# The "Longest Election Campaign in Modern Canada" Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 2, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807 "2015-08-02T15:45:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/141 "2015-09-03T15:45:33Z")
Chris Alexander has left the campaign trail over the refugee crisis. There is talk that one of the drowned children whose picture has been all over the Internet was froma family that had tried and failed to get into Canada. I’m not downplaying the importance of things like Mike Duffy, child benefit schemes and deficit spending, but holy shit are we lucky in Canada. As to the refugee crisis, my only position of debate on the matter is whether Canada should do a lot, or a whole lot. We have lots of room, let’s let more of these people in. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/142 "2015-09-03T19:10:15Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Chris Alexander has left the campaign trail over the refugee crisis. There is talk that one of the drowned children whose picture has been all over the Internet was froma family that had tried and failed to get into Canada. > > I’m not downplaying the importance of things like Mike Duffy, child benefit schemes and deficit spending, but holy shit are we lucky in Canada. > > As to the refugee crisis, my only position of debate on the matter is whether Canada should do a lot, or a whole lot. We have lots of room, let’s let more of these people in. And yet many of the “usual conservative suspects” on the National Post comments page seem to be divided along the lines of : - Don’t let anyone in because they are all terrorists - It’s all Trudeau’s fault - This just means that you lefties want us to lose the war to ISIS They all seem to be united in the notion that THEIR Canada should not let in any refugees at all. Ever. Especially those from “that part” of the world. This is the Conservative Party base. This is who they have to appease to get votes. This is why I call them The Nasty Party. ETA: I believe that Alexander has gone into hiding, as well as Kenny. They have both cancelled previously arranged interviews. Presumably so they can figure out the talking points, and how to blame Trudeau or the media for this screw-up. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/143 "2015-09-03T19:55:40Z")
I just listened to the CBC interview with Chris Alexander from last year. in a nutshell, Alexander refused to answer Carol Off’s questions about the exact number of refugees that were realistically helped into Canada (this is after avoiding the CBC for over 6 months). This came to be because the government was criticized as clamping down on refugee entry, secret/quiet denial/refusal of service, and lack of transparency. Alexander replied that none of that was true and that this administration was doing a lot of help. Off then asks him to quantify the number of Government sponsored refugees have arrived in Canada. Everything breaks down after that request. [Please listen to the interview yourselves](http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/wednesday-federal-immigration-minister-chris-alexander-shrimp-slave-ship-authentic-rembrandt-and-more-1.2903509/immigration-minister-chris-alexander-on-bill-c-24-syrian-refugees-and-his-hanging-up-on-us-1.2903514) it really highlights the Tory media/parliament operating procedure of 1) Avoidance 2) Misdirection 3) Obfuscation 4) Reluctance address concerns 5) Contempt ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/144 "2015-09-03T19:58:20Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Chris Alexander has left the campaign trail over the refugee crisis. There is talk that one of the drowned children whose picture has been all over the Internet was froma family that had tried and failed to get into Canada. > > I’m not downplaying the importance of things like Mike Duffy, child benefit schemes and deficit spending, but holy shit are we lucky in Canada. > > As to the refugee crisis, my only position of debate on the matter is whether Canada should do a lot, or a whole lot. We have lots of room, let’s let more of these people in. There is room. Trudeau thinks at least 25,000 can come in. As Canadians we need to continue our core value of helping the least among us. i couldn’t sleep when I saw that baby’s lifeless body washed on the shore. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/145 "2015-09-03T21:45:30Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > There is talk that one of the drowned children whose picture has been all over the Internet was froma family that had tried and failed to get into Canada. > **['My children slipped away from my hands,' drowned Syrian boy's father says |...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/syria-migrants-canada-drowned-migrants-1.3213772)** > > The father of a Syrian toddler whose body washed up on a Turkish beach says his two sons "slipped away" from him after their rowboat capsized while trying to reach the Greek island of Kos from Turkey with several other refugees. Contemptible. I feel ashamed. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/146 "2015-09-03T21:56:43Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > [Father of Alan Kurdi, drowned Syrian boy, describes desperate ordeal to save family | CBC News](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/syria-migrants-canada-drowned-migrants-1.3213772) > > Contemptible. I feel ashamed. Why? > [@](#): > > Corrections > > A previous version of this story said the family of Alan Kurdi had applied for refugee status in Canada. In fact, no formal application for refugee status was made. An application on behalf of Alan’s uncle, Mohammed Kurdi, was received by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada but was returned because, the department said, it was incomplete and did not meet the regulatory requirements for proof of refugee status recognition. Canada is one of, if not the top, country in the world for taking in immigrants on a per capita basis. This is tragic, but it certainly has nothing to do with Canada or our immigration policies. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/147 "2015-09-03T22:24:08Z")
