Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Arthur Dent]

I was extremely surprised and shocked to read this article in the Globe this morning. I hope many of you will be writing your MP's in protest wth regard to this issue.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ottawa-to-seek-biometric-data-on-all-visitors/article1175705/

[RJjr]

[bacasper]

[Arthur Dent]

This is a copy of the letter I have written to Prime Minister Harper regarding this issue. I have also contacted the Coucil for Canadians.

I apologize for the length, but not the content.

Dear Prime Minister Harper,
I am writing to you with a mixture of emotion I have never encountered in over 40 years of life. I am a Canadian citizen, born and raised, and yet I find myself facing a Canada which I do not recognize. The Canada I grew up in was a free nation, the envy of the world for its open spaces, the peacefulness of its people, and the empathy and welcome with which it faced the rest of the world, and any who should choose to visit. I myself have welcomed many from around the world and even sheltered them with open arms and an open house.

Two separate encounters occur to me when I think upon this:
Many years ago, while kayaking on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, I met a family from Germany. The husband enquired about good lodgings in Nanaimo. Instead of recommending a hotel, I offered him the keys to my apartment. They were very grateful and insisted I should give them the chance to return the hospitality. The trust was well placed. I have not had the chance to take up the offer. However, while travelling in France, I found myself short of funds for train fare, and a man, a German, kindly offered to pay the difference. I thought then of that family from Germany. I have been repaid many times over, welcomed and embraced by peoples in many different countries; I believe this is directly due to the face which I and many Canadians show to the rest of the world.

In Japan, I met a man who, after a brief and stilted conversation, invited me to join him and his companion at a hotel for drinks. We met again the following night and he graciously extended courtesy after courtesy by entertaining me for hours. I repaid the kindness with friendship and openness. On a later trip, he toured me through several cities and introduced me to a family whose home was opened to me and where I spent the night, despite the fact that they had only just met me. Sadly, their government has has chosen to insist on personal data I would not give to anyone, for the right to land on their shores. I will not visit Japan again, until these measures have been removed. A great sadness fills me when I think of this, for there is much more there I should like to see, and many people yet to meet.

This is what I think of when I reflect on what it has meant to me to be Canadian, and to be a citizen of the world.

Today, I see the face of that country turning away, to instead pay homage to fear and paranoia. Some will say that we face new challenges and threats; I say we should discourage that fear and stand firm on our historical belief in the values of openness and courage which have stood us well. Some say that though it is regrettable, we must embrace the use of new technologies in order to safeguard security, though it may cost us ; I say that these methods turn us away from our long held values, and instead take us down a path which leads to suspicion and fear of all whom we may chance to meet.

I do not believe that these threats so often referred to can be met with such measures, and thus, defeated. Indeed, it will only be with discouragement and resentment - or worse, indifference and resignation - that individuals will fall in line for this new level of mistrust. Of what value is such a welcome, should it be accompanied with invasive mistrust? I, for one, will never submit to such measures in order to visit another country.

This is not a decision I have taken lightly, for it is my great pleasure to visit other nations, and learn what I can of the world. I can assure you that, though it has its dangers, they are much overblown, and the world is a much friendlier place than we would believe by simply taking in what the media and various governments would have us believe.

I have travelled to 29 different countries, on four separate continents. There has not yet been a country where I have not had the pleasure of being welcomed and even greater than this, aided in some way, or had my life immeasurably enriched by some chance encounter. I believe this is due to the face which I show the world, that which has been nurtured by our country and which is reflected there, in my face and manner. This can not be measured by any fingerprints or bio-scan. I will not welcome those who choose to visit my country by cheapening that welcome in any way.

I submit to you that this choice is a turning away from these values, and does nothing to enhance either security or freedom, but rather the opposite. I will not support it, under any circumstance, nor at any cost. What these measures give in security, they remove a hundredfold in the common humanity I have met in many around the world.

I ask you, Mr. Prime Minister, as a Canadian who has learned the value of citizenship, not from a document, nor a proof of birth, but from the values I have found within myself and in others, please do not follow this path.
I will sooner surrender my citizenship and live as a stateless man then submit to these measures, for to do other than this would be to surrender all that I value, and all that is who I am - that this country has made me.
I would hope that you would contact me if you have any comments or wish to engage in conversation regarding this issue.
Respectfully yours,

*Copies of this email have been sent to the honorable Michael Ignatieff, many friends and family members, as well as to the Globe and Mail.
Note: Below is the link to the story in the Globe and Mail, and a letter which I have written to my MP in Nanaimo, BC.

[mises]

Why don't you drop a few tears on the letter just for consistency's sake.


Sorry. Canada is becoming more like "the world". We wanted this, remember? We wanted a "mosaic" and multiculturalism. Part of that is a bigass security apparatus to protect us from "the world" because it isn't as kind as we think it to be.

[bacasper]

I heartily agree with the OP that "the world" needs to become less like this. Unfortunately, things are not going that way right now. While one letter may not accomplish anything, if everybody who felt this way just did something, anything, them maybe there would be some hope.

How do we stop this juggernaut?

[Arthur Dent]

bacasper wrote:

[bacasper]

How telegenic are you? I think you should go on TV with your appeal, get interviewed on some respectable talk show, and read your heartfelt letter. So if I were you I'd be sending it to the Canadian Oprah (whoever that may be) and her producer, and maybe some smaller outfits. I know it may not be that easy, but you should certainly be able to get on radio.

Try contacting Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! and Free Speech Radio News, as well as your mainstream and local news stations.

Start a website. Amy should be more interested if you have done something more than merely writing a letter, as good as it is.

[RufusW]

Good letter. I hope I understand what you're saying....but.... devil's advocate....kinda.

Firstly, photos are taken on nearly every boarder I've passed in the last 2 years.... video at the very least. Not least the fact we have to have a passport to travel anyway... something certified by homeland documents... where do you draw the line?

Anyway, are we complaining about the mere taking of physical data (fingerprints) or the misuse of such data? Hypothetically, if the data is never 'misused' then there really isn't anything wrong with taking it on entry. Maybe it should be destoyed after a certain period after an individual's left, for sure, but the net impact should be an increase in arrests/security etc, and no abuse. As a method to increase finding criminals it should help, oppostion seems to be drawing a certin 'un-relative' line that can't be crossed. Furthermore, if all the countries of the world did this, would it contribute to a total reduction in trust/humanity in society? I would argue it's relative.

[mises]

OP, who do you think this is aimed at? Hanz from Berlin?

[RufusW]

[mises]

[RufusW]

Why didn't you just say it then? You thought it'd be clever for people to come to their own conclusions.....OH! IT'S THE MUSLIMS!!1! Any evidence this was based on monitoring Muslims?

[mises]

Thankfully, the Canadian government is not as naive as you when it comes to national security.

[RufusW]

Well I'm not surprised you've turned this into another 'mises rips Muslims' thread, but we're talking about the policy as a whole, not the reasons behind it. It may well be that the spectre of Mulsim terrorism had created this policy.... However,