Plight of the Lebanese Canadians

[Christian F. Mettel]

I guess one could say that being a dual citizen has its benefits. If Canada didn't allow dual citizenship, how many people would you guess would have had to have been evacuated?

[Christian F. Mettel]

I guess one could say that being a dual citizen has its benefits. If Canada didn't allow dual citizenship, how many Canadian citizens would you guess would have to have been evacuated?

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

That is an interesting thought .
How many would have dropped their original country to become a Canadain.
Hard for me to say, Very few I would guess.
Roy Cooke sr.

[wblakey]

It is so easy to sit back and judge... why don't you think about how you would react if your family was caught in a war zone. I'll bet you would do anything you could to get to safety, call on friends, use a passport, whatever it takes. It's called survival.

War brings out the worst in all of us.

And the last thing we need is a pontificating self-righteous fatso like "Steve" making things worse with his inane comments.

[rwand1]

Thats fine, but don't ***** about the size of ships, the food, the water, the air conditioning, the rough seas.

I thought Mr. Harper bent over backwards on his way back from the G8 and having his airplane stop rather than fly back to Canada empty!

And you think the Liberals would have handled this situation any differently! The LIBERALS were in power when the RCMP handed over one Canadian Citizen to the US, so the US could ship him back to Syria, and allowed Saudia Arabia to torture another Canadian who was working in Saudia Arabia, even though as later proven they were innocent! Where was the LIBERAL's then? Where were the LIBERALS during their fingers in the cookie jar scandal? The thieves that they are!

Yes Mr. Harper may be fat, but he doesn't have scandal after scandal on his shoulders. And as far as his earlier statements who would have predicted 7 Canadians would have been blown up by the Israeli's a couple of days after his first statement?

__________________________________________________ __

July 21, 2006 Convenient Canadians

By PETER WORTHINGTON


What in heaven's name are 50,000 Canadians doing in Lebanon?
Surely they can't all be there for a wedding, or a family reunion, or an academic conference, or even as tourists?
The estimated 50,000 are roughly 20% of all the Lebanese who have become Canadian citizens -- about 250,000 of 'em.

Put another way, there are twice as many Canadians in Lebanon as there are Canadians in the army.
Are they all in Lebanon for a visit? Hardly. Most are dual-citizenship Canadians who've chosen to return to the motherland to live as Lebanese -- until trouble strikes and then they want the Canadian government to rescue them, not the Lebanese government.

Under terms of Canada's dual citizenship policy, the country in which people choose to live, or to visit, takes precedence over Canadian law -- which isn't to say we, as a country, shouldn't help people in trouble.
Frankly, any dual-citizenship Canadian who chooses to live in one of the danger areas of the world should not expect Canada to rush to his aid and rescue him and relatives when danger threatens.

Instead, appeal to the government you prefer to live under, rather than the Canadian one.
Now Canada is chartering seven ships and a bunch of aircraft to rescue these citizens, many of whom have chosen not to live in Canada. Does Canada have an obligation to be responsible for them? The cost to taxpayers of removing tens of thousands from Lebanon is enormous.

How many, one wonders, of these people will move back to Lebanon when the crisis is over and security is restored -- assuming it ever will be in Lebanon? The view that "a Canadian is a Canadian" and all should be treated equally may need revising.

Why should the government be responsible for naturalized citizens who return to live in a dangerous country in which they are also citizens?

Tourists or short-term visitors are in a different category. Some MPs have suggested Canadians in Lebanon whose principal country of residence is Canada, should be rescued first, since those whose primary home is Lebanon are better able to survive than visitors.

Although Lebanese have settled in Canada for well over a century and are productive citizens, Canada's current policies risk clogging the country with people who shouldn't be here and whom we don't want.
Already, we won't deport terrorist suspects or criminals if there's fear they may be executed or tortured in their birth country. This means virtually no bad guy can be deported to the Middle East.
Canadians of Syrian or Iranian descent should avoid visiting Damascus or Tehran where they're in danger of being grabbed on phony charges -- which in no way is to suggest that the Lebanese Canadians being evacuated have done anything illegal.

We already have a self-described al-Qaida family in Canada, with one member charged with murdering an American soldier in Afghanistan. Many feel this family doesn't deserve to be Canadian, since their allegiance is to an enemy of Canada.
Canada accepts that dual citizens have special rights. But the policy needs fine-tuning. It can be argued -- as some countries do -- that allegiance should be to one country, not two or three.

If someone wants to be a Canadian, that person should give up citizenship in his birth country.
An exception should be made with the U.S. on grounds that we are geographically, traditionally and culturally close.

But for other immigrants, the choice should be one citizenship and one passport.
It's too late now for Lebanon, where 50,000 Canadians outnumber Americans by a two-to-one ratio.
Ludicrous. Change the law before the next crisis!

[wblakey]

Give Steve long enough and he and his party will find themselves embroiled in scandal, it's inevitable. The conservatives and the liberals are what are called "oppo-sames" (they appear to be in opposition but in reality there is nothing different about the way they function.

In the meantime we should not be carping about refugees.

And Steve should remember the role of Canada as peace keepers, which is a reputation he is rapidly destroying.

