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| MP Jason Kenney |
The Calgary Southeast MP is leading the charge on Bill C-49, a bill aimed at tackling the growing problem of smuggling people into Canada, especially by boat.
Unfortunately for Kenney, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, and a host of other critics of the bill including Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller, are concerned the proposed legislation is more about clamping down on the refugee claimants once they're here. And Kenney admits in an interview with Deborah Gyapong that part of the bill's intent is to deter would-be refugees from making the dangerous voyage.
While our faith should root our thinking and acting, it seems proposed government policy slips off these moorings at times. Bill C-49 is fear-based and fundamentally cruel, as at its heart it speaks too much about protecting Canadians (fear) and seeks, among other measures, to hold refugee claimants in detention for a year without review (cruel). Governing a country is no easy matter, and migrant and refugee issues are complicated, but when we move away from biblical urgencies to treat the foreigner as we would a citizen, we begin to lose our faith and our soul.
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