Everything You Can Stomach Knowing about Minister Jason Kenney
MINISTER OF CENSORSHIP AND DEPORATION JASON KENNEY’S RECORD
“I plead guilty. I am a racist†– Jason Kenney, Montreal 2009.
On Detention and Deportation:
– Deportations from Canada have skyrocketed with 13,000 deportations in the past year.
– Conservatives have justified the months-long detention of over 500 Tamil asylum seekers aboard MV Ocean Lady and MV Sun Sea by fear-mongering and falsely claiming they are “illegals†and “terroristsâ€.
– Harper and Kenney have campaigned for Bill C 49 to combat “human smugglingâ€. This bill is based on Australia’s internationally condemned policy of mandatory detention and subjects asylum seekers, including children, suspected of using a smuggler to mandatory detention for at least one year.
– A recent CTV News report revealed that government lawyers were forcing the detained Tamil refugees to pay back thousands of dollars in smuggling debt in order to be released from jail.
On Refugees:
– Canada accepts under 20,000 refugees per year, less than 0.1% of the world’s displaced population. A UNHCR report indicates that the number of asylum applications to Canada has fallen 30% from 2005.
– Under the Conservative government, the number of approved asylum claims has dropped by 56%.
– Some of Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicators, such as David McBean, have a zero-percent acceptance rate.
– In 2010, there were 8,466 Pre-Removal Risk Assessment applications made by asylum-seekers facing removal orders. Only 89 were approved.
– Kenney’s refugee Bill C-11 has created a racist two tier legal system based on nationality.
– In 2009 Kenney imposed visa requirements on Mexico and the Czech Republic, claiming that these refugees were “system-abusersâ€. While Kenney was imposing these visa requirements, a 24-year-old woman was deported back to Mexico where she was murdered.
– Kenney wants provincial governments to curb social assistance – already inadequate – to refugee claimants.
On Immigrants:
– Conservatives boast a record number of immigrants but they cut overall immigration by 5%.
– The number of family class immigrants accepted has dropped by 10,000 since the Conservatives took power. This is a 15% decrease.
– The Conservative government has similarly decreased skilled worker visas by about 20%.
– The Harper government cut $53 million in programs that offer support for new immigrants.
– The “backlog†that Kenney was claiming to fix has increased by an additional 173,000 people awaiting skilled worker visas.
– Kenney wants immigrants to “integrate†and speak the colonial languages of English and French.
On Women and LGBTQ communities:
– A proposal for “Conditional Permanent Residence†will impose conditional status on sponsored spouses. This proposal places women in particular risk of abuse and violence by making their status conditional and dependent on their partner’s.
– Kenney supports Quebec’s Bill C-94 that discriminates against women who wear the niqab (face veil) by denying them essential public services including health and education.
– Kenney’s new citizenship guide makes racist references to “barbaric†cultural practices and Hollywood stereotypes of forced marriages and honour killings, devoid of a universal analysis of gender violence.
– Kenney appointed an infamous anti-gay activist, Doug Cryer, to the Immigration and Refugee Board.
– Kenney appeared at anti-gay comic Guy Earle’s fundraiser to help him raise money he was ordered by the BC Human Rights Tribunal to pay as damages for his homophobic remarks.
– Kenney deliberately removed gay rights references from the new citizenship guide. After mounting pressure and given his record of voting against same-sex marriages, he was forced to retreat.
On Family Sponsorships:
– Despite assuring Parliament that the parents and grandparents visa category would remain stable, Jason Kenney was slashing these visas by over 40%.
– The overall number of family-class application is down by 15%, 11000 visas, since 2006.
– The average length of time for family sponsorships is now a wait of up to 14 years, while the government collects millions of dollars in sponsorship application fees.
On Migrant Workers:
– The number of temporary foreign workers, who do not have the basic rights afforded to permanent residents, is up 30% over the past four years.
– In 2008 Canada received more people on temporary work permits (>250,000 people) than as permanent residents. This ensures that businesses have a larger pool of cheap labour who do not have to be paid minimum wage, have no labour protections, and are under constant threat of deportation.
– The government proposed major changes to foreign worker programs including limiting most workers to a term of four years, after which a six-year ban will be imposed before workers can return to Canada.
– Kenney has overseen several work-place raids in Ontario, where CBSA officers have stormed farms, factories, and homes in order to arrest and deport hundreds of migrant and non-status workers.
On War and Occupation:
– Canada’s new citizenship guide, supervised by Kenney, glorifies a history of militarization and includes prominent recruitment ads for the Armed Forces.
– Kenney has labelled Iraq war resisters as bogus refugee claimants.
– Kenney barred British MP George Galloway, because of his opposition to the military occupation of Afghanistan. Galloway eventually fought this at the Federal Court of Canada and won.
– Kenney unequivocally supports the state of Israel and internationally-condemned Israeli war crimes.
On Anti-Racism:
– Kenney spoke against a UN report documenting poverty, discrimination, and racial profiling in Canada.
– Kenney pulled Canada out of the Durban World Conference Against Racism even before the apartheid state of Israel did.
– Kenney cut funding to the Canadian Arab Federation due to their involvement in pro-Palestine work.
– Kenney has rehired a senior aide who was found to be illegally soliciting money for advertising campaigns through the “Conservative Ethnic Paid Media Strategy†targeted at immigrant voters.
People v. Jason Kenney
The People v. Kenney
Freedom to move
Right to stay, and to Return
We are many.
* We demand an end to Kenney’s detentions and deportations.
* We demand and end to Kenney’s exploitation of temporary migrant workers.
* We demand an end to Kenney’s support for military occupations from Afghanistan to Palestine.
* We demand an end to Kenney’s discrimination against women, LGBTQ communities, immigrants, and racialized people.
Over the past three years, Kenney has been confronted by No One Is Illegal across the country:
*Kenney’s Police Stifles Dissent of NOII-Van. Release and photos here
*Video and Photos of Kenney forced from Vancouver park here and here
*Video of Kenney confronted at Vancouver CIC May 14 here
*Kenney talk disrupted by NOII in Ottawa. Release here
*No One Is Illegal Disrupts Kenney at UBC here
*NOII Montreal Confronts Kenney at McGill here
*Video: NOII-Toronto takes on Kenney here
Give Kenney and Harper the boot! Read more about No One Is Illegal’s People v. Jason Kenney Campaign here and Take Action here. Also check out our Ten Reasons to Stop Harper here.
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