To the Editor,
As a compassionate Canadian, like many, I feel we can accept refugees, but feel the rush to fulfill a political promise creates security and health concerns. To use our military bases for housing also concerns me.
When I look around my country and see the condition of some of the housing on the First Nations reserves and the amount of homeless people walking the streets of our cities and sleeping on the streets I wonder where our priorities are and if this is more about politics and votes.
Being our brother’s keepers should begin at home.
Gardo D. GurrNanaimo
To the Editor,
Why is it necessary to spend $500,000 in government advertising, designed to convince us that despite broad public opposition, having 25,000 refugees enter our communities is a national demonstration of our ‘compassionate values?’ The Liberal government fears a backlash from private sponsors who have waited months or years to assist a refugee family, only to have their own government ‘jump the queue.’ They also fear that having landed, any refugee subsequently deemed inadmissible will use the Canadian Charter to avoid deportation for years to come. Lastly, this publicly funded plea to our better nature is designed to neutralize wide and well-founded concern over public safety.
Randy O’DonnellNanaimo