ELECTION FOLLIES AND IMMIGRATION

It is silly season in Ottawa and here is the latest proof. This is simply laughable, as the Liberals have for decades attempted to curry favour with different "ethnic groups" and frankly they are masters at that game. When I read this I though tit was some kind of joke...especially coming from this MP who had her own immigration related issues ( did not she have a caregiver problem?). This is why reform is sorely needed: immigration should be based on policies that are good for the economy in the long term, not on poetical expediency to heal any party win elections by offering special favours.

 Liberals accuse Tories of trying to buy 'very ethnic' votes with visas

Liberals accuse Tories of trying to buy 'very ethnic' votes with visas
By Mike De Souza, Postmedia News

March 27, 2011 OTTAWA — The Opposition Liberals accused the federal Conservatives Sunday of using visas to buy votes and win the support of "very ethnic" Canadians after an Ontario Tory candidate said on a newly released audio recording that he had three employees helping him "process immigration files or anything else." Liberal Ruby Dhalla, the incumbent running in the Ontario riding of Brampton-Springdale, said the comments, along with the recent accidental release of a Conservative strategy to target "very ethnic" ridings, raise numerous questions about ethics, integrity and accountability. Parm Gill, the Conservative candidate running against her, made the claims, speaking in Punjabi and English in front of a crowd at a public event on Saturday night. Dhalla said it follows other comments he has made to local media that he is helping athletes get visas to come to Canada. According to the audio recording of Gill's comments and a transcript released by the Liberals, the Conservative praised his own record of a candidate saying that it "speaks for itself." "I'm very proud that people come to me for help, even though I'm not being a member or have a government budget," Gill said, according to the transcript. "I have three staff full-time just taking calls and helping me process immigration files or anything else." "It was quite shocking to hear him say, up on stage, in front of a very full room that, even though he's not in government, he has three full-time staff that are assisting him," said Dhalla. "They (Conservatives) are trying to reach out into the ethnic communities with the buying of ethnic votes through visas and that's something that I think really needs to be looked into." Gill was not immediately available for an interview with Postmedia News, and the Conservatives did not respond to questions about whether the transcript was accurate. Instead, Conservative spokesman Alykhan Velshi referred to comments made last week by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, in the House of Commons, in response to questions raised by the Liberals. Kenney had said he, himself, was the "individual responsible for exercising the authority of the minister" under the immigration and refugee protection act to exempt people from the temporary visa requirement. Velshi also noted that Kenney had issued one-third of the number issued by his Liberal predecessor.