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| Subject: good news and some electioneering |
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by MARIA BABBAGE
Monday, April 25, 2005 Updated at 6:27 PM EST
Canadian Press
Toronto ? The Liberal government unveiled a multi-million-dollar package Monday to help immigrants whose foreign credentials aren´t recognized in Canada, a move dismissed by critics as a desperate bid to win voters before the minority government crumbles.
About $319-million in both new and previously announced federal dollars will help fund a host of programs over the next six years, Immigration Minister Joe Volpe said Monday in Toronto as a simultaneous announcement took place in Vancouver.
Crammed next to about seven other Liberal MPs and ministers, Mr. Volpe continued to steadfastly deny that the federal funding announcement ? among several made in recent weeks ? was any part of a pre-election strategy.
?Well, if we didn´t give you the opportunity to see what the government of Canada is doing, then you´d say it´s doing nothing,? Mr. Volpe told reporters.
The announcements ?demonstrate to the Canadian public how the government of Canada ? may I say the Liberal government of Canada ? is working for its constituencies and for Canadians as a whole.?
Health Minister Ujjal Donsanjh was more blunt in Vancouver, where he made the joint announcement with Vancouver Centre MP Hedy Fry ? a foreign-trained doctor ? and Minister of State for Multiculturalism Raymond Chan.
?This (has) nothing to do with (an) election,? he said. ?We may not have an election until late fall or early spring next year, depending on what happens. But if there is one, we´re ready.?
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, surrounded by his own posse of ten Tory MPs in Toronto, said the Liberals were ?dropping bombs of money ...in the hope of blasting away the image of corruption in government.?
?These are all just announcements, they´re all done for PR purposes,? he said after speaking to the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Toronto.
Mr. Harper, meanwhile, made his own pitch to the roughly 260 business people gathered at the lunch, extolling his party´s diversity and promising to improve the system that evaluates foreign credentials.
?This government has made it easier for foreign-born strippers to get into this country and find work in their field than foreign-born doctors and MBAs,? he said.
The funding includes:
? $75-million over the next five years to help up to 1,000 internationally trained doctors, 800 nurses and 500 health-care professionals find work in their field;
? $68-million over the next six years towards a foreign credential recognition program, to help assess and recognize foreign qualifications for both regulated and non-regulated occupations;
? About $50-million of a previous $100-million commitment towards an Internet portal to help immigrants find information about how to prepare for the Canadian work force before arriving;
? An additional $20-million towards a program that provides job-specific language training to Canadian immigrants outside Quebec;
? $56-million over five years towards the government´s recently launched Action Plan Against Racism, aimed at fighting discrimination in the workplace.
Rolling out long-promised ?goodies? that are popular in constituencies where the Liberals need to shore up support is an ?astute? move, said Myer Siemiatycki, a politics professor at Toronto´s Ryerson University.
?This is part of positioning themselves for the likelihood of an imminent election,? he said.
[25-04-2005,21:32]
[***.181.198.246]
sharon |
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(in reply to: good news and some electioneering)
That is all good if we all like baloney/bologna..
[26-04-2005,09:07]
[***.177.95.85]
Anonymous |
(in reply to: good news and some electioneering)
A bunch of corrupt leaders of a minority government, struggling to hold power after being exposed as thieves, is making whatever promises it can in a desperate attempt to buy votes.
Sigh?
[26-04-2005,10:57]
[***.96.184.65]
Mike |
(in reply to: good news and some electioneering)
We can´t assume that it is all bunk. There are many politicians and political policies that are sincere and do make positive change in society. I will not criticisize a plan just because some forecast it will be ineffective or simply political. Let´s see what happens before we judge.
[26-04-2005,15:11]
[**.23.223.79]
Greg |
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