09.03.2015 03:10 PM

Should that NDP MP resign?

If this is true – if, contrary to what he claimed to the media, no application at all was made on the family of that boy – he should resign.  He has not only tried to politicize that child’s death, he has lied to do so.

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71 Comments

  1. Darren says:

    So f****** shameful. Everyone who jumped on this saying it was Harper and govt’s fault, especially the NDP and their “leader” should be lining up to apologize. Absolutely shameful to try to make political capital off this poor dead little boy. Social media and blogsite “journalism” rears it’s ugly head again.

    • David Law says:

      The person who behaved shamefully, is the one who insisted that Harper and Alexander “apologize” – the one who fixed personal blame with no facts. And that is Mr. Trudeau. Mr.Mulcair specifically avoided, chose, not to assign blame. Trudeau milked it for all it was worth.

      • Scott says:

        Horseshit. He stated the truth. You can’t develop a conscience in the middle of an election. Why weren’t they doing more before this incident. Trudeau has been advocating for more refugees for many months now.

        • Cori P says:

          How many refugees have been taken in by Saudi Arabia? How about Qatar? Oh how about Kuwait? ZERO. Not a single refugee by nations that have money falling out of their asses and land to spare. Canada has taken in plenty of refugees as it is. Lie upon lie have been told in this tragedy. Do you see a fake life jacket in that picture? The father has changed his story a couple times. Did the kids die in his arms as one story claims? Did he lose them and not realize they were gone till he got to shore? As another story quoting him claims. Which is it?

  2. Matt says:

    She just stated again on live TV loudly and clearly, there was NO APPLICATION MADE for her younger brother Abdullah, the father of the drowned boys and his family. After her older brother Mohammed’s application was rejected she felt there was no point in making an application for Abdullah.

  3. Rich says:

    It appears there was no application on the part of Abdullah Kurdi and his family…..another Kurdi yes but not the ones in question.

    Even so, you can count on there being a howl of indignation from the usual illogical folk and self righteous condemnation of the government because it was obviously their fault this child died. (sarc)

    Yes, this dipper MP should resign or Mulcair should act like a leader…this is his first test.
    Harper has it right….the first priority is dealing with ISIS.
    My prediction is also that Trudeau will get this wrong, continue with blaming the gov’t for not acting and try to sell the “Liberal party has a heart” meme and generally miss the facts and and confuse himself and the nature of the real issue.

  4. Jake says:

    Heres a better question, Warren.

    Should Chris Alexander resign?

    Obviously one cannot lay the blame of these deaths are his feet because that would be irrational, but do you honestly believe he has been anything other than massively disappointing as a Minister in this portfolio?

    At the end of the day, no ones going to give two f*cks about that NDP MP (and I’m saying this as a Liberal), but everyones going to remember just how horrible this tragedy was and how shitty Alexander has behaved.

  5. davie says:

    I would say ‘no.’
    The Straight version has Donnelly saying he delivered to Alexander an ‘application’ on behalf of the lady.
    The Citizen says that Donnelly handed Alexander a ‘file’ on behalf of the lady.
    The lady says she applied for only one brother.
    I saw her on tv today.
    I watched Donnelly on local tv today on this incident.
    I did not see that Donnelly has politicized the death of this child.
    He really didn’t add much more than what the 3 large party leaders said today…actually, a lot less about politics than any of them.

    • Warren says:

      Did he attempt to correct any of the several dozen headlines when he saw them? That the boy’s family applied for the boy’s family, through him?

      No?

      No.

      • Matt says:

        It now appears Donnelly delivered nothing more than a letter written by Tima, the dead boy’s aunt in BC.

        Alexander read it and gave it to CIC. Also appears the brother Mohammed’s app was rejected, at least at first, pending a request by CIC for more information and documentation.

      • davie says:

        Just as I do not know to what extent he read over the applications, I do not know what headlines he had read when I saw him on tv for about 15 minutes just before noon today (Vancouver time).

        (Actually, I read only your references here. I did not look at headlines today.)

