Very simply, what I would tell people is that the situation in Iraq is unique. There seems to be a government policy, which is re-articulated in Bill C-50, that the way to control the needs of refugees is to put caps on the numbers rather than increase the ability to deal with refugees, which to me is an outrage.
Canada won the Nansen Medal back in 1976. The Canadian people won the medal for their ability and their willingness to welcome refugees to Canada.
Putting lids on the number of refugees is going back to the “none is too many” scenario of the late 1930s to keep the Jews out, to keep them from coming to Canada to make refugee claims. Once again, it seems to be a “keep them out, and if they get here kick them out” scenario of the department that applies.
The situation in Iraq is somewhat unique. I don't think you can compare Iraq to Haiti or Sri Lanka. There is a war going on, an illegal war that was not sanctioned by Canada or the UN. There are millions of people who have been forced out of their country because of the breakdown of the state. Whatever it was before, there is nothing remaining, and there is a vacuum there.
The reality is that anybody who picks up a newspaper can understand the difference between what's going on in Iraq and what's going on in other places in the world. But also, to the question, “Why should we take these over any others?”, the answer I would give is, “We shouldn't.”
The fact is, when the department stops putting caps on it and the minister starts recognizing that you need to put the resources in there to process people quickly and expeditiously in all the posts around the world.... According to our policies, our laws, our humaneness, putting limits on refugees coming to Canada, putting lids on this, is not the response. The response is to put more resources into being able to do what we, as Canadians, want to do as peacekeepers and humanitarians.