Apparently the evacuation of 15,000 Lebanese-Canadians during last war is causing a divisive debate in Canada about whether or not Canadian tax-payers should pay for the evacuation of Lebanese who live in Lebanon but hold Canadian passports.
It seems what most angers some Canadians and what pushed this conservative government to scrutinize dual citizenship is that most of the evacuees went back to Lebanon after the emergency was over:
[critics] do not like the fact that some [..] Lebanese-Canadians simply went back to their established lives in Lebanon, and tucked away their Canadian passports for the next emergency.
“If you are on vacation and you are a taxpayer, you are entitled to get all the help that your government could afford,” said Elias Bejjani, chairman of the Lebanese-Canadian Co-ordinating Council.
As for those who simply took the free ride — a sealift from Beirut to Cyprus or Turkey and then a flight back to Canada — and who don’t pay taxes in Canada, Bejjani said they probably should have been billed.
Some Tough questions are being asked. Check the wording of this one:
If Lebanon is bombed again will Canada spend 80 million to bring the so called Canadian-Lebanese that live in Lebanon not Canada on vacation for a few weeks again?Do you think that people who were evacuated last time only to leave in two weeks since their lives are in Lebanon should not be eligible for evacuation again or do you think since they have the citizenship the government is obligated to evacuate them?
So, what do you think about all of this? Does it have an element of racism, or is it simply the duty of the government to make sure that taxpayer money is well spent?
Hello, my name is Mustapha and I've been blogging about Lebanese society, business and politics since February 2005.
Stephen Harper, the Canadian PM supported Israel in the 2006 war against Lebanon. How about if it was the other way around, Israeli-Canadian being evacuated from Israel by Canada, would they have dared to talk about it?
I read an ever better argument in the same article:
Liberal foreign affairs critic Ujjal Dosanjh wondered whether the same objections would have been raised if 100,000 Canadians living in the U.S. fled north after some catastrophe only to go back later when the situation improved.
There was a Danish version of the debate a while back. Some politicians wanted to compare lists of evacuees, with lists of recipients of social benefits to check for social fraud, which, given the circumstances, seemed kind of cruel.
However, without knowing the specifics of the Canadian debate, I figure the problem here is dual citizenship. You can’t have that in Denmark, and I think this is one of the reasons why.
I have two issues to raise on this post
the first is for Mustapha…I consider it to be clumsy to ask whether the discussion in Canada is tainted by “racsim”? I always thought that “race” was related to colour ie Black African, Chinese, Indian, caucasion etc I for one have never heard of the “lebanese race”…please dont devalue your own blog
The second is the moral equivalence argument put forward by Kheir which potentially devalues his previous contributions to this blog. When we orientals start criticising our own actions we may find the real root of the problem is NOT the JOOOOOOS. Keep it real.
As regards the substantive post all i will say is that there is merit in asking a very fundamental question…should people who obtain foreign citizenship be allowed to benefit from the largess of their NEW homeland when they either do not live there or do NOT pay taxes? In ANY country a genuine taxpayer would have a serious PROBLEM with what might be termed a “freeloader”…not so? By the way, just because there is a conservative govt in Canada does not entitle ANYONE to do away with critical thought. Canada is one of those countries that liberally bends over backwards to help anyone considered a “minority” to the annoyance of many of its own citizens and in many cases in direct opposition to its own national self security and interest. Maybe a second look at this issue is in order?
with due respect and regards
shunkleash,
The West is very lenient with the Israelis. they have a preferred status because and they were compensated for the Holocaust at our expense. No one from the conservatives of Stephen Harper showed up to present their condolences to the El-Akhrass who lost a family of four who were visiting their hometown of Aitaroun during the July 2006 war on Lebanon. You are denying that there is any racism? Here,if you know French, read what André Arthur, an independent MP, an ex radio host and a long time supporter of Israel
said about the Lebanese-Canadians
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20060823/CPACTUALITES/60823013/1019/CPACTUALITES
I added an article about the El-Akhrass family:
http://www2.canoe.com/archives/infos/international/2006/07/20060717-104757.html
shunkleash, that said, I have also some criticism addressed to Hezbollah on Blacksmiths of Lebanon blog:
http://blacksmithsoflebanon.blogspot.com/2007/07/heading-down-one-way-street.html
I don’t see any racism, just some fellow Lebanese abusing the (Canadian) system.
IMHO those who returned should NOW know the risks they are facing, Canada probably warned them not to go.
Canada should not be responsible this time to get them out, whether they are Leb-Canadians or any kind of Canadian.
Personally, I think the US has it right. “We will get you out but you will foot the bill.”
I don’t think the arguments raised above are accurate… If all the Canadians in the US fled north then returned to the US, then it wouldn’t be such a problem. Not as many $$$ would be spent, and the Canadians there are genuine Canadians… And by genuine Canadians I mean those who hold solely Canadian passports.. Americans mock Canadians all the time so I highly doubt they will care to own their passport… In Lebanon, the Canadian passport, is just a hedge to the 15,000+ or so LEBANESE who just keep it as a back… I bet a lot of these Lebanese-Candians do not hold the Canadian values such as open-mindness, tolerance to others and so…
Dragged on too long… sorry.. basically I think that the Canadians in Lebanon who reside in Lebanon and never visit Canada, should pay some sort of annual fee.. First it’ll be used for their benefit if ever they travel to Canada (healthcare, education….) Second it would cover the costs for evacuations and services needed for Canadians here..
Josey & Tarek,
I am not denying that some of the Lebanese-Canadians abused the system by taking advantage of the Canadian evacuation while they are not Canadian residents. However, there a lot of Lebanese-Canadians who visit Lebanon every year and I know some, who were evacuated and live in Montreal and are Canadian tax payers. Others, fled to Damascus and took the place from there at their expense.
Kheir,
Canada got them out once, when it was “reasonable” not to expect war.
They cannot expect Canada to come get them every year, when they’ve been warned about the situation.
PS. BTW The US guys did not pay last year.
I agree with you, Josey, since the Lebanese-Canadian have been warned. That was not the case last year.
Kheireddine,
I am really appaled by your insistence at implicating Israel and the jews in this debate. Canada has a clear open policy and it helps all its citizens. However, do not overdo it – They say in Arabic, IZA SAH’BAK MIN ASSAL MA TIL HASSO KOLLO (If your friend is made of Honey, don’t lick him…)
As a Canadian, I am proud that my country helped its citizens last year. I am proud we help other nations when we can.
Now I haven’t been able to afford a vacation in over 20 years other than camping at the local provincial park. And when I go there, I know I will be relatively safe as the park is not going to war with Israel, infested by Hezbollah or experiencing Syrian mischief. If I were to go there, I would be putting myself and my family potentially in harm’s way. Why would I do such a stupid thing and then expect to be bailed out again?
No, I would wait until it was safe.
As Lars has pointed out, the real problem here is dual citizenship. In Holland, we are having similar problems with a Moroccan immigrant who is now a minister (or rather, secretary of immigration affairs)in the Dutch government. Yet, she is also a member of an advisory committee in Morocco reporting directly to the king.
Imagine what would happen if a Lebanese-Canadian would be elected minister in Canada and also has an advisory function at, say, Hezbollah.
Anyway, you can’t blame the Lebanese-Canadians for legally benefiting from the evacuation offered by their government, nor could you blame the Canadians that next time around they only offer this service to Canadian residents.