Quote:
Originally Posted by valo403
I still don't understand what the basis for your objection is.
2 nations are presenting an extraordinary high number of individuals seeking to enter Canada on dubious grounds, as opposed to using the proper channels. What's the problem with preventing the system from being overrun by those looking to skirt the requirements? Why should we keep any system in place if we're going to sit by and watch it people side-step it?
|
It's not even that I object in principle to a visa requirement. I just think it's a little silly.
Not to mention ironic that the party which ran on a platform of less government is now hiring new foreign service staff and creating new, time-consuming bureaucratic processes to deal with what in relative terms is a tiny, tiny number of people.
But more to the point, I'm not seeing the pressing social problem that this addresses. Are Mexican gangs taking over our schools? Is our welfare system inundated with undocumented workers seeking EI? (I rather doubt it--for one thing, undocumenteds tend to stay under the radar, and for another--this is by Kenney's own admission a very small number of people)
The United States much more clearly has a pressing requirement to address Mexican undocumented workers attempting to enter the country--and yet for them, requiring Mexicans to have a visa would seem a little silly. How does it help to make another rule for people who are trying to break the rules anyway?
Anyway, if Kenney wants to do this, I say fine. Its negative effect on tourism will (I suspect) be minimal. It may have a chilling effect on relations with Mexico and the Czech Republic (and I note no-one seems to care much about that--but trust me, these things matter) but at the end of the day, our day-to-day lives are unlikely to change very much.
But you know, Kenney got his name in the paper. So it's all good. It's approximately as smart as his notion that marriage laws don't discriminate against homosexuals because they can still enter straight marriages. Or making public comments about the asylum applications of people whose cases are still being reviewed.
The guy doesn't know what he's doing--but it is entertaining to watch.