities champion of this policy, stated clearly ""We’re saying we are a ‘Sanctuary City,’ and that anyone who is in the City of Toronto will be able to access all the services that the City of Toronto offers." That was an unqualified statement.

I did not nearly equate immigration status to war crimes as your feigned outrage may suggest but demonstrated that certain individuals have been denied immigration status for criminal activity including war crimes and their identities would be protected under this blanket policy.

Finally stop calling people who disagree with your position racist unless you have something to back it up. It does nothing to support your argument and reflects poorly on you.

 

[nfitz]

... than Joe Mihevc, the cities champion of this policy

But not the city's champion? LOL!

 

[RC8]

I have a suggestion for you. Call the police and report their criminal behaviour. Why do you stand by and watch while this occurs with your knowledge? Call 222-TIPS(8477) and report their crimes. If I knew a girl, one of my daughters friends was being abused by her parents, I would surely turn them in for her safety. Had they been convicted of such crimes before their arrival in Canada, CBSA would have refused them immigrant status. It's a shame they hadn't been before.

At no point in time have I been in a position to report the abuse of minors. Most of these cases I learned from at university when these kids were in the process of building their own lives away from their troubled homes. I did suggest they report the poor treatment of their mothers, etc. but they were strongly opposed to the idea.

 

[ttk77]

I don't think the notion that illegal immigrants are committing a federal crime and should be deported and the notion that they should be eligible for city services are mutually exclusive. You have to ask what costs society more, providing the services through legitimate channels or dealing with the legal fallout (ie: increased crime) when they go looking for substitutes through illegitimate channels. They're here, and until they're caught and removed it makes more sense to provide them with a legal way to get by rather than forcing them to consort with other criminals to get by.

To say that because someone is here illegally that they shouldn't receive any help and should be blocked from participating in society in any way is a very black-and-white, conservative idea and does nothing to help alleviate the problem.

 

[js97]

To be benevolent about providing city services regardless of immigration status is one thing, but to declare city as a 'sanctuary' city is completely baseless.

MIhevic is so far from understanding the issues. I wonder how his forest hill residents would feel if one opened up a 'safe house' of illegal immigrants in his ward, preferably beside his house.

 

[canmark]

There was a recent article in Toronto Life about the large number of Irish construction workers in Toronto on temporary work permits. Many of these people would like to remain here, but the process to extend their work permits (or immigrate) are not so easy.

The Celtic Invasion: why the arrival of hundreds of Irish construction workers benefits Toronto's building boom

 

[nfitz]

To be benevolent about providing city services regardless of immigration status is one thing, but to declare city as a 'sanctuary' city is completely baseless.

The motion clearly says the former, and not the latter. Whether an idiotic counsellor said something different in the debate or not is beside the point - that's not what the vote was for.

 

[ChesterCopperpot]

There was a recent article in Toronto Life about the large number of Irish construction workers in Toronto on temporary work permits. Many of these people would like to remain here, but the process to extend their work permits (or immigrate) are not so easy.

The Celtic Invasion: why the arrival of hundreds of Irish construction workers benefits Toronto's building boom

I was one of those immigrants a few years ago. They have streamlined the residency requirements now - you only need one years work experience under your belt here before you can apply, it used to be two.