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Galloway Turned Away

By David Topping

According to the Guardian, British Member of Parliament George Galloway has been declared “inadmissible” into Canada as a matter of our country’s security. Galloway is fervently and famously anti-war-in-Afghanistan and was slated to speak at an event organized by the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War next next Monday. The spokesperson for Jason Kenney, our country’s immigration minister, actually said this: “We’re going to uphold the law, not give special treatment to this infamous street-corner Cromwell who actually brags about giving ‘financial support’ to Hamas, a terrorist organisation banned in Canada….I’m sure Galloway has a large Rolodex of friends in regimes elsewhere in the world willing to roll out the red carpet for him. Canada, however, won’t be one of them.” Galloway quickly issued a statement saying that “this idiotic ban shames Canada,” and that the “decision…is a very sad day for the Canada we have known and loved—a bastion of the freedoms that supporters of the occupation of Afghanistan claim to be defending….All right thinking Canadians, whether they agree with me over the wisdom of sending troops to Afghanistan or not, will oppose this outrageous decision.” They should, and they’re starting to. [Thanks to Dave Meslin for the tip.]

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  • http://null Gauldar

    Welcome to Canada, we allow free speech as long as you clear it with the government first.

  • http://undefined Miles Storey

    Is it worth mentioning that the government seems to have no problem with the recent massive demonstrations explicitly supported the Tamil Tigers, another group supposedly banned in Canada? This decision is purely political and there is nothing in the Immigration Act that covers this ban, Galloway is a lot of things (including a sometime idiot) but he’s not a terrorist and he’s not planning to overthrow the government. Kenney seems to be appeasing the JDL.

  • http://undefined ked

    I really dislike George Galloway and have since he was my MP and failed to turn up for most parlaimentary votes, a shameful record I see he is still maintaining but this does seem a bit much.

  • http://www.guesswork.ca Patrick Metzger

    Legally speaking, it looks pretty straightforward.
    As noted above, Galloway has boasted about giving money and vehicles to Hamas, a “listed entity” identified by the Canadian government as being associated with terrorism. Under Canadian law “it is an offence to knowingly participate in or contribute to, directly or indirectly, any activity of a terrorist group.”.
    Should the government allow individuals in the country if they brag about a penchant for bank robbery or pimping, or is that a right reserved for folks who commit crimes considered acceptable by particular parts of the political spectrum?
    Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

  • http://www.torontoist.com David Topping

    I’m not a fan of Hamas, and not a huge one of Galloway, but here’s the thing: the man is a democratically-elected politician in a country with a longstanding, friendly relationship with ours. It seems to me a touch problematic that he’s the kind of person who’s being straight-up banned from our country.

  • http://undefined Miles Storey

    So the arrest of 50,000+ Toronto Tamils is imminent I guess. Unless it’s one of those only-applied-when-it’s-politically-advantageous laws.

  • http://www.guesswork.ca Patrick Metzger

    Or practical.

  • http://null Diisparishun

    So the arrest of 50,000+ Toronto Tamils is imminent I guess. Unless it’s one of those only-applied-when-it’s-politically-advantageous laws.
    That doesn’t follow — unless you try and argue a ridiculously broad meaning to “participate in” and “contribute to”. Giving someone money to do something is pretty uncontroversially a contribution. Participating in a parade about it, whether the parade extols Hamas or LTTE, isn’t.

  • http://null Diisparishun

    I’m not a fan of Hamas, and not a huge one of Galloway, but here’s the thing: the man is a democratically-elected politician in a country with a longstanding, friendly relationship with ours.
    Are you saying there should be a special exception inserted into the law for elected politicians in countries with whom we are allied?

  • http://null Paul Kishimoto

    Diplomatic immunity as an institution developed to allow for the maintenance of government relations, including during periods of difficulties and even armed conflict.

    The Harper government hasn’t ever lifted a finger to help a Canadian detained by a totalitarian foreign government; but if it did, its ability to send envoys would be hampered by this kind of stunt.