Of course by telling only half the story, the Conservatives want to let you know how wonderful they are. Immigration is different from taking in Refugees. And since Trudeau thinks Canada can take in 25,000 and Mulcair says 10,000 should come in immediately, the Harper government is woefully inadequate in their numbers. They don’t want Syrians in, they just want to fight Issis with a defunded military. > [@](#): > > With Canada heading to elections on October 19, the plight of Syria’s refugees has become a campaign issue, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledging to do more if his Tories are re-elected – while stressing the key to ending the crisis was to defeat the Islamic State group. > > “If we look at the millions of people literally who are in danger and the tens of thousands dying, we could drive ourselves crazy with grief and obviously we do what we can do to help,” he said. > > While Canada has agreed to resettle 20,000 refugees, as of late July it had only welcomed **1,002,** according to government figures. What an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/148 "2015-09-03T22:26:44Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > Of course by telling only half the story, the Conservatives want to let you know how wonderful they are. Immigration is different from taking in Refugees. And since Trudeau thinks Canada can take in 25,000 and Mulcair says 10,000 should come in immediately, the Harper government is woefully inadequate in their numbers. They don’t want Syrians in, they just want to fight Issis with a defunded military. > > What an asshole. Get a grip on reality. I’m tired of reading this bullshit rhetoric by ill-informed posters. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/149 "2015-09-03T22:34:18Z")
So tell me oh _All Knowing_ Stevie lover why the Immigration Minister dropped his campaign? And why are there only a thousand refugees when there should be over 10,000 at this point? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/150 "2015-09-03T22:35:16Z")
To go back to his riding and focus on the immediate issues. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/151 "2015-09-03T22:38:04Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > To go back to his riding and focus on the immediate issues. Sure. Bunker down for the storm and let Steveo talk to the media. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/152 "2015-09-03T22:45:04Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > So tell me oh _All Knowing_ Stevie lover why the Immigration Minister dropped his campaign? And why are there only a thousand refugees when there should be over 10,000 at this point? Why don’t you tell me how many refugees per month we can logistically handle? Could we have processed and housed all 20,000 by now in your expert opinion? ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/153 "2015-09-03T22:55:32Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Why don’t you tell me how many refugees per month we can logistically handle? Could we have processed and housed all 20,000 by now in your expert opinion? Oh no, I’m relying on the expert Harper boys who said they could handle 20,000 and were on track to get that number in. So here’s the thing. There’s only 4 months left in the year 2015. Ya think maybe they’d quit stalling and get at least half their number in by now? How sad It takes an election issue to make it happen. These bastards have no compassion. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/154 "2015-09-03T23:24:15Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Why? > > Canada is one of, if not the top, country in the world for taking in immigrants on a per capita basis. > > This is tragic, but it certainly has nothing to do with Canada or our immigration policies. Our immigration and refugee processing is abysmal, with complexities and delays that need not be. I don’t practice immigration or refugee law, but one of my friends does, and I get an earful of complaints from her. Complaints about delays and lost documents and more delays and impossible demands and still more delays. Complaints that find supported when I freely offer notarial services to people being processed by that system. My guess is that the sister did make an application for each of her brothers, rather than for just one of them, and that her MP did write to the Minister as he alleges, but our system dropped the ball, resulting in three people dying when they should have been safely here. That is shameful. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/155 "2015-09-04T00:18:17Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Our immigration and refugee processing is abysmal, with complexities and delays that need not be. > > I don’t practice immigration or refugee law, but one of my friends does, and I get an earful of complaints from her. Complaints about delays and lost documents and more delays and impossible demands and still more delays. Complaints that find supported when I freely offer notarial services to people being processed by that system. > > My guess is that the sister did make an application for each of her brothers, rather than for just one of them, and that her MP did write to the Minister as he alleges, but our system dropped the ball, resulting in three people dying when they should have been safely here. That is shameful. And yet despite this, we still have one of the highest immigration rates per capita in the world. If it’s shameful, then it’s an administrative issue and not a political issue. The administration that bungles paperwork is not related to a political party, but to the … well administration. ---
