Leaderboard

My mother came from Shanghai (but would in your reference be defined as someone of Western or European values) and cost the government zero. I appreciate why you asked the question. I did not take it the wrong way. I got you. I got your point too. With that reference, and so based only on my subjective anecdotal observation of my mother's success, I can only say her having an occupational skill Canada needed and language skills as well as a strong work ethic were the 3 factors to success .( that and of course having such a wonderful son who never gave her a problem ever and inspired her to greatness) (shut up that was a joke) So based on that which I knew you already knew, what I am saying is those qualities are universal qualities and so I would argue they could exist or be lacking in literally anyone not just Europeans. You also know the eligibility criteria is based on points based on verified transferable education, needed skills and of course language skills. It does get more lenient with language skills for trade workers compared to skilled professional workers as the level of language does not have to be as complex but still be fluent. It does expedite entry for people who invest 2 million in Canadian ventures. You can buy your way into Canada with no education if you can show a net worth of 50 million and invest 2 million in the country or with an education have a net work of 10 million and invest 2 million in the country. Otherwise it has a points system trying to screen eligibility based on education, skills and language. It tries to do that. None of that applies to refugees. I fully agree our current system can NOT accurately predict someone has proper work and ethical values which is what you are really getting at. We debate this but we agree a person who works hard, follows the laws, helps contribute to the tax basin and economy is not the issue. The issue comes with people who want to live off the state or come to Canada and be intolerant to others with their values but demand tolerance in return using our multi-cultural policies or concept of human rights to do that. I get all that. I do. I just think these are complex issues. Not because I am politically correct-in fact and odor I am a rude smelly old man.... but because I think human behavior is complex and the methods we use now to assess human behavior all are imperfect. Do I personally think someone from Britain would have an easier time assimilating in Canada then an itinerant shepherd from Afghanistan, probably. I would guess that but I would not necessarily build that assumption into an eligibility requirement for this reason and caution- just because the person is from Britain doesn't mean they won't end up a criminal, a bum, a shmuck and just because that goat herder has an attraction to kids (baby goats) doesn't mean they can't end up doing something good in Canada. All I am saying is we have to look a little bit further than these assumptions which I do not necessarily disagree with but on the other hand can not accept as absolutes. That said I continue to argue with refugees, they are expensive short term to settle, yes but not if they are privately sponsored. Private sponsors pay their expenses, teach them the language and social skills they will need and give them work and serve as their mentors until they successfully assimilate. With other refugees I have argued we are not properly supporting them once making them Canadian citizens. We are not properly assessing their psychiatric, medical and education limitations and so setting many up for failure as they have no transferable language, social, or work skills (life skills) which traps them into cycles of repeating poverty and dependence on provincial social benefits. I am also arguing I now believe our government knows when refugee claimants are rejected we do not deport them forcing them to go into a twilight zone of no rights where now they can be exploited as cheap labour below minimum wage. Our government knows this. In the name of Liberal compassion it is creating cheap illegal labour for Canadian businesses. It also is creating a first generation of dependent refugees with major adjustment issues by not having a program that provides an incubation period prior to coming to Canada to teach them language and life skills. This is why I argue the current refugee system should be scrapped and we have two replacement systems, one private which is not broke and works and another where we spend our money now being spent on the current system to provide instead education, shelter, medical services and fresh water to refugee camps and from those camps choose certain candidates to be prepared for coming to Canada and matching them up to the private sponsors. This way we help the private sponsors and we help refugees and we no longer have a loophole for persons coming to Canada to leap frog the immigration system. As for your wanting to screen people to have the right values, short of assuring they have work life and language skills I am all ears but simply asking people if they like beards but mo mustaches probably won't work.

OK, but Justin Trudeau was not bathing in confidence even before the latest crisis. So called "progressives" like Trudeau and his ilk would rather die from contagion than ever be accused of being "racists", even though they already are.

It's about 2% for Coronovirus vs .01% for normal flu pandemics. Flu mortality rates however can reach 20% and one just never knows for sure when the next really deadly flu will emerge. So where's the panic over that? I mean, think about how much effort we take to prevent the infinitesimally small chance of being killed by a terrorist. Perspectives are just all over tha map.

Good luck with that....just sayin'

I doubt that. There must be at least another hundred equally banal excuses for not giving a shit that you can choose from.

That explains your avatar.

The circular firing squad continues....as the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is changing the rules for debate qualification to favour Mike Bloomberg over other candidates that were barred from previous debates. Why ? Because the DNC is scared to death by Bernie and needs Bloomberg's money badly for any hope to defeat Donald Trump. Very ironic that the Democrats need/want a billionaire to defeat a billionaire.

Unfortunately the opinion that science is bunkum is the prevailing one here in North America as the video Michael posted showed. What millions of wilfully ignorant people think is completely at odds with what thousands of informed scientists know. I believe our response must also include pointing out that prevailing opinion is as stupid as the people holding it. I suppose that will only lead to more polarization and digging in of heels but it is what it is. I wish I could find a more constructive way to communicate that but after decades of running into the same intransigent opinion I'm at a loss. Driving off the cliff and hitting rock bottom hard enough the pain sinks in and effects a change in that opinion appears to be the only way thru it. Hopefully science will find and produce solutions faster but...that cliff is getting closer.

It IS burdensome, and more so to cultures that are actually under threat. Both aboriginal and French culture have been suppressed and systematically marginalized by dominant cultures, and the Canadian culture has been also. How a society sees values, sex education being part of that, is very important to them. I thought about this a long time ago and came to the following conclusions on my own values: - All cultures naturally melt and meld together and eventually fade away - Preserving history is a good thing - If you want to promote a culture, it's better to do so with positive actions rather than restricting/suppressing others - Managing all the contradictions in these statements to produce an agreeable result is difficult politics, but good things are often difficult to achieve

Re: Witold Pilecki There's a popular historical novel by Leon Uris called 'Mila 18' which details the Jewish side of the Warsaw Uprising. I believe one of the characters models Pilecki. Mila 18 was a real address in Warsaw...the location of the underground headquarters of the resistance. A small monument is there now.