        • davie says:

          I looked at headlines from CBC, CTV and Nat Post just now, and whipped through their articles. All I can find is that Donnelly says he passed on an application for the family of a constituent to Alexander. I cannot see , so far, Donnelly saying who is named on that application.

          • davie says:

            (You should put in that thing a ma jig that facebook has that lets us edit our posts. You have the money to do that, don’t you?)

          • Matt says:

            CTV ran a clip in which Donnelly, rather clearly implied what he passed on to Alexander was regarding this man, Abdullah and his family.

            Robert Fife clearly states right after “But Donnelly is mistaken. That was regarding the family of the dead boys uncle, Mohammad.”

            Donnelly’s silence since Tima’s news conference confirming there was no application submitted for Abdullah’s family speaks for itself.

      • BillBC says:

        I don’t want to seem like a gushy fanboy, but your reaction to this increases my respect for you, Warren….

      • fares says:

        Is it possible that Donnelly believed what he said. Still, our record for accepting Syrian refugees is shameful.

    • Matt says:

      The Straight attributes the statement about Donnelly giving Abdullah’s APPLICATION to Alexander to the Ottawa Citizen.

      “Fin Donnelly, NDP MP New Westminster—Coquitlam, reportedly “hand delivered” the family’s application to Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander. Donnelly told the Citizen that Alexander said he would look into it.”

  6. dean sherratt says:

    I’m not clear from Warren’s post who should or should not be resigning but it seems clear now that there was no application for this family and hence nothing for the Canadian Embassy in Ankara to deal with. Chris Alexander took a huge amount of abuse in the few hours today. Personally I thought that Mulcair showed some gravitas by trying to move the matter into one of humanitarian assistance and more refugees. Justin Trudeau shamelessly jumped in with both feet before the facts became clear and has shown not the least willingness to backtrack or back off.

  7. Mark says:

    Yes he should

    But not because he brought this to the attention of the media

    Not for what he said to the media

    But for being wrong

    The latest articles indicate that his original correspondence to Alexander indicted that an application was submitted on behalf of the family

    Obviously that is not the case

    So he probably acted in good faith but mistakes have consequenceS

  8. lance mclean says:

    I think there are a couple of other higher ups in the opposition parties that have some apologizing to do. Implying or directly blaming the Canadian Goverment for this is ridiculous. That is what happens when you jump on a story before all the info is out, the Gotchya effect can backfire. I hope it backfires so bad it burns all those who politicized this event.

  9. Bill says:

    The Kurdi’s application was rejected because it lacked the proper registration from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR.

    If there was ONE thing that MP Fin Donnelly could of done, was to help the Kurdi family register as official UNHCR refugees. THEN the Canadian family could of applied as official refugee sponsors.

    He FAILED MISERABLY. Instead he wrote a letter KNOWING that Fatima Kurdi’s application would fail.

    If this isn’t gross incompetence by a Member of Parliament, I don’t know what is.

  10. Steve T says:

    I agree the NDP MP should, at a minimum, apologize and resign if this is true.

    However, at a more fundamental level is the shame that should be borne by everyone who has tried to politicize this tragedy. There is only one (or perhaps two) group(s) to blame for this boy’s death, and it is ISIS, and perhaps the Syrian government. No one else.

  11. Pat Smiley says:

    WK, you know these operatives: Twitter: “Glen McGregor ‏@glen_mcgregor 19h19 hours ago Ottawa, Ontario Refugee application for family of 3-year-old pictured dead on Turkish beach was hand-delivered to Chris Alexander.”

    The NDP is an organ of the Socialist International. The dominant position in the SI and related political movements is “open borders” by any means, including untruths and leveraging media events. They don’t believe in national sovereignty, the concept of citizenship or controlled borders. In NDP minds, the whole idea of a minister of immigration is rejected. Hence the hit piece.

  12. Matt says:

    http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/relatives-of-dead-boys-assail-canada-for-inaction

    Tima Kurdi has another brother – not the father of the dead boy, his older brother and their mother – and says they put in a request to sponsor that brother.

    She said a B.C. politician personally delivered a letter to Chris Alexander, the citizenship and immigration minister, asking for help from his office for young Alan Kurdi and his family.

