Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt. Exodus 23:9
The foreigners residing among you must be treated as native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:34
This is the basic rule of thumb: Don’t burden foreigners. Notice that the Scripture gives Israel a reason why — because they knew how it felt to be a foreigner. Israelites were to call on their empathy for refugees because they had been treated cruelly as refugees who were made into slaves in Egypt. They weren’t to cheat them or take advantage of them in any way.
And since we, as believers, were once strangers outside God’s kingdom, we can identify with the idea of not belonging as the reason why we treat refugees or displaced people without discrimination.Treat foreigners or refugees as citizens and with love.
from the World Vision website
Canadians seem to like American Democratic presidents, don't they? Barack Obama spoke to our Parliament and it was a love-in, and much the same happened yesterday with Joe Biden. President Agent Orange?...not so much.
President Biden's whirlwind trip to Ottawa was also a working event and there were a few important decisions made about Haiti, Great Lakes protection, NORAD. One which we can all watch has to do with the Safe Third Country Agreement which addresses migration into Canada. In particular, the concern has been the thousands of people from many countries, most in North and South America, who have made irregular crossings into Canada at out-of-the-way Roxham Road in Quebec. There is now a deal in place to close that porous crossing and according to a CBC report; "the deal would see Canada announce openings for 15,000 migrants from the Western Hemisphere to apply to enter the country legally..."
The concern is that closing Roxham Road will put many of those desperate to get into Canada at greater risk by seeking out other irregular access points. In the past few years people have suffered injuries including severe frostbite and a family with childen died of hypothermia attempting to cross the border in Western Canada.
Canada gets a mixed review on immigration during the Trudeau years but I will always be grateful to the Liberal goverment that the church and community group in which I was involved in Belleville was able to welcome nearly two dozen Syrian refugees from the same family following a closed-door policy under the Conservatives. So many faith communities heeded the biblical call to hospitality and welcoming strangers. And many more have done so for Ukrainian refugees.
The two goverments wasted on time in closing the Roxham Road crossing. As of midnight this was on the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada
We should all appreciate that this is a complex issue. Still, I pray that as a country we don't harden our hearts to the plight of the growing number migrants and refugees around the world.
Safe Third Country Agreement remains in effect
The STCA continues to be in effect. Individuals entering Canada across the land border with the US
- are subject to the expanded application announced on March 24, 2023, and
- will be returned to the US unless they meet one of the relevant exceptions under the STCA
Changes to the Safe Third Country Agreement
On March 24, 2023, Canada and the United States announced the expansion of the STCA across the entire land border, including internal waterways. The expansion takes effect as of 12:01 a.m. EDT on March 25, 2023. If you crossed the border to make an asylum (refugee) claim and don’t meet one of the Agreement’s exceptions, you’ll be returned to the U.S.
Perhaps Biden's most important comment during his visit occurred in his speech to parliament. He said he doesn't like the Leafs. I had been lukewarm to the idea of him running again(I certainly don't want Trump in, but surely the Democrats can find someone a little younger to take on the next four years). However, I now say.....Go Biden Go!
ReplyDeleteI would agree that it is a sad commentary on American politics that Trump is attempting a return to the White House and, at the risk of being ageist, that the Dems can't do better than someone who is 80-years-old as president. There are obvious signs of incipient dementia for Biden when he makes that sort of comment regarding the Leafs.
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