  • http://null rek

    Is it Customs’ claim, then, that Galloway was going to transfer money to Hamas while in Canada? Canadian law does not extend to London.

  • http://undefined Miles Storey

    It is not restricted to contributing money, the Toronto police are actually investigating whether or not to charge people in relation to the protests, for participating in and promoting a terrorist group. Part of the protest was asking with the government to remove the ban on the LTTE.
    I doubt anything will come of it of course but within the letter of the law the Tamil protesters are far more at risk of prosecution than Galloway would ever be. As Rek said, unless Galloway is planning on funding a terrorist organization while he is in Canada the anti-terrorism laws do not apply. Nor has he been convicted of any anti-terrorism activities in another country. He has done nothing wrong under Canadian law in Canada. The banning is purely political.

  • http://null dowlingm

    Galloway was my MP back in 1991 – he was a tool then and he’s a tool now.

  • http://undefined ked

    I totally agree. He “represented” me from 99-2003. He is an awful politician who seems to be more concerned with self promotion than actually improving the life of his constituents.

  • http://undefined Miles Storey

    I agree, I’m a Brit, he was a horrible MP and frankly a national embarrassment most of the time. His only redeeming moments are his occasional moments of absolutely clarity, such as his enjoyable evisceration of the U.S. Senate Committee investigating him. It’s a shame he is not that man, he could be, but instead he seems to prefer being a self-aggrandising media whore.

  • http://null mlr

    Nonsense, T-rek. The entire purpose of the law is that those who have committed an offense outside Canada should not be allowed in. We shouldn’t have to wait until they commit some illegal act here, and then say “You can’t come in!” We have no obligation to allow criminals into this country ‘just so long as they don’t commit their acts here.’

  • http://null mlr

    Yes, David: because democraticaly elected politicians are such shining examples of humanity, they should be given greater … what? Regard? Respect? /rollseyes
    IQ Bell Curve, meet David. David, Bell Curve. Half of the people are stupider than the other half. And the people they vote for reflect that reality. Which is why we (properly) do not let them run anything, really (see also: “Yes, Minister;” most of the best Supreme Court decisions; trusted bureaucrats like Auditor Gen., Ch. Electoral Officer, etc.)

  • http://null dudeTO

    “Infandous street-corner Cromwell” not “infamous street-corner Cromwell”
    http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/canada-bars-infandous-british-politician-journalists-reach-for-dictionaries/

  • http://null rich1299

    This is just a political political game for the Harper Cons to maybe gain some votes or to reassure their supporters they haven’t gone soft or who knows what but it has no basis in any law as far as I can see. Galloway has not been convicted of a crime, there is no reason to believe he will commit a crime while in Canada, there is no good legal reason to bar this guy’s entry. This sort of thinking, you’re either with us or you are our sworn enemy, is typical of neo-cons everywhere it seems. Our border guards are not supposed to be suppressing dissent, they’re supposed to be keeping us safe from attack, not differing ideas. Of course to neo-cons differing ideas are attacks for some reason. Yes this is definitely an embarassment to Canada and does not represent the Canada I know and love.

  • http://null atomeyes

    Miles, my first desire was to call you a racist idiot, since you seem to be barking about the same “Jewish lobby” that anti-Semites tend to bark about.
    but then I decided to google this “JDL” that you refer to and laughed really hard. the JDL is the “Jewish Defence League” (sp?), which supports Rabbi Kahane, a lunatic right-wing Jew who declared that all Arabs be expelled from Israel. Arabs thought Kahane was a lunatic and most Jews thought he was a lunatic.
    as far as I know, the JDL has ZERO muscle or lobbying power in Canada. Methinks you meant Bnai Brith Canada or Simon Weisenthal Center and NOT the JDL?
    so instead of calling you a racist idiot, I will label you as a sloppy journalist. please take some time to do some investigating before you make comments like that.

  • http://undefined rek

    I don’t think the definition of ‘criminal’ works that way. If he was a criminal in the UK he wouldn’t be able to come to Canada. He’s been found guilty of a Canadian crime, not recognized in the UK, outside Canada.