    The NDP candidate, Fin Donnelly, however, said the family had indeed pursued refugee status for the Kurdis and his letter reflected that. There was no immediate word whether the government got the request. Donnelly couldn’t be immediately reached for comment following Tima Kurdi’s news conference.

  13. Al in Cranbrook says:

    Just one more example of the MSM on a run away without bothering to fact check a damn thing. Sick of this bullshit!!!

    Mulcair should can that MP’s sorry ass right now, no ifs, ands or buts!!!

    Meanwhile, a very emotional PM Harper gets it right…

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/news-video/video-stephen-harper-chokes-up-while-speaking-about-photo-of-alan-kurdi/article26216252/#video0id26216252

    It is the gutless NDP and Liberal leaders who should be damn well ashamed of themselves for their pathetic attempts to politicize this tragedy, and for their pathetic stand on ISIS.

    • UFP Ambassador says:

      Hey, “gutless”. Perfect description for Smelter and Scot here as well. They won’t be retracting anything they’ve posted either, I imagine.

      • Scott says:

        Gutless is calling someone names when not face to face. Pretty sure typing from your mothers basement is what gives you your courage.

  14. Alex says:

    There is a lot of understandable rage at the moment, and it is easy to start engaging the blame game. But what does that accomplish? To be honest, I don’t care if the NDP MP resigns, or if Chris Alexander loses his riding. For me, everyone should pay attention to Terry Glavin’s latest column instead. (See http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/glavin-little-alan-kurdi-and-the-one-photograph-that-mattered).

    Says Glavin; “But what would be a fine thing, if those two boys and their mother are not to have died in vain, is to try to rise above ourselves for once, as Canadians, and try to agree to do something decent, something maybe even slightly grand. We should fold our arms around the Kurdi family here in Canada. We should fold our arms around Canada’s broken-hearted Syrian-Canadian community. We should try to sort out a more generous, sensible and effective refugee resettlement policy, and leave the politics out of it altogether.”

    • Warren says:

      He reported the false claim first. Has he corrected?

      • BG says:

        No. In fact, in his second story he blames Alexander: “we all wanted a villain to blame, and Chris Alexander leapt into the role by having come off like a thoroughly insensitive jackass, that same day, on the very subject of the Syrian refugee crisis, on CBC’s Power and Politics.” Ridiculous.

        If Glavin wanted a villain maybe he should have started with the real, actual villains in this tragedy: al-Baghdadi and Assad and Assad’s enablers in the Kremlin and Tehran. There’s an idea.

  15. doconnor says:

    Perhaps the notes in the riding office wasn’t detailed enough for him to know that it was another brother.

  16. Paul says:

    Wanted to watch an extended interview with Donnelly where I’m SURE he said many things that weren’t entirely above board… But OH LOOK, Global has taken the video down. Anyone have it?

    http://globalnews.ca/video/2201462/mp-finn-donnelly-on-the-family-of-the-drowned-syrian-boy

  17. RogerX says:

    Look at that little dead Syrian boy and weep. It’s now political grist for the Liberal and NDP propaganda mills… and the media is feeding the hatred too. The CBC propaganda hate mill is churning, with glee!

    They call election politics a blood sport and the media is copiously smeared with that blood. Disgusting cadaver politics! How low will it go? …. Low!

    It’s political assassination time being spewed by Trudeau and Mulcair and it’s a lot worse than attack ads. Watch and weep!

  18. ottlib says:

    Did this NDP MP commit a dirty electoral trick? Possibly.

    Have the Conservatives ever committed dirty electoral tricks? Yes, more than once.

    It really sucks when you are on the receiving end of such chicanery does it not?

    Regardless of the story, Mr. Alexander so fouled the bed that it really does not matter about the facts of the story anymore. That photo and Mr. Alexander’s performance are going to be the two things most people are going to remember. All that followed afterwards will likely be lost in the “noise” of the election.

    • Michael Bluth says:

      Ahhh, the “He started it” defence.

      There is a reason we teach children that doesn’t really matter who started it. Don’t rise to the bait.

