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When Conservative Canadian governments deport failed asylum-seekers and try to prevent them from arriving in the first place, they tend to boast about it. When Liberal Canadian governments deport failed asylum-seekers and try to prevent them from arriving in the first place, they tend to pretend its simply not happening. On migration policy, this is one of the key differences between our two natural governing parties. It basically boils down to branding.

The Trudeau government has taken traditional Liberal messaging considerably further, though. In March, amidst a global refugee crisis, having recently dropped the tourist visa requirement for Mexican citizens and with a surge of northbound border-crossers arriving concurrently (if not because of) the Trump presidency and with hundreds of thousands of undocumented people in the U.S. who could theoretically join that surge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted out this now-legendary piece of reckless, insincere nonsense: Regardless of who you are or where you come from, theres always a place for you in Canada.

Spoiler alert: there isnt.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel tried to frame the northbound exodus as a direct result of Trudeaus shameless virtue signalling. Asked what her government had done or would do differently, she responded, essentially, that her government wouldnt have all-but-explicitly encouraged people to give Canada a college try.

Its a stretch; this is mostly about circumstances beyond any governments control. But the extent to which this government refuses to speak in plain English is truly remarkable.

On Sunday, in a visit to the border region in Quebec, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said Canadian consulates in the U.S. would try to warn people thinking of heading north to claim asylum that their chances of success were far from assured. Thats a very good idea. Many of the current border-crossers are Haitians whose asylum claims failed in the United States. A temporary post-earthquake moratorium on removals having expired, they now face deportation. Reports suggest they are being sold garbage advice in some cases literally that Canada is a sure thing. To preserve Canadas already stretched border resources, to maintain whatever public trust remains in the systems integrity, and to save vulnerable people from extortion and financial ruin, the government should be warning people away in no uncertain terms.

Heres what Garneau put on Twitter: We are continuing to engage with diaspora communities in the U.S.A. everyone deserves to know the facts about what it means to come to Canada.

And on Wednesday, heres what Trudeau put on Twitter: Were reaching out to folks in the U.S. to make sure people who want to come to Canada understand the proper procedures to do so.

For the love of God, man, there is no proper procedure with a snowballs chance in Port-au-Prince via which a failed Haitian asylum-seeker in the United States can come properly to Canada. What you mean is dont come. Well probably deport you anyway. So say it.

Theres no guarantee a blunt message would get the job done, mind you. No matter how often the Conservatives called asylum-seekers from European Union countries bogus refugees, the Immigration and Refugee Board kept recognizing their claims at a reasonable clip 2,500 from Hungary alone over the last decade, for a roughly 18 per cent success rate.

Unlike Hungary, the now-famous unofficial border crossing in Quebec is just a Greyhound and a cab away from anywhere in the contiguous 48 states. If Canadas consulates are indeed distributing the facts, then Haitians will know Canada has accepted nearly 50 per cent of claims from their fellow citizens over the last 10 years. Many claims that failed in the U.S. might well fail in Canada too but its a safe bet quite a few would succeed. (The U.S. accepts a significantly lower percentage of claimants.)

If my options were (a) deportation to Haiti, where I have nothing, or (b) a $200 trip to the border, a longish stay in Canada during which I can legally work and make some money, a long-shot chance at permanent residency and then, at worst, deportation to Haiti anyway, I know exactly which one I would pick.

What can the government do about this? Without straying dramatically from traditional policy options, not a hell of a lot. But it could stray from traditional Liberal policy and not let a massive backlog build up. On Wednesday, citing a UNHCR official, Global News reported asylum-seekers arriving today wont even get preliminary eligibility hearings until January. The longer a hopeless claim takes to be resolved, the greater the incentive to give it a whirl. The government could hire more people to deal with these claimants expeditiously, which the Liberals have said they will, thus reducing that incentive. But most radically, as off-brand as it would be, the Liberals might consider saying what they bloody well mean.

Email: cselley@nationalpost.com | Twitter:

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Chris Selley: Astonishing nonsense from the Liberals amid surge of asylum-seekers - National Post

The company that owns one of the countrys largest shipyards was ready to lay off 400 workers to put pressure on Liberal cabinet minister Scott Brison if he followed through with plans to delay the development a much-needed supply ship for the Canadian navy.

New emails detailing the high-stakes political drama surrounding the acquisition of the interim naval supply ship, which was at the heart of the controversial suspension earlier this year of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman from his post as the Canadian militarys second-in-command, were released Wednesday after legal action by a group of media organizations including Postmedia.

