NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and House leader Peter Julian hold a media availability as their party continues its pre-fall sitting caucus retreat in Ottawa. They comment on the establishment of a public inquiry into foreign interference that was announced earlier in the day by federal Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc. Quebec Justice Marie-Josée Hogue will chair the inquiry.
Toronto Star NEWS: Canada launches ad campaign warning newcomers claiming asylum is ‘not easy’
When reached for comment, NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said the new measures are an abrupt shift from past policy.
“This about face from Prime Minister Trudeau is a shameless and insidious attempt to use newcomers such as migrants, international students, and asylum seekers as political cover,” Kwan said in a statement emailed to the Star.
It’s a dangerous game on Trudeau’s part, said Kwan, in trying to “shift the blame for his failures” to asylum seekers — one she called “a recipe to further hype-up hate, resentment and discrimination toward racialized people.
“Instead of wasting $250,000 on advertising, they should be investing those resources in processing applications,” said Kwan.