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Politicians have been using migrants as props for decades. Republicans visit the Southwest border and declare that immigration is out of control. During the Trump administration, Democrats made their way to detention centers to decry the treatment of children locked in cages.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas took the tactic to a new level Thursday, busing about 100 people including many who said they were fleeing violence or poverty to Vice President Kamala Harris doorstep. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis sent a separate group of migrants to Marthas Vineyard, a playground for wealthy liberals, on Wednesday evening.

The two buses Abbott sent to Washington arrived outside the Naval Observatory just after sunrise. Reporters were on the scene before the humanitarian group that has been leading resettling efforts here since April, when Abbott and Arizonas Republican governor, Doug Ducey, started sending thousands of migrants to Washington and other liberal cities.

Amy Fischer, an organizer with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, said she and other volunteers found out about the newest arrivals on Twitter. Her group is most often mobilized to help buses that arrive early in the morning or late at night at Union Station, the train and bus hub thats just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol.

The migrants were welcomed and soon taken by Uber, Lyft and private volunteer cars to a church that the group has been using to help people bathe, eat and figure out where they plan to settle, whether in Washington or elsewhere. Fischer said her group has helped about 6,200 people so far.

This whole project is a racist publicity stunt that doesnt uphold the agency and human rights of those who are arriving to seek safety, Fischer said.

But it is forcing some Democratic leaders to adjust policy in order to process the unexpected arrivals. Washingtons Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser, declared an emergency last week to free up $10 million in funds after the Pentagon rejected her requests for help from the National Guard.

We have a system that is failing those that are arriving to seek safety, Fischer added. And instead of states and localities and the federal government and Congress addressing the real needs, its turned into a game of political football.

President Biden asked Harris last year to address the root causes of migration from Central America. Republicans have referred to her as the Biden administrations border czar a title she has resisted and conservatives have pilloried her all week for declaring in an NBC News interview over the weekend that the border is secure.

Those remarks triggered Abbott to send the buses to Harriss home, he tweeted Thursday.

VP Harris claims our border is secure & denies the crisis, Abbott wrote. Were sending migrants to her backyard to call on the Biden Administration to do its job & secure the border.

Border agents recorded 1.9 million encounters with migrants between October 2021 and the end of July, an all-time high. This number doesnt represent individual migrants because many migrants try to cross the border and are apprehended multiple times.

The issue did not come up during a speech Harris delivered later in the morning at the White House event aimed at combating hate-filled violence and her office did not respond to emailed questions.

Gov. Gavin Newsom called for the Justice Department to investigate DeSantis actions, citing reports that migrants said they were recruited based on false representations that they would be taken to Boston and given expedited access to work authorization.

The fact that Fox News and not the Department of Homeland Security, the city or local NGOs were alerted about a plan to leave migrants, including children, on the side of a busy D.C. street makes clear that this is just a cruel, premeditated political stunt, said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

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GOP governors bused migrants to liberal cities. Texas sent them to the vice president's home - Los Angeles Times

The word "woke" originally used to describe awareness of discrimination has been adopted by figures onthe political right to discredit policies and politicians they considertoo progressive, experts say.

The word was directedearlier this week at the Liberals and NDPbyConservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.And some Liberalshave been dancing around the term when asked about it by journalists.

"It's a term that's been evolving fast," said Jennifer Saul, a professor who specializes in the philosophy of political language at the University of Waterloo.

"For a while, there were people happily identifying themselves as woke. Itnow has been adopted as a term of abuse."

After Poilievre was elected to lead the Conservatives, a number of Liberal MPs told Radio-Canada that they want their party to shift to the centre to combat Poilievre's populist brand of conservatism.

"We need a government that is down to earth and less woke,"one MP, speaking on the condition they not be identified, told Radio-Canada.

Poilievre would later call the Liberals and the NDP who are supporting the government through a confidence-and supply-agreement a "radical woke coalition" in his first address to caucus as Conservativeleader.

Poilievre'suse of "woke" as a pejorativehad a number of Liberal cabinet ministers circling the word cautiouslyduring the party's caucus retreat earlier this week.

"Frankly, I don't even know what it means to be woke.I'm working to serve Canadians," said Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.

"I certainly don't believe I'm woke, trust me, and no one in my family believes that either," said Innovation and Science Minister Franois-Philippe Champagne.

Even NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh didn't explicitly embrace the term when asked about it during an interview on CBC Radio's The House although he did sayhe doubts Poilievre understands what it means.

"I don't think that Mr. Poilievre knows what he means when he says that. I don't think he understands what he's saying when he just throws the words around," Singh told host Catherine Cullen in the interview airing Saturday.

"I think it's a baseless kind of position. It doesn't really add up to the reality," he said, adding that his party's focus is on getting help to Canadians.

The use of the term "woke" in a political context originates with black activists in the United States in the early- to mid-20th century, according to McGill political science professor Terri Givens.

Givens said it was used as a term of vigilance, calling for greater public awareness of racial discrimination. As a black woman growing up in the United States, she said, she was very familiar with the term.

"I've heard this term throughout my life," she said. "It's a term that means, 'We need to wake up to the fact that [discrimination is] happening to us.'"

Givens said that while the term has been used withinblack communitiesin North America for decades, it gained prominence in the wider public discourse during the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Saul said that in the years following the rise of Black Lives Matter, people started applying the term more broadly toawareness of other social issues, such as sexism, poverty and the challenges facing LGBTQ people.

Both Saul and Givens said the term has since been seizedby right-wing figures to castigate people or policies they see as too progressive.