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

Originally Posted by wblakey

Give Steve long enough and he and his party will find themselves embroiled in scandal, it's inevitable. The conservatives and the liberals are what are called "oppo-sames" (they appear to be in opposition but in reality there is nothing different about the way they function.

In the meantime we should not be carping about refugees.

And Steve should remember the role of Canada as peace keepers, which is a reputation he is rapidly destroying.

You show your obvious distaste for our leader by calling him Steve.
I am for what ever leader does the best for our country and tries to tell the truth .
Unfortunately our last two leaders did not do that and this is why we have a new leader who is doing a good job particularly for being so new .
Give him a chance the last party had many chances and still did not tell the whole story. Sort of like OAHI continually evade the truth.



Roy Cooke sr.

[jferry]

Originally Posted by cmettel

I guess one could say that being a dual citizen has its benefits. If Canada didn't allow dual citizenship, how many Canadian citizens would you guess would have to have been evacuated?

I'm a tri-national: US, Ireland and Great Britain. Americans are everywhere. There's no place on the globe so remote that, if a disaster strikes, you don't immediately hear on the news that "efforts are underway to evacuate [the truly astonishingly high number of] Americans living in [some God-forsaken piece of real estate]." It is truly amazing.

There were plenty of Yanks in Lebanon, too.

[George A. H. Luck]

Paul, maybe you are too young to remember or maybe you have never read any history, but Canadian troops were / are warriors first and "peace keepers" a distant second. During both world wars the Germans feared Canadian troops and often doubled their own opposite numbers when they knew the "Canuks" were in the line. In Korea, some of the most intense and bitter fighting was seen on the Canaidan front and the Chi-Coms quickly came to know that a Canadian position was not easily overthrown and a Canadian assault was to be feared. From the north Atlantic to the far east, from Holland to north Africa, Canadians fought, fought hard and won, as they are doing in Afghanistan today.

Canadians are not just "peace keepers" ( this being the invention of Lester Pearson and his slashed military budgets of the '60s) Canadian troops are warriors. Warriors, who sometimes have to MAKE the peace.

As an aside, isn't it funny how the liberal always is reduced to name calling? Sort of weakens their stance, don't you think?

[wblakey]

At 56 I am not that much different in age than our fearless leader, and yes I do not respect him, nor do I respect Dubya, or any of the fearless leaders who are causing untold mayhem all over the planet as we speak.

Warriors in my opinion are those who protect the weak and have strong moral standards, something that the Canadian military always had a reputation for. If you want to read about the present day situation from someone who had been in the thick of it you should read The War Against Truth. If that doesn't open your eyes then nothing will.

Forget labels, Liberals, Conservatives, they are all the same, they are politicians, pushed and pulled by the whims of the corporations that own them. My prediction: give Harper a long enough rope and he will hang himself, it's just a matter of time. Same thing with Bush.

Give me a politician who is brave enough to stand up and say THIS IS WRONG, THE KILLING OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS IS WRONG. Not, well it's okay just this once because there are extenuating circumstances...

You assume I am a liberal because I oppose Steve, you assume wrongly.

[rwand1]

As long as there is any form of war civilians will be in the cross fire. You cannot pick and choose and the intelligence is not always accurate. In war you can only try to reduce collateral damage.

Freedom and democracy are costly to maintain.

Read this weeks McLeans Magazine on the Kardr family who reside in Toronto. Why are these people in Canada, on welfare, receiving medical care, education....?

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

Originally Posted by wblakey

At 56 I am not that much different in age than our fearless leader, and yes I do not respect him, nor do I respect Dubya, or any of the fearless leaders who are causing untold mayhem all over the planet as we speak.

Warriors in my opinion are those who protect the weak and have strong moral standards, something that the Canadian military always had a reputation for. If you want to read about the present day situation from someone who had been in the thick of it you should read The War Against Truth. If that doesn't open your eyes then nothing will.

Forget labels, Liberals, Conservatives, they are all the same, they are politicians, pushed and pulled by the whims of the corporations that own them. My prediction: give Harper a long enough rope and he will hang himself, it's just a matter of time. Same thing with Bush.

Give me a politician who is brave enough to stand up and say THIS IS WRONG, THE KILLING OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS IS WRONG. Not, well it's okay just this once because there are extenuating circumstances...

You assume I am a liberal because I oppose Steve, you assume wrongly.

I assume nothing ( assume ) to assume makes an ***** out u and me.
I do know you sure do not show the elected leader of our country the respect deserves.
If you like him or not does not give you the right to show disrespect.
I do not see from my post that you can tell what party I support .
Roy Cooke sr

[rwand1]

At least Steven Harper doesn't have monogramed balls! (golf).

[George A. H. Luck]

Let's see -
" I hate Hrper."
"I hate Bush"
"They are killing innocent people."
"pontificating self-righteous fatso"
Nope. You're not a lliberal.

You should try to get your head out of CNN for a while and read something other than the left wing press. Unfortunately your anti-Americanism is showing.

[wblakey]

I am still amazed that none of you seem to be able to see the human tragedy in all of this.

As for Steve, I was taught that respect has to be earned. When he has earned my respect I'll give it to him. Until then it is Steve and his buddy Dubya with their other buddy Bliar.