      • ottlib says:

        Hmmmm, can you point out anywhere in my post where I approved of what Mr. Donnelly did? I merely pointed out that he might have played a dirty political trick on the Conservatives and that the Conservatives are no strangers to doing the same thing to their opponents.

        Then I essentially asked how it felt to be on the receiving end of such a trick? I would imagine not very good.

        It bugs the hell out of me that our politics has descended so far into the gutter that these kinds of things are happening more and more. I have always been a little naive in the sense that I believe politics should mostly be about discussing issues of importance to our country and society. Partisanship is a feature in our adversarial system but it should take a back seat to doing what benefits the most people, most of the time. Of course, that is a pipe dream and it has been one for some time and this little stunt, whether intentional or not just pisses me off.

  19. Paul says:

    FOUND IT

    http://globalnews.ca/video/2201470/donnelly-reflects-on-failed-immigration-process-kurdi-family-went-through-before-boy-drowned

    Scroll to 4:18… He’s asked specifically about this family and he answers it without clarifying that the boy’s father NEVER APPLIED to Canada.

    • davie says:

      I looked and listened at the section that you mention. There is no reason for him to say what you claim he left out.
      The more important part, for me, is later, about 6:30 or so, where he says that he found the case especially compelling and tried to press that onto the minister. Until I saw that,(I forgot that form when I saw the original airing) I thought he had simply delivered the application in the course of doing his job as MP, just one of many chores as MP. I still suspect my original assumption is more likely, and that he might have been glossing the ‘compelling’ bit during the interview.

      I still do not see the sin. Not even a resignation type quasi sin. Either for this guy, or for Alexander. There have been refugee deaths for many, many months now, and our emphasis seems to be on bombing Islamic State: no calls for resignations. A photo shows us a personal death (and there are a lot more similar photos of kids like that) and suddenly it all changes?

  20. Al in Cranbrook says:

    CTV online poll…

    How can Canada best address the migrant crisis?

    Accepting more refugees 1197 (24 %)

    Fighting Islamic State 2716 (54 %)

    Sending aid 1144 (23 %)

    Total number of votes: 5057

    http://www.ctvnews.ca/

    • Al in Cranbrook says:

      Going back over how this story unfolded, I’d suggest it’s quite possible a great deal of it could blow back in the faces of Mulcair, Trudeau, and certainly the MSM. Clearly, the measure of political ruthlessness demonstrated has not been lost on a lot of people.

      The only leader who is talking the big picture view of this holocaust…and that’s exactly what this is…going on in the Middle East and N. Africa is PM Harper. The majority of Canadians get this, and they look at what’s unfolding in Europe right now, thankful it’s not happening here, and they have little doubt about what’s at the root of it. In the same manner as there was little doubt about the evil of the Nazis, or the genocide in Kosovo and Rwanda. And what makes people seriously angry is the seeming reluctance of western nations…believed to be bastions of democracy, preservers of human rights, and warriors for the cause of freedom…to do anything but the least possible required in order that they can say they’re at least doing something.

      To suggest Canada on it’s own can solve this, obviously is ludicrous.

      Yes, there is a weariness of all of this. I get that.

      But…we don’t start taking the fight to these barbarians in no uncertain terms, this hell is going to get a damn sight worse.

      Over 300,000 refugees flooding into Europe. The question in my mind, and I’m certain a great many others’, is: Just how many of that number are actually ISIS operatives? And how many does it have to be to become an extremely major threat to the streets of European nations?

      Which is why opening the flood gates haphazardly to Canada is not on the table, and damn well shouldn’t be!

      There is no comparison whatsoever between this and the mentioned Vietnamese refugee crisis! Hanoi and the Viet Cong had no designs on world domination or spreading their particular brand of ideology beyond their own borders.

      This is an incredibly dangerous situation, fraught with potential perils none of us even want to imagine landing in our cities and neighborhoods.

      IMHO.