In November 2015, Brison, the Treasury Board President, was pushing for a review of the plan, approved by the previous Conservative government, to convert a commercial vessel into a naval resupply vessel at Davie Shipbuilding in Quebec. The $670-million deal would see the ship leased to the federal government for a five-year period.

But representatives at Davie and affiliated companies worried a review would delay the project indefinitely and eventually scuttle the program. There was also growing concern that Brison was pushing for the review on behalf of Davies rival Irving Shipbuilding, according to the emails.

Alex Vicefield, head of Inocea, the international shipping conglomerate that owns Davie, was ready to raise the stakes because of Brisons actions. He wrote to company officials and lobbyists that Brisons desire for an independent review was strange since the project had already been reviewed numerous times by independent agencies brought in by the federal government.

Sounds like a delay tactic, Vicefield wrote in a Nov. 19, 2015 email. If it does transpire to be that, I will do a full page plea in the Globe and Mail to Scott Brison asking that this Nova Scotia minister put his regional bias aside for matters of national security. then I will lay off 400 guys next week.

The RCMP alleges Norman provided updates on a Liberal plan to derail the navys interim supply ship program to officials with Davie and other affiliated firms. The RCMP alleges Norman did so in the hope of influencing the government to proceed with the delivery of the vessel.

Norman was suspended from his job as vice-chief of the defence staff in January, after the RCMP executed a search warrant on his home. The force has been investigating Norman for over a year, but no charges have been laid against him.

Normans lawyer, Marie Henein, has released a statement in which the vice-admiral unequivocally denied any wrongdoing. Instead, she said, Norman has been caught in the bureaucratic cross-fire.

The interim supply ship program, known as Project Resolve, is seen by many as being critical to the Royal Canadian Navy since the service has for some time been without the capacity to resupply its warships at sea.

The ship was unveiled in July at Davie and will be available to the navy for operations by the end of the year.

Brisons officials have denied that the ministers request for a review was in any way linked to the Irvings, and Irving Shipbuilding has denied allegations of political meddling.

The ship to be converted under Project Resolve had already been delivered to Davie when James D. Irving, co-chief executive officer of Irving Shipbuilding, wrote a Nov. 17, 2015 letter to procurement minister Judy Foote and defence minister Harjit Sajjan. Irving requested that its proposal for a similar vessel, already rejected by the Conservative government, be re-examined.

After receiving Irvings letter the Liberal government put Project Resolve on hold.

In an email to a naval colleague, Norman complained about what he saw as the blatant politics on the file and what he called Irvings efforts to block Davie. He considered resigning.

Details about the Liberals decision to put Project Resolve on hold, as well as Irvings letter and details of cabinet discussions about the matter, were leaked to the CBC in November 2015. The leak embarrassed the then-new Trudeau government and sparked outrage in Quebec over the potential loss of hundreds of jobs that might result were Davie to lose the ship deal. The Liberals beat a quick retreat and shortly afterwards, Project Resolve went ahead.

But the RCMP was brought in to find whoever had embarrassed the government by leaking information.

In an email to Postmedia on Wednesday, Alex Vicefield provided further details about his original email. At the time, we were already working on the ship as we were under an initial contract. We had around 400 employees onboard. If the project did not proceed, we would have had to lay off those staff.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has suggested that Norman will face trial, prompting concerns among the admirals supporters about whether he will get a fair hearing.

The new documents also include details about a discussion that reportedly took place between former Conservative defence minister Peter MacKay and Brison during a conference in Halifax in November 2015

Spencer Fraser, CEO of Project Resolve, told Vicefield and others that Mackay (sic) really let Brison have it. Our friend said it was quite heated and that Mackay (sic) apologized as he thought he may have hurt the (Royal Canadian Navy) by being so vociferous.

The RCMP alleges that the friend referred to in the email is Norman.

In an earlier email, Fraser noted that Peter McKay (sic) told Brison to get his head out (of) his ass.not sure it helped but at least he did it.

Email: dpugliese@postmedia.com | Twitter:

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Shipbuilder was ready to lay off 400 workers to pressure Liberals if they delayed navy project - National Post

Scott Baios politics may trump his acting career.

I dont give a st if I ever work again, Baio,who spokeat the 2016Republican National Convention,sniped to The Hollywood Reporterin an interview released Wednesday. My country comes first. I guess Im just an old, angry, successful white guy who stole everything he has from someone else.

The 56-year-old Brooklyn native remains unfazed by other Hollywood types who regularly slam President Trump, 70, for various policy proposals, includinga border wall with Mexicoandan immigration ban, as well as hisattitudes toward women,the LGBTQ communityandwhite nationalists.