**Author:** ![bb49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b38774/32.png) [@bb49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bb49)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/156 "2015-09-04T03:06:06Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > Oh no, I’m relying on the expert Harper boys who said they could handle 20,000 and were on track to get that number in. So here’s the thing. There’s only 4 months left in the year 2015. Ya think maybe they’d quit stalling and get at least half their number in by now? How sad It takes an election issue to make it happen. These bastards have no compassion. What is the rush? Don’t you think that if we want to slow, or preferably stop this refugee crisis, then maybe go to the source of it? And the source, in case you aren’t aware, is ISIS. They are the ones driving this crisis. Stop ISIS and you stop the refugee crisis. In the meantime, do you want a bunch of unknowns, 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 or more flooding our shores? Regardless of who is sitting in Ottawa, government workers only move so fast. Or didn’t you know that? How do we get these people here? How do we verify exactly who they are? Now that is very important, at least in my eyes. What do we do with them when they arrive? Put them in those empty camp trailers in the oil fields? And since a very large number of these refugees are able bodied men, that ran from their country rather then stay and fight ISIS, do we really want those kind of people? If a few thousand of those men had stayed and fought, that just might have made a difference. So do you have any answers? ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/157 "2015-09-04T04:14:11Z")
> [@bb49](#): > > So do you have any answers? A wall surrounding Canada, to keep out all those cowardly rapists from the Mideast. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/158 "2015-09-04T04:19:57Z")
> [@bb49](#): > > What is the rush? Don’t you think that if we want to slow, or preferably stop this refugee crisis, then maybe go to the source of it? And the source, in case you aren’t aware, is ISIS. They are the ones driving this crisis. Stop ISIS and you stop the refugee crisis. Syria’s civil war did not start with ISIS, and the removal of ISIS will not stop Syria’s civil war. As to whether the problems are administrative or political, to some extent they are one and the same. The leadership provides, well, leadership, as well as funding, and clearly processing refugee claims isn’t as high a priority as it could be. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/159 "2015-09-04T04:20:57Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > If it’s shameful, then it’s an administrative issue and not a political issue. The administration that bungles paperwork is not related to a political party, but to the … well administration. As much as we might like it to be that Harper personally held the kid’s head underwater while cackling that his kind would never soil our shores, it doesn’t even rise to the level of a bureaucratic screwup. The paperwork was incomplete and was sent back as such. The local MP got involved, made a high level contact and was probably told once these folks get their paperwork in order they’d be in the queue. No malice was involved. If your paperwork isn’t in order it will be rejected. That’s how it is supposed to work. Now on the other hand, if we need some deaths to lay directly at the feet of Mr. Harper, how about this Canadian Forces bombing that might have killed 27 civilians but we’re not sure because no one wants to look too closely: > **[Up to 27 Iraqi civilians may have been killed in Canadian airstrike, Pentagon...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/up-to-27-iraqi-civilians-may-have-been-killed-in-canadian-airstrike-pentagon-document-reveals-1.3213917)** > > An internal Pentagon document obtained by CBC’s the fifth estate raises questions about the quality of the investigation conducted by coalition forces into an allegation that as many as 27 civilians were killed in Iraq by a Canadian airstrike. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/160 "2015-09-04T04:21:54Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > A wall surrounding Canada, to keep out all those cowardly rapists from the Mideast. I know you’re being facetious but the fact remains that they can’t just fucking walk or even take a train to Canada. Flying in 20,000 random people, vetting them to some degree and then finding a place for them to stay once they get here is a bit of a job. Not to mention financing and providing for them once they’re in the country. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807.md?page=9)