  21. Nicole says:

    http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/09/03/canada-rejected-request-to-take-in-family-of-drowned-syrian-boy.html

    This article contains the letter sent to Chris Alexander by Tima Kurdi in March. It only states “my brother and his family”, but isn’t the more important issue the response to this letter? I don’t really care if one or both of the politicians resign because what we have here is a bureaucratic failure which directly lead to the death of two young children and their mother. If Iraqis and Iranians can bypass the production of certain documentation, why is that not the case for Syrians? Instead of hiding being bureaucracy, what can be done to help save the lives of the Syrian refugees now?

    Disputing whether or not a letter or an application was sent to the Minister is besides the point. It’s the government’s response that matters. And clearly the response wasn’t sufficient because the Kurdi family was desperate enough to take a risk which cost most of their lives.

    • Matt says:

      Alexander did with the letter what he should have. Read it and handed it over to CIC. A Minister should not be getting involved in individual cases by “pulling strings” using his position to influence decisions.

    • Vancouverois says:

      Considering that the family was already in Turkey and was not classified as refugees by the UN High Commission on Refugees, and that the Turkish government reportedly would not give the family exit visas (hence the human smuggling), I do not see how anyone can reasonably fault the Canadian government for its response.

      If you want to blame someone, start with Turkey and the UN.

  22. I wonder if you will be asking Harper to step down over his blatant lies in today’s media statement, as fact checked by the CBC.

    https://www.facebook.com/thenational/videos/10153096998322686/?fref=nf

    • Paul Robinson says:

      YOU have a long way to geo to even suggest harper was wrong, let alone lying. HOWEVER the mental defectiveness that allows you to even make that claim – Clinically Harper Derangement Syndrome – also allows you to lie like a thief, without knowing it, and see facts as lies. Its ALL part of the psychosis.

      NOW IF you really can find a LIE anywhere in what Harper said, I’m sure sane and sensible people would be glad to hear it. Unlike Justine’s deliberate lies on the subject and the CBC slandering Canada and Harper for something that never happened and the NDPO candidate lying about his involvement – Harper was honest and forthright.

      WE do less than the US? Really? They let in 73000 refugees – they are 10 times our population – that means that 7000 would make us equal – BUT w took in 12,000? And somehow WE are inferior? And Sweeden is having immigrant remorse BIG TIME – they have effectively lost their country to the muzlim invaders. SEE what Sedes have to say about losing everything to help these “planned” refugees. NO women or Children – just military age men.

  23. HaBrown says:

    On a slightly unrelated note, I think Rosie Barton needs to take a holiday. She was quite pissed tonight. I hope her anger towards the Cons doesn’t continue to cloud her judgment.

  24. DJ says:

    This NDP MP definitely will not resign. He is headed for an easy re-election in Port Moody-Coquitlam. BC is NDP country this time.

    • Matt says:

      Then Mulcair should kick his ass out and run someone else.

      You said yourself the riding is NDP country. It would be a win-win for Tommy.

      The optics of not tolerating liars and still holding on to the seat.

  25. DougM says:

    The partisanship in the media and by the politicians must stop if we as a nation are to do more. The CBC carried an article about how Tima did not try to get Alan’s family into Canada yet today their front page is an article that says she did! So no doubt part of the population believes she did and another she didn’t, and so the wheel keeps spinning but progress isn’t made. Surely this is an issue we can come together on?!

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/aunt-of-alan-kurdi-drowned-syrian-boy-did-not-apply-to-sponsor-family-in-canada-1.3214517

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/harper-alan-kurdi-photo-syria-refugees-1.3215028

    • Scott says:

      It’s really quite simple Doug. She didn’t apply specifically for the drowned boys family but she did apply for the brother. If his family was accepted she would have applied for the boys family also.

      • Matt says:

        If my gradmother had wheels she’d be a car.

        Your argument is ridiculous.

        Fact – The dead boys UNCLE applied for HIM, HIS wife and HIS KIDS.

        Fact – His application WAS NOT rejected, it was sent back with a request for more information

        Fact – The letter only made mention of Tima’s brother. And given only her brother Mohammad, the dead boys UNCLE had applied to bring his family to Canada, anyone with half a brain would realize thd brother she referred to in said letter was Mohammad.

