Bill - C49

I guess I shoulld not be totally surprised that Michael Ignatieff has taken a position in opposition to the government on Bill C-49 but I have to say that I am and equally disapointed.  It would seem to me that Mr Ignatieff has once again put his ego and his desire to oppose anything that the PM suggests ahead of common sense, the will of the Canadian people and most importantly the security of our nation.

This bill whilst not perfect seeks to ensure that those who try to smuggle people through our borders are dealt with in a firm manner and that our law enforcement teams can detain all the people involved until they can determine their true status and can process the case accordingly.  This means that both the smuggler and the person(s) being smuggled will be detained in secure facilities and not be released for processing in the community, which is the part that Mr. Ignatieff  takes issue with when he claims that we would be victimizing the victim.

The only problem with his view is that he (nor any of us) cannot possibly know whether the person being smuggled in is indeed a victim of trafficing, or is a in fact a non qualifying illigal immigrant or worse still a criminal or terrorist seeking to gain access to our country for illegal purposes.  Our law enforcement staff need to have the powers to hold people until they are properly vetted and dealt with, and if this means that people are held for longer periods of time then as long as we are treating them well by providing a safe and secure environment with proper sanitation and food we have fulfilled our duties.  More importantly though we will have given our law enforcers the opportunity to perform their duties in a proper manner by allowing them to keep our borders secure and by discouraging others from attempting to gain illegal access.

Mr. Ignatieff would have us believe that this breaches charter rights, but surely the charter was intended to deal with those that were either born here or have gained fair and legal access through the proper immigration channels into Canada and not simply anyone who turns up and shouts asylum?  If we are to follow Mr. Ignatieffs lead then the charter actually applies to every citizen on the face of the earth in which case we may as well simply open our borders and abandon immigration policy altogether by allowing everyone to claim asylum.

The bill as it stands provides incarceration for the smuggler, safety for the smuggled, protection for Canadians and a clear process for our law enforcers.  It will discourage people from viewing Canada as a soft target and will ensure that genuine cases are dealt with in an appropriate manner whilst bogus claims are rejected and repatriated at the lowest possible cost to Canadian tax payers.

So come on Mr. Ignatieff, swallow your pride for once and don't simply oppose a bill just because Mr. Harper presented it.  Do what is right for the security of Canada and offer your support.