Global News: Is Kneecap banned from Canada or not? NDP urges answer in high-profile case
Global News: Is Kneecap banned from Canada or not? NDP urges answer in high-profile case
The federal immigration minister is facing increasing pressure to clarify whether the Irish hip-hop group Kneecap is indeed banned from entering Canada, or if the Liberal official who announced the move was approved to make that assertion in a contentious social media post.
In a letter to Immigration Minister Lena Diab on Thursday, NDP MP Jenny Kwan, the party’s immigration critic, urged Diab to say whether the group is indeed banned after the minister and other officials have repeatedly refused to answer questions on the case for almost two weeks.
The band says it has yet to receive any official notice about an entry ban or denial of their electronic visa authorizations.
“Canadians and visitors to Canada deserve to know that they are not subject to arbitrary and politicized weaponization of public policy for political purposes,” Kwan wrote.
“We need to rebuild integrity into the system in this time of misinformation.”
Liberal MP Vince Gasparro, the parliamentary secretary for combating crime, announced on Sept. 19 “on behalf of the Government of Canada” that the band’s members had been deemed ineligible for entry ahead of scheduled concerts this month, based “on the advice of our officials.”
Kwan wants Diab to answer if the officials Gasparro referenced are in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and if she or other IRCC officials authorized Gasparro to speak on their behalf publicly.
The letter also asks if Kneecap were ever formally banned from entering Canada or if they are permitted to enter, and if the Prime Minister’s Office or any other government officials or agencies were involved in approving Gasparro’s announcement.
Click to read and watch the news story - https://globalnews.ca/news/11461642/kneecap-entry-ban-ndp-jenny-kwan-vince-gasparro/
Latest posts
How your data determines what you pay!
What if the price you pay at the store is different than the person standing next to you?
Corporations can use personal data such as location, device type, browsing history, purchase behavior, login status, and loyalty cards/programs to profile consumers and determine what different people are charged for the same goods and services.
How can we stop this from happening in Canada?
Join MP Jenny Kwan, Patrick Johnson - President of UFCW 1518, Jim Stanford - Economist and Director of Centre for Future Work, Avi Lewis - NDP Leader and Benjamin Fung - Canada Research Chair in Data Mining for Cybersecurity and other experts, for a public forum and community conversation about what surveillance pricing means for consumers and workers, how technology and personal data are changing the way prices are set, and what everyday people can do to fight back.
*Scan QR code, click the image or this link to register your attendance - https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/your-data-their-price-a-town-hall-on-surveillance-pricing-tickets-1998495899032
A Parliamentary Secretary should not have to choose between doing their job and following their conscience. Sean Casey supported my private member’s bill, Bill C-233, which sought to close a loophole in Canada’s arms export regime that allows Canadian-made weapons to reach countries through the United States despite Canada’s own export controls. The bill was defeated in the House, with 22 MPs voting in favour and 295 against.
Sean Casey says he was removed from his position as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs after supporting the bill.
If MPs cannot vote according to their conscience on a private member’s bill without risking their government position, what does a “free vote” actually mean?
I want to thank Sean Casey and the other MPs who supported Bill C-233 for standing up for the principle that Canada’s arms export controls must mean what they say—and that Parliament must be able to hold government policy to account.
The government can disagree with my bill. It can vote against it. But MPs should not have to fear losing their parliamentary responsibilities simply for voting according to their conscience.
*Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/9.7359007