Liberals plan for huge influx of refugees, immigrant spouses at expense of skilled foreign workers

The Liberal government has cut the number of skilled foreign workers it will allow into Canada this year to make room for a huge influx of Syrian refugees, immigrant spouses and children.

Immigration Minister John McCallum says the reduction in economic immigrants is a “temporary pause” that will have minimal impact on Canada’s well-being and prosperity. But the move has nonetheless raised concerns from business groups about the Liberals’ long-term plans for immigration.

At the same time, the government could face a backlash from some ethnic communities for not letting more immigrant parents and grandparents into Canada to be reunited with their families.

McCallum announced the changes at an event in Brampton, Ont., on Tuesday, only a short distance from where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled his party’s immigration policy during last year’s federal election campaign.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/liberal-government-is-planning-to-bring-in-a-record-of-more-than-305000-new-permanent-residents-in-2016

Brussels airport and Metro bombings

Blasts rocked the departure hall of Brussels’ Zaventem Airport and the city Metro stations, killing over 30 people, injuring dozens more. While the death toll keeps growing, authorities said the attacks are terror bombings and more undetonated homemade bombs are being discovered in security ops.

https://www.rt.com/news/336527-brussels-airport-terror-bombing/
A New Threat to the Syrian Refugee Program

Republicans pounced on the news that two men indicted on terrorism charges had been resettled in the U.S. after fleeing Iraq.

When congressional Republicans were trying to halt the Syrian refugee program last fall, a central pillar of the Obama administration’s defense was that there was no more arduous way to enter the United States and that few if any refugees had ever been arrested on terrorism charges.

That argument took a big hit on Thursday night, when federal prosecutors unsealed indictments against two refugees from Iraq on charges involving international terrorism. Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, a 23-year-old Iraqi-born Palestinian living in California, allegedly flew to Syria in 2013 and 2014 to join terrorist groups and then lied to immigration officials questioning him about his activities upon his return. Al-Jayab arrived in the U.S. from Iraq in 2012 and also lived in Arizona and Wisconsin. He was charged with making false statements.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/the-arrest-of-iraqi-refugees-on-terrorism-charges/423339/

Fear not, citizens. Wildrose has an ‘action plan’ to save Alberta.

Alberta’s Wildrose Party likes to tell people it stands for “Low Taxes, Balanced Budgets and a Savings Plan”. Its website is filled with nostalgia for the sunnier days of the Alberta Advantage — long ago and far away, when government respected taxpayers, balanced budgets regardless of energy prices, lowered taxes and trimmed regulations to grow the economy.

Truth is, the Alberta Advantage was always a bit of a mirage. Although it is true that taxes and debt were cut in the Ralph Klein era to create a preferential tax climate to attract investment, Alberta governments have never been particularly good at staying out of the marketplace. Although offering companies royalty holidays until their capital investments are recovered is a relatively less intrusive tool, there is nothing laissez-faire about direct subsidies for tire recycling or the horse racing industry. Entire industries — such as agriculture — were subsidized through loan guarantees under Don Getty, and direct subsidies were given to Gainers (Peter Pocklington’s meat packing giant) and the Principal Group of trust companies and investment subsidiaries.


http://ipolitics.ca/2016/03/16/fear-not-citizens-wildrose-has-an-action-plan-to-save-alberta/