        Fact – No application was made fo Abdullah and his family.

        You are as bad as the “conbots” you always criticize.

      • DougM says:

        Well it isn’t that simple Scott. CIC did not know about Aylan’s family so their plight was not considered in his Uncle’s application. Nor could CIS have known that Aylan’s family would then try to leave Turkey for Europe by boat. It easy to point fingers at the government, or specifically at a minister, and say this is your fault. But it is much deeper than that. As Tima herself said, it is the worlds fault. Turkey, Europe, Canada, we’re all to blame. But the minister specifically? Doubtful. With the below chain of events in mind, what do you propose be done differently? The minister approve all pleas just because? CIC to assume all requests for refugee status are legitimate? I think we can all agree Canada can and should take more refugees. And after this horrible incident I suspect regardless of who wins on the 19th we will.

        From: http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/no-refugee-application-from-father-of-drowned-syrian-family-government

        The minister said Thursday that Donnelly hand-delivered the letter to him and that it went into a correspondence unit in a refugee division at Citizenship and Immigration, like all other correspondence.

        “In this case, the application was reviewed, it was returned to the applicant with a request for additional documentation, in this case, a confirmation of refugee status from the Untied Nations,” Alexander said on CBC’s Power & Politics.

        • Paul Robinson says:

          No one even knows the story. It COULD be a complete fabrication.

          SO far the father has told 4 contradictory stories – the CBC, in its usual Journalistic integrity and zeal to trash Harper has lied thru its teeth, assumed facts not in evidence and ignored facts that were available. The NDP MP obviously lied when he claimed to have hand delivered their paperwork. TO whom? IF not Harper, then HOW is he implicated in any way? Logic and rational thought seem foreign to some of these political hacks.

          The muzlims claim they are having a stealth invasion – and frankly it appears to be true. THIS family was well cared for in Turkey. Supposedly he was lured to Germany for free teeth. Really?

          The father apparently had lots of money. On story claims he paid 7000 something for his family to be smuggled – he had 4000 something in him at the time – someone paid for the airfare and funeral.

          MY point in this is that the muzlim have repeatedly used phony images and phony deaths and phony atrocities to implicate the west and Isreal – and we fall for it every time. WHAT suckers they must think we are.

          Small wonder they think themselves so superior to us. WE fall for their silly politics and petty grievances like clockwork.

  26. ian turnbull says:

    What happened to the idea of the importance of “Factual” reporting in the media? Obviously social media and the 24 hour news cycle has played a role. However this “get it out” taking priority over “get it right” has destroyed what little trust people have remaining in the media. It just opens the door for accusations of bias and hidden agendas.

  27. ian turnbull says:

    Sorry for the multiple posts. What really bugs me about all of this is the media is reporting the correct (or latest version of correct) facts as an “Update”. I have not seen one organization come out and apologize for getting it wrong.

  28. JH says:

    Agree about Barton. P & P is becoming unwatchable of late. She’s losing her temper, getting aggravated, insulting people and it’s not just one party or politician. She’s treating them all very disdainfully. Very unprofessional

  29. Keith RIchmond says:

    Warren, I am having trouble finding anywhere besides in the Strait that stated Fin delivered the application on behalf of Tima Kurdi. Are there any other sources? Perhaps this was a one-off misstep of one publication.

    Keith R

  30. davie says:

    Meanwhile, our pals in Saudi Arabia are getting another billion or so in military aid from USA, to go with the stuff they get from us Canadians, so that they can continue to hammer their neighbours in Yemen. I am not sure where the rapidly growin gnumbers of refugees in Yemen are going to go, but for sure some of them will be trying to move out of Yemen.

    Other of our pals, Jordan and Lebanon come immediately to mind, need a lot of help with the numbers of refugees they have in their lands.

  31. Mac says:

    Fatima Kurdi lied, Finn Donnelly lied, Trudeau junior lied, the CBC and the rest of the media party jumped on the lies and ran with them.
    Chris Alexander was the ONLY one telling the truth and he pays for it with his job.
    Hard to teach your kids to tell the truth when they see shit like this.

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