Liberal MP Jennifer O’Connell on Tuesday blamed former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative cabinet for a suspected terror plot foiled three weeks ago. O’Connell told the Commons Public Safety Committee it was Harper who compromised national security, per Blacklock's Reporter. “We look forward to having these meetings so Conservatives can truly appreciate their cuts have consequences to our national security and the safety of our communities,” said MP O’Connell, parliamentary secretary for public safety. She did not elaborate.MPs on Tuesday voted to investigate how two suspected terrorists, Ahmed Eldidi and his adult son Mostafa of Scarborough, ON, entered Canada despite alleged ties to terrorist groups. The pair were arrested by the RCMP July 28 for plotting a “serious, violent attack” in Toronto.“I am very pleased to see the Conservatives finally realize that their cuts have consequences,” said O’Connell.“Previously under the Harper government when they cut more than 1,000 Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) employees, at the time the president of the Customs and Immigration Union said, quote, ‘There will be little and in some cases potentially no investigating or surveillance being done to keep these criminals out of the country and out of our communities.’”“This is precisely why we have been making reinvestments to staff up the CBSA cuts,” said O’Connell.“It is exactly why we continue to make investments through the budget, through the Fall Economic Statement, which Conservatives vote against.” .Harper in 2012 mandated a 9% cut in the CBSA’s budget over three years. A total of 1,350 jobs were eliminated.“Most of the surplus positions identified are found through streamlining internal services in national headquarters,” mangers wrote in an Access To Information memo at the time. “These are not people staffing through the ports of entry.”Public Accounts and Departmental Results reports show spending on CBSA security programs was also cut after Liberals took office, in the period from 2015 to 2017. Spending on criminal investigations in the period fell from $37.3 million to $32.2 million, a 14% reduction. Spending on “admissibility determination” fell from $186.7 million to $156.4 million, a 16% reduction.Overall staffing at the CBSA in the period from 2015 to 2017 declined from 14,113 full-time employees to 13,707 employees, a reduction of 406.“When I talk about staffing levels, we are short between 2,000 and 3,000 across the country,” Mark Weber, president of the Customs and Immigration Union, testified last February 26 at the public safety committee.“We have ports operating with half the number of officers they had only 10 years ago,” said Weber. “We don’t see those numbers going up.”.This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
Liberal MP Jennifer O’Connell on Tuesday blamed former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative cabinet for a suspected terror plot foiled three weeks ago. O’Connell told the Commons Public Safety Committee it was Harper who compromised national security, per Blacklock's Reporter. “We look forward to having these meetings so Conservatives can truly appreciate their cuts have consequences to our national security and the safety of our communities,” said MP O’Connell, parliamentary secretary for public safety. She did not elaborate.MPs on Tuesday voted to investigate how two suspected terrorists, Ahmed Eldidi and his adult son Mostafa of Scarborough, ON, entered Canada despite alleged ties to terrorist groups. The pair were arrested by the RCMP July 28 for plotting a “serious, violent attack” in Toronto.“I am very pleased to see the Conservatives finally realize that their cuts have consequences,” said O’Connell.“Previously under the Harper government when they cut more than 1,000 Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) employees, at the time the president of the Customs and Immigration Union said, quote, ‘There will be little and in some cases potentially no investigating or surveillance being done to keep these criminals out of the country and out of our communities.’”“This is precisely why we have been making reinvestments to staff up the CBSA cuts,” said O’Connell.“It is exactly why we continue to make investments through the budget, through the Fall Economic Statement, which Conservatives vote against.” .Harper in 2012 mandated a 9% cut in the CBSA’s budget over three years. A total of 1,350 jobs were eliminated.“Most of the surplus positions identified are found through streamlining internal services in national headquarters,” mangers wrote in an Access To Information memo at the time. “These are not people staffing through the ports of entry.”Public Accounts and Departmental Results reports show spending on CBSA security programs was also cut after Liberals took office, in the period from 2015 to 2017. Spending on criminal investigations in the period fell from $37.3 million to $32.2 million, a 14% reduction. Spending on “admissibility determination” fell from $186.7 million to $156.4 million, a 16% reduction.Overall staffing at the CBSA in the period from 2015 to 2017 declined from 14,113 full-time employees to 13,707 employees, a reduction of 406.“When I talk about staffing levels, we are short between 2,000 and 3,000 across the country,” Mark Weber, president of the Customs and Immigration Union, testified last February 26 at the public safety committee.“We have ports operating with half the number of officers they had only 10 years ago,” said Weber. “We don’t see those numbers going up.”.This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
