By Hamutal Dotan

   In a passionate debate that saw many councillors reflect on their own personal and family histories, City Council today considered whether to condemn—via a letter that would be sent to Prime Minister Harper and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney—federal government cuts to immigration services agencies, some of which have been in operation for ten or twenty years. This morning’s debate also raised questions about the City’s relationship with the federal government in general, with some councillors telling their colleagues not to be afraid to stand up for the city, and others cautioning that we need to reflect carefully before calling the feds’ decisions into question. Studies were requested by some, and delays by others, so the cuts and their impacts could be examined further.
In the end, and by a one-vote margin, those seeking a delay won, and the motion to write the letter to Harper and Kenney will be referred to the Executive Committee for further study.