I'm not sure how much trade Canada does with the Czech Republic, but I'll bet it's not as much as with our NAFTA partner Mexico. Weren't we just complaining that the USA is choking off trade by making us all go to the trouble of getting passports and submitting to border checks beyond a wink and a nudge? Hypocrisy?

Wouldn't this line of thought be similar to saying something like this: Over the past century Canada has extended voting rights to women, aboriginals, Jews and minorities so keep that in mind as they're revoked for Muslims.

I quote from Chapter 4, Canada's Broken Refugee Policy System from the report Immigration Policy and the Terrorist Threat in Canada and the United States by the Fraser Institute :

However, in Canada, there is an absence of political and partisan debate on the issue of abuse of the refugee system. In fact, there is an absence of political and partisan debate on immigration policy in general. The reason for this lack of debate is connected to Canada’s self-image of multiculturalism, openness, and tolerance, which is used by partisan actors to gain electoral advantage. In this way, political actors can avoid the migration debate and remain unwilling to implement and sustain effective migration management instruments. Meanwhile, well-funded and well-organized advocacy and special interest groups connected to the immigration field work tirelessly to ensure that the government lives up to its pro-immigration rhetoric. The result is a maze of migration policies that merely regularizes the bulk of the irregular migrant influx. This has the political benefit of avoiding the contentious and difficult process of deporting large numbers of illegal immigrants."

So when is Jason Kenney going to prove the Fraser Institute wrong and start "deporting large numbers of illegal immigrants" ?

Is it possible that it was the Mexicans that Kenney was really after, but had to toss in the Czechs so as to whiten it up a bit?

If I could change Canada's refugee laws, I would declare the whole European Union a safe third country zone where refugee applicants would be required to apply for refugee status from Europe or another third country. If the Roma face persecution by the state or private citizens in the Czech Repubic, they can always move to another EU country. If they wish to apply for refugee status to Canada, they Roma can apply from Europe. Canada should eliminate the visas for Czech citizens. If a Czech applies for refugee status inside Canada, we can always send the Czech applicant back the the Czech Republic or another EU country to complete the application. We can always set up oversized detention centres in Canada where we can house some refugee applicants. They can always volunteer to go back to their countries at any time. C'au!