School Board Considers Policy Aimed at Protecting Refugees
Mackenzie, B.C. – Prince George School Board trustees voted in favour of a motion to consider a ‘Sanctuary School Policy’ to protect students defined as refugees at its monthly public board meeting in Mackenzie last night.
The original recommendation was brought forth by vice-chair Trish Bella and sought to have Marilyn MarquisForster, superintendent of schools, draft a Sanctuary Policy for consideration by the Board.
“The unique circumstances around students defined as refugees warrants a stand-alone policy,” read Bella’s recommendation. “The Board of Education believes all students have the right to a quality public education free from fear or harassment.”
However following concerns raised about what exactly a Sanctuary Policy is how it would work, Bella’s motion was amended to have Marquis-Forster research the issue instead and report back to the Board at a later date.
Trustee Tony Cable said he was concerned such a policy might circumvent Canada’s immigration laws which he feared could have financial implications for the Board.
Comments
Tony Gable had it right. Where will it all stop??? There already is anti bullying policy and such. To develop policy pertaining to each ethnic groups will create much financial strain.. Where was Tim Bennet in all this???
You are right StillSmokin. An anti bulling policy pretty much covers the whole gamut. I think the school board should be concentrating on education and let the government worry about refugees and other world problems. Hell the refugees already are going to be confused enough not knowing what bathroom to go into when they get here.
This just a feel good program with a none problem. They never identified a problem and rules already in place.
The problem has been with the refugees doing the harassing students in school as shown back east. Wonder what Trish Bella has to say about that?
Whenever one has a new ethnic group coming to town who do not look like others, eat the same food like others, wear different clothes than others, speak a different language, whether one is a plain on immigrant or a refugee does not really matter when one is in elementary school, especially, one is not bullied, one is singled out and not accepted into the group with welcoming arms.
I went through that when I came to Canada at the age of 9. So, I have been there. I can understand.
How do we know there have not been situations like that?
Why do we have to wait until there are?
What information has been shared with teachers and what has been done to assist them with how to deal with such situations?
What to look for. How to handle it. When to tell the principal, etc.
Let us know what has been done so far, then we can determine whether that is enough. If nothing, it is far from enough.
Dealing with being different is a learning experience. You were not born in Canada so use the difference to your advantage. I am slightly dyslexic and naturally impatient. I use spell check so you can understand me ,”then I just geter done”.
Advantage? What advantage? We are talking about young children who have a cultural difference to overcome in a 7 hour day 5 days a week, some 40 weeks a year to overcome.
There is a difference how an adult handles a situation and a child.
You are not writing about learning a new language. You are writing about writing in your native language. There were no ESL classes in those days. I was in the same class as everyone else my age.
Gopg search Fredericton school refugee problem for one example I guess you missed it. Not widely reported on CBC.
Will the school board have a program to deal with Fredericton type issues
Trustees, focus on providing the best education for the students and leave the immigration policy stuff to the Feds.
Sanctuary implies that the ‘refugee’ is illegal. If the refugee is here illegally then they also can not work legally.
A policy that encourages and condones illegal immigration under the guise of refugee migration undermines the rule of law as decided by the democratic legitimacy of our constitution, and invites further law breakers to our community where they displace student funded dollars that are much needed for our own special needs children that are currently inadequately served. It also invites disfunction to the community with illegal labor and the associated problems of people that are not legally allowed to be in Canada being more than likely to break other laws too.
In Sweden 85% of illegal refugees that access welfare never get a job and thus never leave the welfare system… just game it with more kids to increase the payments they receive.
Leave immigration to Canadian immigration and focus on providing education to local citizens that are currently not receiving their adequate share IMO. Anything else is either flippant about the rule of law or grossly ignorant and shouldn’t be in that position of decision making with public dollars.
Since when does “sanctuary” imply that the refugees are illegal?
You are spouting nonsense once more based on your continuing strange biases.
Educate yourself, please!!!!
cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/canada.asp
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“Refugees are people who have fled their countries because of a well-founded fear of persecution. They are not able to return home. They have seen or experienced many horrors.
“A refugee is different from an immigrant. An immigrant is a person who chooses to settle permanently in another country. Refugees are forced to flee.
“The Canadian refugee system has two main parts:
“the Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program, for people who need protection from outside Canada and
“the In-Canada Asylum Program for people making refugee protection claims from within Canada”.
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Please do us a favour and learn something about Canada and what Canada stands for in the world.
If you do not like it, create an anti refugee party, get at the head of the line, and see whether you can upstage Trump.
gopg2015, I have no issue with legal refugees and legal immigrants! How would you define what are in my opinion, illegal immigrants coming into Canada from the USA?
These people may have been refugees being forced to flee from places like Syria, but once they landed in the USA, they no longer have to flee! The fact that they are illegally pouring into Canada should be a concern for all Canadians, especially those that have immigrated here legally or have entered legally as refugees!
