This week is Citizenship Week, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper took the opportunity to “encourage all Canadians to welcome newcomers and acknowledge the contributions that they continue to make to the fabric of our great nation."
Nice sentiment. Too bad his Minister of State for Multiculturalism, Tim Uppal, appeared on a Vancouver TV station just last week to explain how older relatives of immigrants are such a burden.
This attitude could help explain why the Conservative government decreased the family reunification quota by 50 per cent in its first five years in office. Earlier this year, it followed up by tightening the rules to make it harder for parents and grandparents to be accepted.
//www.youtube.com/embed/aTo62GkhIrE
Photo: 96434059@N00. Used under a Creative Commons NC-ND 2.0 licence.