March 8, 2016

The refugee absorption program undertaken by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – a promise to take in 25,000 persons from Syria – and the Liberal government was no feat of humanitarianism. It was an exercise in virtue-signalling and self-aggrandizement.

Anticipating concerns over threats to national security vis-a-vis Islamic terrorism, Trudeau assured Canadians that the refugees would be effectively screened.

“We were able to actually go and pick and choose and screen and bring over the people we chose, and that gives us a much greater level of control and attention over who’s actually going to come in,” said Trudeau.

This is a lie. Vice-President Martin Bolduc of the Programs Branch at the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) testified to the contrary in a parliamentary meeting on February 18th.

“Most of the 21,000 refugees who have made it to our borders, were not housed in camps, they were, they, had been living in theatre of a number of years, renting apartments, so I just want that for precision. They’re not housed in camps administered by the [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees],” said Bolduc. “Very, very few came out of camps, most of the people were already living in, in the countries where we are operating in.”

Thus, the flaunted refugees whose Canadian salvation was held up by Trudeau as an accolade of altruism wa nothing more than a ruse to score political points. And, at the expense of whom?

The bill for Canadian taxpayers is estimated to be $35,000 per refugee – $900 million over the first year, and $1.2 billion over the next 6 years. Quite a hefty tag for what is ultimately a mass immigration program. And the flying costs? The Liberal Party suggested that we would also bepaying to cover those costs, as well.

Trudeau’s compassion with our bank accounts didn’t end there. We are also being billed for all medical bills of the refugees. Last month, the Liberal government announced an an expansion of health care services to be made available to the refugees. Pre-screenings and treatments abroad described as “pre-departure services” is estimated to $5.9 million annually. Health care services provided within Canada are estimated to cost an additional $5.6 million annually.

Moreover, this dishonest political ploy from the Liberals has been detrimental to our military. The Canadian military has been ordered to draft long-term plans for housing more than 6000 refugees on military bases. Military personnel have also been sent eviction notices to make way for the refugees.

This plan includes hundreds of thousands of dollars in religious accommodations – including construction of Muslim worship centers, distribution of Korans, prayer mats and foot-washing towels. All on our military bases, and all paid for by our tax dollars.

Trudeau and the Liberals cost Canadian taxpayers billions of dollars, admitting refugees – or to be more accurate, immigrants – who were already settled in and living in apartments in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey – not fleeing ISIS or Bashar al-Assad. In a brazen misuse of government and military assets, Trudeau displaced our armed forces and put an overwhelming strain on our immigration system. All this, to provide himself and his party with a platform for moral grandstanding.