The following is a report on Immigration Watch Canada’s peaceful assembly at Immigration Minister Chris Alexander’s Constituency Office in Ajax, Ontario on August 25.
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HERE IS PART OF THE INTRODUCTORY SPEECH GIVEN NEAR IMMIGRATION MINISTER CHRIS ALEXANDER’S OFFICE :
“Mr. Chris Alexander and Staff :
“Our reason for being here today is simple – we want public disclosure of the rationale and presumed net societal benefits of mass immigration to Canada. To date, despite numerous requests from the public and various organizations, neither your constituency office nor the Department of Citizenship and Immigration has provided any credible evidence of presumed societal benefit. Canada’s mass immigration program has been the highest per capita in the world (about six million people since 1990) and has dramatically transformed Canadian society.
“Numerous studies from Stats Can and various think tanks have shown a direct correlation between mass immigration to Canada and wage suppression, unemployment (between 1.5 and 2 million Canadians out of work now), poverty, housing unaffordability, environmental impact, loss of precious farmland, threats to food security, and growing tribalism.
“Canada’s mass immigration intake has benefited a few while reducing the quality of life for millions of Canadians. In addition, it has placed the onus on honest taxpayers to foot the bill for this ill-conceived policy. It is time for Canada to have a serious conversation about mass immigration and for the Government of Canada to provide complete transparency regarding the presumed societal benefit of mass immigration…”
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HERE ARE SOME POINTS TO NOTE ABOUT OUR PROTEST :
– About 8 to10 members of the Durham Police showed up about an hour before our protest began and ordered us to remain about 100 feet away from the front door of Immigration Minister Chris Alexander’s office. According to the police, Alexander’s office sat on “private property”. To offset that disadvantage, we used a high powered megaphone to broadcast our message to any office staff who were listening. We also used a large banner which was visible to any staff member who was watching our protest.
– While walking to Alexander’s office along the street, we displayed our 10-foot long banner which had the message “SAVE CANADA. CUT IMMIGRATION” . Many cars passed by and drivers both honked their horns in approval and gave us a “Thumbs Up” in support of our message.
– Someone had alerted Alexander’s office staff about our peaceful protest. Staff had locked the front door of Alexander’s office. While assembled, we noticed several constituents trying to get into Alexander’s office but they could not open the door.
– For at least 6 months prior to our protest, we had requested Alexander’s Department of Citizenship and Immigration to provide evidence which would justify Canada’s immigration intake, an average of 250,000 per year for the past 23 years. Alexander’s office staff claimed such evidence existed, and that they would send it. However, they have never sent us anything.
– In July, Immigration Watch Canada sent registered letters to both Alexander’s constituency office in Ajax and his office in Ottawa. In the letters, we requested an August meeting with him to discuss evidence he had for Canada’s immigration intake. About a week later, we received a call from a member of his staff who stated that Alexander would be busy ‘traveling in August” and therefore would not be available. We told the staff member that his response sounded like a very lame excuse.
– The numerous postings below that Alexander has made on his Facebook Page clearly show that Alexander’s excuse was indeed “lame”. The “traveling” Alexander did in August and July was to meet many ethnic groups in his area and in other areas nearby. To us, this clearly demonstrates that Alexander believes that the immigration-related views of the majority of Canadians don’t count and that in his view, ethnic groups and the immigration lobby are the only ‘stakeholders” in Canada’s immigration process. As we have said before, having the Immigration Minister consult with the immigration lobby on immigration policy is like having Canada’s PM or Solicitor General consult with Hell’s Angels on drug enforcement. To put it mildly, Alexander and other government representatives need a severe jolt to wake them up.
