On the October 24th episode of CTV’s Question Period, Montréal MP Justin Trudeau slammed Tory “Know-Nothing” Rick Dykstra on the issue of forthcoming Tory-proposed anti-illegal immigration and human smuggling legislation. Trudeau’s attack is handily crafted – there are no “cue-jumpers” among refugees, and this element of Canadian refugee policy is now under attack by the same mentality that would have Arizonan’s build a security fence in response to ‘headless bodies in the desert‘. Dykstra, ever the Tory, attempts a feeble and half-hearted parry with his stubborn refusal to admit Trudeau may have a clue. How much of this Tory policy is a response to a bunch of Tamils blocking the Gardiner Expressway, and holding rotating protests for several months last year around American consulates in major Canadian cities?

Either way, this Dykstra fellow is out to lunch on the realities of international conflicts, not to mention our own demographics and history – just the kind of people you want running your country eh?

If there was ever a reason for Québec to have a completely independent immigration policy, I would argue it ought to include a clause stating the Provincial Government would never refuse refugees with a legitimate claim. And if they are being smuggled into the country, then we’ll ensure we go after the smugglers, and not the people who very easily could have perished along the perilous journey to Canada. The idea that these poor people would be trying to jump in front of legitimate immigrants demonstrates the heights of callousness the Conservative Party of Canada is willing to go to to entertain their redneck, regressive and ultimately racist voter base. Dykstra, to his credit, is masterful at speaking to his befuddled electors.

I’m glad Mr. Trudeau made his point emphatically and didn’t really bother to entertain the polite politics and faux amity of these types of discussion programs. Hopefully, he’ll continue to do so. I had my concerns that the young Papineau MP was little more than a pretty face, but with this particular position, and the strength of his defense, well, I can only hope he’ll push this issue as far as it can go. Whether the Canadian people will choose to give a damn is an entirely different matter…