Posted on 10/20/2007 2:05:35 PM PDT by Clive
OTTAWA -- A majority of Canadians believe immigrants who are in the country illegally or after their visas expire should be deported, even if they have family ties in the country, a newly released government poll shows.
Conducted for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the national poll revealed that respondents didn't make a distinction between "undocumented workers" and "workers without the proper work permits," with nearly two-thirds of Canadians coming down hard on illegal immigrants because they did not follow the rules.
"Half say that they feel the same way about immigrants who have studied in Canada and have the potential to contribute to this country but who are now here illegally because their visas have run out," said the poll summary. As well, a slight majority said immigrants who did not go through the proper application process should be deported despite the existence of family members already in the country.
Prof. Peter Showler, director of the Refugee Forum at the University of Ottawa, said it is a "very high Canadian value" to oppose queue-jumping by anyone in the country, including immigrants.
"We are a very civil society and we like the idea that people should play by the rules, and we don't like it when there are rule-breakers and I think that has been a fairly consistent view," said Mr. Showler. However, he added that Canadians are very "schizophrenic" on the issue and once personal details about an immigrant, who is about to be deported, become public through the media, they often become extremely supportive.
He said estimates on the number of illegal immigrants in Canada generally range from 35,000 to 120,000 -- a relatively small percentage of the national population when compared to 13 million in the United States.
The federal government is releasing its latest survey as the heated debate over reasonable accommodation of minorities, which started in Quebec, spreads across the country, drawing in issues of multiculturalism and immigration. The Conservative government promised in the throne speech to bring in legislation forcing voters to show their faces when casting ballots.
Residents in Quebec, at 70%, were much more likely to mention "reasonable accommodation" than any other region in Canada, where no more than five per cent cited this response when asked to mention aspects of immigration in the news. The Quebec government is currently holding hearings into reasonable accommodation across the province.
In the poll, Canadians identified both the positive and negative aspects of immigration. The pro-immigration aspects were identified as giving a boost to the workforce by bringing in more labourers and highly skilled people while increasing cultural diversity.
"Negative aspects identified include the perception that there is a lack of integration in that immigrants are imposing their culture instead of adapting to ours, the desire of immigrants to have Canada accommodate them, the impact that immigration has on Canadian culture and the notion that immigrants groups tend to stay together and not mix with the rest of society," said the poll report.
The survey also found that despite Canadians' limited understanding of biometrics, three of five support their use once the effectiveness against the fraudulent use of identity documents is explained. "They say that the federal government's main priority... should be maintaining security rather than protecting privacy," said the report.
In fact, 80% of the respondents predicted by the year 2010 that every adult will have at least one biometric ID on file somewhere to verify their identity. Overall, just over half of Canadians said that there are about the right number of immigrants coming to Canada while 27% said there were too many.
The poll report, which was completed in May, involved 1,200 telephone interviews with adult Canadians and carries a margin of error of 2.8%, 19 times out of 20.
It was the first time the government had asked questions about deporting illegal immigrants in Canada. The poll cost about $40,000.
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Racists. Bigots. Nativists. Xenophobes.
[la raza mode=”off”]
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION TO CANADA
The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration.
The actions of President Bush are prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they’ll soon be required to hunt, drink Budweiser, and agree with Bill O’Reilly.
Canadian border farmers say it’s not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal- rights activists, and Unitarians crossing their fields at night.
“I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn,” said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry.
“He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken.”
When I said I didn’t have any, he left. Didn’t even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?”
In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. “Not real effective,” he said. “The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they
wouldn’t give milk.”
Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves.
“A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions,” an Ontario border patrolman said. “I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though.”
When liberals are caught, they’re sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the Bush administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer watch The Dukes of Hazard and NASCAR races.
In recent days, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs.
After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers on Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney hits to prove they were alive in the ‘50s.
“If they can’t identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age,” an official said.
Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies.
“I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can’t support them,” an Ottawa resident said. “How many art history majors does one country need?
Is there such a thing as an “illegal immigrant” in Canada? Who knew?
LOL, if (god forbid) the ‘Beast gets elected I might be sneaking across the Manitoba border.
“We are a very civil society and we like the idea that people should play by the rules, and we don’t like it when there are rule-breakers and I think that has been a fairly consistent view,” said Mr. Showler. However, he added that Canadians are very “schizophrenic” on the issue and once personal details about an immigrant, who is about to be deported, become public through the media, they often become extremely supportive.”
Lyndsey Graham called us “bigots”. I guess those who are self appointed thinkers for others in Canada call their citizens “schizophrenics”.
Thread duly filed under a keyword prompted by the Mexican invasion
of Winsdor, Ontario:
KEYWORD: MEXICANCANADA
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=mexicancanada
My advice to Windsor/Canada: don’t ship these invaders back to the USA.
Because they’ll be back on your doorstep in no time at all.
I fear that you're wrong.If The Former Twelfth Lady is elected and has a RAT controlled Congress I'd wager everything I have that "comprehensive immigration reform" will pass.
I can't remember his name.
A Thompson man, eh? ABC.
Yeah, stick to western Canada at all costs. I am less than 200 miles from that border, looking into becoming a coyote.
I knew that was parody when I read that. Everybody knows that cows give more milk when they listen to Rush.
Does that include the U.S. born draft dodger hippie freaks who ran there in the 60’s and 70’s?
Myron Floren, Accordion
Duh.
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