This is the year to discover Canada. From Labrador Newfoundland to the Yukon to British Columbia, every province and territory is beckoning you. One can travel the miles of yellow canola flowers or the deep blue colours of flax. With a light breeze they are oceans of colour. Or you may want to explore the beaches of Prince Edward Island, enjoying lobster and oysters and taking time to visit the home of Anne of Green Gables, authored by Lucy Maud Montgomery. You can visit the old city of Quebec and travel to the Yukon and the gold rush.
Or you can travel to the snow tipped mountains of British Columbia. Canada has much to offer, and the heritages and cultures of our citizens make us a truly unique country. We can do that knowing that we do not have to look back over our shoulders wondering if we will be arrested, jailed and deported without a hearing. We are now different than the United States. Our laws still protect us. The Jaycee creed has a line: “Government should be of laws rather than men.” It now appears that the U.S. government is disregarding the laws of its country.
Shortly we will go to the polls for a national election. Right-wing extremists supported by foreign interests and following the play book of Donald Trump will interfere in our election. So too will China, Russia and India all interfere. We will have a choice to make. Do we want to become more like the U.S. or continue to be different welcoming people from across the world to Canada?
We will not whitewash our history, as is now being done in the United States. We will not marginalize people of different colour, different religion, different sexual persuasion.
We have now witnessed a Canadian applying to renew a work visa being jailed, held without access to lawyers or Canadian Government representatives and finally being sent back to Canada. No reason was ever given for her arrest and detention.
Similarly, two German tourists who attempted to enter the U.S. at the San Ysidro border crossing near San Diego were refused entry and then detained, one for 46 days, the other for 16 days, before they were returned to Germany. German residents, like Canadians residents, do not require visas to enter the U.S.
It now appears that even ICE and the U.S. Customs and Border Security no longer seem compelled to follow the laws of their nation and have now disregarded court rulings against them. We know that a university professor and doctor specializing in kidney disease who had a green card was refused entry into the U.S. because she had attended a funeral in Lebanon.
As more examples come forward, one might believe that the United States is no safer to travel in than is North Korea, China or Russia. Big brother, with all the technology, can now monitor every keystroke you type on your computers or cell phone. And if you happen to say things against the Trump administration, your freedoms could be removed as you travel in the U.S.
