Refugees are not criminals

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is gearing up for the long march to the 2019 election, but one of his moves has disturbing overtones. This week, Trudeau shuffled his cabinet. It was clearly an election-preparation move, as the shifts in personnel and portfolios signal some of the priorities he will take into the coming campaign.

A newcomer, Bill Blair, has been assigned to the new Ministry of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction. Blair is a former Toronto police chief, so he has been tapped because of his crime-fighting experience.

The move seems like a response to criticisms from the Conservatives and new Ontario Premier Doug Ford that Trudeau has taken a lax approach to migrants, and created a flood of asylum seekers.

The recent influx of migrants is straining the capacity of the government to process them and of cities to house them. But to call the issue “irregular migration” and lump it into a ministry with organized crime is pandering to an intolerant view that conflates asylum seekers with gangsters.

The world has a serious refugee problem. Millions are fleeing war and famine. The vast majority of them have no motive beyond saving their lives and giving their children a life without fear.

To help solve the problem, Blair has to approach his task with compassion, not with the prejudice that his new title implies.