Posted by admin on Mar 18th, 2010
By ELIZABETH THOMPSON, March 18, 2010 6:23am
OTTAWA – Women who wear the niqab should have to show their faces when dealing with the federal civil service, says Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. Kenney said he believes in personal liberty and opposes regulating what people wear. “On the other hand, when it’s necessary we do expect people to show their face in … obtaining public services,” he said Wednesday. “In my own ministry, when individuals make an application for immigration or a visa and they’re interviewed by a Canadian public servant, they’re required to show their face.”
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Posted by admin on Mar 17th, 2010
By Norma Greenaway, Canwest News Service, March 17, 2010
Canada’s record for accepting and integrating minorities and newcomers is imperfect but undeserving of criticism levelled in a new United Nations report, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Wednesday. Kenney said that rather than taking Canada to task over its treatment of minorities, the UN should be looking at the “dozens of regimes around the world that are engaged in widespread and systematic violation of minority rights.” The report, released Tuesday, was written by Gay McDougall, the UN’s Independent Expert on Minority Issues.
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Posted by admin on Mar 17th, 2010
By Lee Berthiaume, March 17, 2010, Embassy Magazine
In preparation for a possible public relations war, Citizenship and Immigration Canada commissioned two surveys last summer to feel Canadians out on prospective changes to the refugee system—as well as the messaging that will accompany them. The results, which show Canadians overwhelmingly support a fair system that provides asylum seekers the benefit of the doubt, have encouraged some refugee advocates. However, there are also worries the government is using the research to find ways to sway public opinion in favour of reforms that advocates fear will undermine Canada’s renowned refugee system. But those in favour of a more stringent screening process for asylum seekers say the government is wise to prepare itself before embarking on what will undoubtedly be a messy campaign.
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Posted by admin on Mar 16th, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010, extra.ca
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney dodged more questions today about the removal of gay rights from the new Canadian citizenship guide. At today’s Commons immigration committee meeting, NDP MP Olivia Chow asked Kenney if gay rights would be added to the next printing. Kenney wouldn’t say yes or no, and instead he turned to his bogus talking points: that there was “zero content” in the previous guide (written in 1995) on gay rights or same-sex marriage, that the new guide includes a reference to gay athlete Mark Tewksbury, and hey, the guide can’t be “a thousand pages.” (read more about today’s meeting in Xtra’s federal politics blog)
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Posted by admin on Mar 3rd, 2010
Canadian Press, Mar. 03, 2010 8:32AM EST
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney blocked any reference to gay rights in a new study guide for immigrants applying for Canadian citizenship, The Canadian Press has learned. Internal documents show an early draft of the guide contained sections noting that homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969; that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation; and that same-sex marriage was legalized nationally in 2005. But Mr. Kenney, who fought same-sex marriage when it was debated in Parliament, ordered those key sections removed when his office sent its comments to the department last June.
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