I do not define it. Canada does.
I wrote it above.
“Refugees are forced to flee.”
“the In-Canada Asylum Program for people making refugee protection claims from within Canada”.
You wrote and seem to believe that: “once they landed in the USA, they no longer have to flee!”
Put yourself into their experience and resulting mindset. They have been told so often “don’t worry, you are safe now”. But they were not.
They thought the USA was able to provide safe haven. But they could not.
So, as they have always done, they move on to the next country. They are fearing for their lives.
You are lucky you are living on one of the few countries in the world which has not seen a war on its home turf in the 20th century and the first few years of the 21st.
Read this: ctvnews.ca/canada/fleeing-north-why-asylum-seekers-are-crossing-the-u-s-canada-border-1.3291157#
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U.S. President Donald Trump’s much-maligned executive order barring travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, as well as his temporary cessation of the country’s refugee program, has stoked fears that further immigration restrictions are on the horizon.
Although the travel ban was later rejected by a U.S. federal appeals court, Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric and a growing push to round-up illegal immigrants in the U.S. means that asylum seekers’ fears have not been allayed by America’s judiciary. Facing possible future deportations, many are now trusting expensive human smugglers to bring them north to Canada, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s welcoming overtures to immigrants and refugees stands in stark contrast to his American counterpart’s harsh stance.
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Too many people here live in ignorance of what happens in other parts of the world. There is an inability to understand the feeling of disorientation with all your support removed, elder family left behind or killed, unfamiliarity with foreign lands, no money, no food, the need to support children and others fleeing … and on and on ….
I can’t help you in understanding that. You are like a little baby still cuddled in your protective blanket called Canada.
gopg2015, you are making assumptions about me without any knowledge of my family history. My paternal great grandparents came to Canada with nothing, fleeing persecution! My maternal grandparents also came to Canada with nothing and again fleeing persecution!
They came to Canada, not to the USA only to then sneak into Canada!
I’m really surprises that you would bring up Trump’s ban, considering that the countries on his ban were provided to him by Obama. How come we speak of Trump’s ban, but we remain silent on the fact that Obama brought in several travel bans, as did many other administration?
With regards to the refugees that are now illegally immigrating to Canada, you suggest that they have been told so often “don’t worry, you are safe now”. But you say they were not. You say that they thought the USA was able to provide safe haven. But you say that the USA could not. You then say that these illegal immigrants are fearing for their lives!
Really?
What proof do you have that the illegal immigrants to Canada from the USA are not safe in the USA?
What proof do you have that the USA could not or was not providing them with safe haven?
And lastly, what proof do you have that they fled from the USA to Canada because they are fearing for their lives in the USA?
By the way, walking across the Canadian border and saying “I’m a refugee from the USA! I’m fleeing the USA because I’m not safe in the USA and I’m not receiving safe haven in the USA” is not proof of anything! There is a distinct possibility that the statement is just a convenient statement to say, knowing that Justin has left the door wide open for them!
Gus, my Canada stands for the rule of law, not as a sanctuary from those running from the rule of law. I have no issue with legit refugees that go through the proper legal channels. They have every right to an education as permenant residents or even temporary residence that have been vetted.
Most legit refugees today are not necessarily running from their governments, but rather from religious persecution that puts them in the cross hairs of violent islamic extremism. The last thing any legit refugee today wants is these people that initiate the violence following them to Canada living in the shadows as illegal immigrants that are coddled by naive do gooders under sanctuary provisions that protect those who broke the law mostly because they could not otherwise meet the requirements of a legitimate refugee.
Fleeing through a dozen countries and three continents to reach America… and then crossing illegally into Canada… is not the way one who respects the laws of a country conducts themselves. It’s the work of a person that would never qualify as a refugee to begin with. Sanctuary status does not protect legitimate refugees, but rather endangers them probably more so than even others. Legitimate refugees do not need sanctuary status in Canada.
In Minnesota they now have no go neighbourhoods policed by Sharia law enforced by mainly illegal immigrants from Somalia. For legitimate refugees that fled to America from Christian prosecution their sanctuary has now turned into a hell hole because of sanctuary policies that protect the illegal migrant. They fled from two legged animals that would kill whole families over a refusal to convert only to find those same people are now given sanctuary status for avoiding the same rigorous vetting the true refugees had to go through to qualify as a refugee. It’s insulting to the dignity of real refugees the coddling of illegal migrants that have no background checks. It’s enharriently dangerous for all involved.
Gopg you have ignored the problem in Fredericton and other areas with an aggressive refugee problem. I suggest taking off your rose coloured glasses.
What’s the school board plan if refuges become the aggressors? I think the school board is living in a fantasy world ignoring the issues in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, France, England.
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