OTTAWA - The Canadian government has failed Canadians and created cracks in the multicultural fabric of this country with the passage of Bill C-50. This reaction came swiftly from BC Senator Mobina Jaffer yesterday, as the Senate passed legislation Bill C-50, containing new immigration policy effectively making it law.
“We have moved to a less transparent and unaccountable system that gives too much power and discretion to the Minister… I am gravely concerned about how this new law will affect family reunification,” said Jaffer while she recounted a story of a South Asian mother who had been waiting for her parents to join her family in Canada.
Senator Jaffer explained the passage of Bill C-50 and the government’s offensive focus on immigrants as economic commodities could very well mean stories like this woman’s will become the norm for new Canadians. “This woman’s children may never know their grandparents… We have created disharmony in our country with the passage of C-50. This is a very sad day for Canadians… there is no harmony when we divide communities,” said Jaffer.
The Conservative government introduced Bill C-50 early this past spring. The government placed the new immigration measures in a budget bill, effectively stifling debate and making amendments impossible without triggering a federal election. The new law will affect all immigration applications after February 29, 2008.
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