Justin Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, has a history of courting Muslim voters through flirtations with Islamic fundamentalism. This has included addressing a mosque with ties to Hamas and defending the niqab. Trudeau has described himself as lucky to be the member of …
What social contract exists between Canadians living in Hong Kong, and the faraway nation which provides them a passport? Is geographical proximity an essential component of that contract, if the passport holder wants to enjoy the full privileges of Canadian citizenship – say, by voting in the upcoming federal election?
It’s no abstract debate. Last month, the Ontario Court of Appeal issued a ruling that eliminates federal voting rights for long-term expats, including an estimated 190,000 of the almost 300,000 Canadians in Hong Kong. The basis of the ruling, which upholds a voting ban on those who have lived outside Canada for more than five years, was summarised by Chief Justice George Strathy, who described Canada’s political system as based on “geographically defined districts”.
Allowing all non-resident citizens to vote “would allow them to participate in making laws that affect Canadian residents on a daily basis, but have little to no practical consequence for their own daily lives”, Strathy said in the July 20 ruling. “This would erode the social contract and undermine the legitimacy of the laws. The legislation [prohibiting voting by five-year non-residents] is aimed at strengthening Canada’s system of government and is demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”
That political rights should hinge on geographical presence grates with Yuen Pau Woo, the former president and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation, now a distinguished East Asia fellow with the think tank. Read more
Aug. 16, 2015 – Progressive though they may be, the Dutch have had enough when it comes to demands by Muslim immigrants. The land of windmills, wooden shoes and tulips is doing away with multiculturalism. Are you listening, President Obama? Apparently, the Dutch are finally listening …
There is Canada, and there is Vancouver. For people unfamiliar with Western Canada’s largest city, it may appear Vancouver is indeed one of our country’s major urban centres— a vital, integral component of our overall nationhood. They couldn’t be more misinformed. Yes, geographically-speaking, Vancouver is part of Canada. Beyond this, however, lies a truth seldom recognized—namely, that our fair city is an aberration within Canadian society.
Nowhere is this more apparent than upon investigation of the number one vehicle of the local economy— real estate, and the foreign money fuelling its engine.Truly, Vancouver is the “wild, wild west” of Canadian business culture. It appears anything goes in this lotus-land of the west, and the way things have gone for the past thirty years is in the direction of Asia, and in particular, the nation of China. Read more
WASHINGTON (AP) — Air pollution is killing about 4,000 people in China a day, accounting for 1 in 6 premature deaths in the world’s most populous country, a new study finds. Physicists at the University of California, Berkeley, calculated that about 1.6 million people in …
Media outlets from at least six countries have documented Richmond’s growth and demographics shift over the past two years. Richmond’s significant demographic shift as a result of immigration from China, as well as city council’s contentious handling of foreign-language business and real estate signs, has …
As our national identity is eroded, the political class still refuses to admit the scale of the catastrophe. When the bloodthirsty Islamist brute nicknamed “Jihadi John” was exposed as a London computer graduate and terror suspect called Mohammed Emwazi, the cry went up, “How was …
Entrenched into our constitution in 1982, the Charter’s transformative nature is found not in its declaration of personal liberty and equality, but rather in how the legislation is utilized, and by whom. Surely, few Canadians oppose laws which guarantee individual rights such as freedom of speech, or freedom of assembly. The extension of these rights to all Canadians, regardless of race or religion, is very likely acceptable to the average Canadian— whether a recent arrival to our shores, or a descendent of those who farmed our prairie lands at the turn of the 20th century.
On the campaign trail in North Vancouver Wednesday, Conservative leader Stephen Harper promised to take action on foreign investment in Canadian real estate. Harper tested the waters of the controversial subject by promising to spend $500,000 in 2016 to collect data on foreign buying of …
A former two-time Liberal candidate is calling on Leader Justin Trudeau to live up to his pledge for open nomination races unhindered by party insiders after she says she was barred from running. Wendy Yuan officially announced her intention to run last October. She had …
China’s “semi-historic” devaluation is rippling across financial markets today, taking the Canadian dollar down with it, among others. Other commodity-linked currencies, like the Australian and New Zealand dollars, are also being hit, even moreso than the loonie as the U.S. greenback also rises. The move …
Does the threat of “terror tourism” warrant limiting Canadians’ mobility rights? Conservative Leader Stephen Harper would appear to think so. At a campaign stop in Ottawa over the weekend, Harper promised new legislation to designate certain parts of the globe under the control of terrorist …