Last Friday, the terrorist attacks in Paris deeply shocked the world.
The events that left 129 people dead are indeed sickening.
In the days that followed, however, there has been a disturbing sentiment linking those attacks to Syrian refugees. Some, including politicians who should know better, have suggested the attacks as a reason for the Canadian government to suspend its plan to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada.
Much of this is ugly talk and should have no place in a civilized discussion of the issues.
Yes, safety of Canada’s citizens is always a priority. But Syrian refugees are hardly being tossed on a plane without any background checks. As a number of knowledgeable people have pointed out, the refugee process is one that involves one of the most stringent levels of checks – both by Canada’s own officials and by staff for the UN’s high commissioner on refugees. None of them are blind to potential problems. We do not accept that our government will simply throw caution to the wind.
Those fleeing Syria have been more directly harmed by terrorists than most. It is the terrorists that they have sought to escape.
Most of those so far definitively identified as perpetrators of Friday’s attacks held French citizenship. And there is nothing preventing any French national from getting on a plane to Canada. So why would halting a refugee plan make us safer?
Canada has a solid history of being a decent world citizen in accepting refugees in the past. We have welcomed Vietnamese, Ismailis, people from Kosovo. In a time when many are in need, we should not allow hate and fear to turn us away from compassion and from our global responsibilities.
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