I dont give a st about Hollywood liberals. Theyre gonna hate the guy no matter what, the Charles in Charge star fumed. If he cured cancer, theyd be on him for putting oncologists out of business.

Baio added that his support for Trump has only grown stronger since the POTUS claimed violence came from many sides after Aug. 12 Unite the Right protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, in whichone woman was killedandseveral others injuredwhen a white nationalist drove a car into a sea of counter-protesters.

All this does is help Trump because people have had it. Conservatives in Hollywood have had it, Baio, whosemost recent IMDb creditis from 2014, asserted. We know who Trump is, and we dont believe the propaganda, and I dont think most of the country does, either. The media is almost irrelevant. Its predictable and boring. I want the man to get his agenda through, and everything else is a sideshow.

This article originally appeared in Page Six.

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Scott Baio doubles down on Trump support: 'I don't give s--t about Hollywood liberals' - Fox News

McClatchy Washington Bureau

Pittenger asks: Why aren't liberals condemning Black Lives Matter and others? McClatchy Washington Bureau Rep. Robert Pittenger, a Republican congressman from North Carolina, said Tuesday President Donald Trump is getting unfairly blasted for his comments about the deadly Charlottesville rally, arguing that liberals haven't condemned Black Lives Matter and ... White people, here are 10 requests from a Black Lives Matter leaderLouisville Eccentric Observer all 46 news articles »

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Pittenger asks: Why aren't liberals condemning Black Lives Matter and others? - McClatchy Washington Bureau

The Liberal government has agreed to hold an emergency parliamentary committee hearing on Canada's ability to defend itself against an attack by North Korea, including whether the government should join the U.S. ballistic missile defence system.

The Conservatives and NDP called on the House of Commons defence committee to study the North Korean threat amid an escalation of tensions between the United States and North Korea. The Liberal members of the committee agreed on Tuesday to hold an emergency meeting on the matter before Parliament resumes on Sept. 18, although an exact date has not been set. The committee will hear from government officials and subject-matter experts on Canada's ability to defend itself and its allies against a North Korean attack.

"Canadians are talking about North Korea and what's been going on and they want to know answers to some of those questions," Liberal committee member Mark Gerretsen said.

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The meeting comes after a series of tit-for-tat threats between the U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump threatened "fire and fury" upon North Korea after Pyongyang conducted two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July.

The war of words between the United States and the hermit country has reignited a debate over whether Canada should consider joining the American ballistic missile defence (BMD) system a matter that will likely be discussed at the parliamentary hearing.

Video: U.S. pleased by North Korea's restraint: Tillerson (Reuters)

"Given the fact that North Korea has been toying with missiles, I think ballistic missile defence would be something that would most definitely come up," Mr. Gerretsen said.

Former prime minister Paul Martin originally opted not to join the U.S. program in 2005. The Conservatives also refused to join when they were in power from 2006 to 2015. In its recent defence-policy review, the Liberal government said Canada will continue to remain outside of the U.S. anti-ballistic missile program. Mr. Gerretsen said it is time to revisit that position.

"Given the threats that are continuing to emerge in the world and the fact that over the last number of years Canada has not been a participant when the United States is pretty much running the show with respect to missile defence, we should be having an ongoing discussion about what our role should be in that. And I think 10-years plus after the fact is a timely opportunity to have that discussion again."

Mr. Gerretsen said he does not know if other Liberal caucus members share his "personal" views.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's office said that while government remains committed to its position on BMD, it noted ballistic missiles are just one of a variety of threats being considered as Canada and the United States work to modernize the North American defence system.

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"The new [defence] policy commits the Government of Canada to examining, through NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] modernization, territorial defence against all perils, including threats from cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and other future technologies to provide Canadians with greater security at home," spokesman Jordan Owens said.

The Conservatives said they are waiting to hear from government officials before taking an official position on Canada's involvement in the U.S. ballistic missile defence system.

"It's up to the government of Canada to make a determination of how best to protect Canadians. And we will wait and see what that position is before we make any recommendations on any future engagement with defence co-operation with the United States and other NATO allies in how we deal with North Korea and other rogue states," said James Bezan, a Conservative committee member.

The NDP opposes Canada's participation in BMD. Foreign affairs critic Hlne Laverdire said Canada should instead focus on encouraging a diplomatic solution through talks with North Korea and allies, notably the U.S.

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Liberals agree to hold emergency meeting on North Korea threat - The Globe and Mail