– According to Chris Alexander’s social networking pages, here is what his “traveling” consisted of in August and July : (NOTE: The dates you see are the dates on which he posted these items to his Facebook Page. A number of events posted on July 14 probably happened earlier. )
July 14
Durham Tamil Association’s 14th Annual BBQ and Family Picnic (4 photos)
July 14
Durham Caribbean Festival
July 14
Durham Diversity Society “Together In Diversity” (8 photos)
July 17
This month I visited New Delhi and Mumbai to promote the economic and cultural ties between Canada and India. Canada and India enjoy a strong bilateral relationship that is based on shared democratic values and mutual economic interests. (11 photos) Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announces the launch of the CAN+ program, which will result in more efficient processing for Indian visitors coming to Canada: http://bit.ly/1kztMTY CAN+ is open to Indian nationals who have travelled to Canada or the United States of America within the last 10 years.
August 13: “Last night I had the pleasure of attending India’s National Day Gala 2014 in Brampton with Prime Minister Stephen Harper+ many more friends and colleagues. Wonderful evening spent with Indo-Canadians who have made valuable contributions to our great country. Thanks to The Honorable Senator Asha Seth for a great event!”
August 14: “Had the pleasure of hosting a productive roundtable with Peter Braid, Member of Parliament and MP Stephen Woodworth at Communitech this afternoon. Engaging conversation with an impressive group of people with the experience and expertise we can tap into to ensure economic growth, innovation, and long-term prosperity in Canada. – “The Start-Up Visa Program is one of our newest and most exciting programs which targets immigrant entrepreneurs with the potential to build innovative companies here in Canada, creating jobs for Canadians.”
August 20: “We’re only halfway through 2014, and I’m honoured to report we’ve welcomed the 150,000th newest Canadian citizen of this year. This is compared to 129,000 in all of 2013! We’ve been able to welcome more new citizens because of the important changes we’ve made to citizenship processing. This is an indication that our government’s changes to the citizenship system are working.”
August 21: “On August 17th, I had the pleasure of attending ICCAD’s 9th Annual Festival of India’s Heritage & Flag Raising Ceremony in Pickering. Held in celebration of India’s Independence Day, the Festival gives Durham region residents the opportunity to learn about India’s rich cultural heritage.”
August 22: “This past week, I had the pleasure of meeting with the Women’s Activity Group at the Ajax Welcome Centre. These dynamic women meet to practice their English, become involved in the creation of art, all whilst helping each other through life’s obstacles. The centre’s volunteers, a vital part of this activity, share their knowledge and experience with the newcomers helping them to network in the local community.”
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HERE IS WHAT WE DID AT THE SAME TIME AND HERE IS THE RESPONSE WE RECEIVED :
-A large number of people called Alexander’s office both while we were assembled and after the assembly concluded. They requested any Government of Canada report which provided (1) credible evidence that justified mass immigration of 250,000 per year and (2) evidence that this intake is benefiting Canadian society. They also stated that they stood in support of the peaceful assembly hosted by Immigration Watch Canada !
The staff in Alexander’s office did not pick up the phone to answer most calls. Instead, many callers were transferred to Alexander’s voice mail. This treatment of legitimate complaints by thoughtful Canadians is typical of the hypocrisy in Canada’s immigration system : Immigration Ministers and many of Canada’s politicians continue to grovel at the feet of immigrant voters. Yet they treat Canada’s majority population with contempt.
In the past, Alexander’s office staff have been anything but co-operative and knowledgeable about the immigration issue. Instead of working diligently to provide callers with requested information and noting their concerns on current immigration policies, they simply told callers such things as “We are a local MP’s office and have nothing to do with immigration.” or “We do not talk about immigration-related issues here !!! Your complaints need to be directed to CIC. You can also email them to the Immigration Minister’s office in Ottawa”.
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HERE IS OUR CONCLUSION :
As you can see, Alexander, his government and Parliament continue to demonstrate that they have no intention of protecting Canadians and Canada. They could be introducing measures to dramatically cut immigration, but Alexander’s Conservatives and all other parties continue to grovel for their share of the immigrant vote.
We need to do all we can to counteract this gross negligence.
Do what you can to help. Speak up in some way !!! Too many of you are making excuses for doing nothing. It’s time to get off your rear ends and help the cause !!!