"This has become a blunt instrument of the right," Givens said.

Saul agrees but notes that "woke"has gained some negative meaning on the left as well. The term"woke-washing," he said, is used to describe the actions of people or organizations thattry to convince others theycare about certain issues.

Both Saul and Givens said Poilievre's use of the word to discredit the Liberals, and subsequent attempts by some Liberals to distance themselves from it,are notsurprising. The same things are happening inthe U.S. and Europe, they said.

"I think a defence of, 'Yes I'm woke and proud of it' is unlikely to succeed because the term 'woke' has become so thoroughly appropriated," Saul said.

Givens said she doesn't think the historical context of the term is understood by either the Liberals or the Conservatives.

"It really pains me to see politicians throwing these terms around [as] a quick soundbite, instead of having a nuanced conversation," she said.

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So who's 'woke,' what does it mean and how is it being used in Canadian politics? - CBC News

Senior members of the South Australian Liberal Party say the organisation has avoided a bloodbathin the wake of the party's election losses at a state and federal level earlier this year.

A rumoured conservative takeover of the party's executive failed to eventuate at today's state branch annual general meeting, although a member of the faction was elected as the state president.

The meeting was held at the Hungarian Club in Norwood, rather than at the Adelaide Convention Centre,with speeches and extra events cancelled out of respect for the Queen.

Despite rumours of a conservative takeover following a recruitment drive by Right faction senator Alex Antic, the result was more mixed.

The membership strongly supported former candidate for Kavel, Rowan Mumford, asthe new state president but, after the meeting, Senator Antic was not prepared to declare the result a success.

"I just love democracy, I love coming to these meetings, hanging out with like-minded friends, good result, good people," he said.

Other executive positions were won by a mix of conservative and moderate candidates.

The party appointed moderate Alex May as state director in July, whileDavid Speirs a conservative was chosen as Opposition Leader in April after the election loss in March.

Mr Speirs today claimeda win for balance and harmony with the party "not lurching over to the far right" or "trying to out-left the Left".

"Contrary to all the public speculation, no takeover has occurred by one particular group within the party and this is exactly what I was after," he said.

All three of the party's leaders are in their 30s.

"The generational shift for our party has been dramatic over the last few months," Mr Speirs said.

"It's refreshed, it's renewed, it's reinvigorated."

Members told ABC News the party administration badly needed updating to make the Liberals electorally competitive again.

Party elders were relieved that factional fighting did not take centre stage.

"Common sense has prevailed," former federal Liberal MP Trish Worth said.

"It shows that we can have confidence in the wisdom and integrity of state council delegates because they've elected people from the broad church."

Former MP Christopher Pyne said the media had over-hyped the divisions in the party.

"I think you're all being a bit dramatic," he said ahead of the meeting.

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SA Liberals opt for 'generational shift' rather than conservative takeover at annual general meeting - ABC News

Ottawa, ON Raquel Dancho, Conservative Shadow Minister for Public Safety, released the following statement after media reports revealed a dangerous ISIS child trafficker could be walking the streets freely in Canada:

According to a Globe and Mail report, Mohammed al-Rashed, a Syrian human smuggler for the Islamic State recruited to spy for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), was recently freed from prison and promised asylum and relocation to Canada.

The Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino however is refusing to confirm whether the former ISIS child trafficker was granted asylum or any details regarding his whereabouts.

Mr. al-Rashed was convicted of smuggling three school-aged girls as young as 15 years old to ISIS terrorists, this after being recruited by CSIS. Canadians deserve to know that they and their children can walk the streets safely without being confronted with such a dangerous criminal.

Canadians were promised a feminist government. A transparent government. What they are getting is the exact opposite. They have a government that would put the safety of our young women in peril and will go to enormous lengths to hide that fact.

We are calling on Minister Mendicino to tell Canadians the truth, and if the Trudeau Liberal government put a dangerous criminal on our streets they must explain themselves to Canadians.

Conservatives will continue to push for answers and hold this tired government to account. Most importantly, we will use all the means at our disposal to make sure Canadians are safe from dangerous criminals. Anything less is unacceptable.

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Liberals refuse to confirm whether dangerous ISIS child trafficker is in Canada - Conservative Party of Canada

The federal government is pledging a suite of measures to address affordability issues, including a temporary GST rebate hike, a one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit and the long-awaited first phase of Canadas national dental care plan.

Dental care is a key plank of the agreement between the Trudeau Liberals and the NDP that would see the Liberals remain in power until 2025 but only if they deliver.

This first phase would provide direct, up-front, tax-free payments of up to $650 for children under 12 from families without dental coverage who earn less than $90,000 per year. This would expand to include people under 18, seniors and people with disabilities by the end of 2023, with full implementation by 2025.

Get daily news from Canada's National Observer

By the end of 2024 ... up to nine million Canadians who presently do not have access to dental care will be covered ... through a publicly administered, publicly funded plan, NDP MP Don Davies told Canadas National Observer in an interview. It's the single biggest expansion of public health care in 60 years.

Health Canada will receive $5.3 billion over five years to implement the dental care plan, according to the 2022 federal budget. The federal government says this targeted investment of $938 million for the first phase will benefit an estimated 500,000 Canadian children.

Tuesdays announcement of this interim type of arrangement is a good first step, said Dr. Lynn Tomkins, president of the Canadian Dental Association. Children 12 and under are particularly vulnerable, and it's important to assess whether theyre susceptible to cavities early in life. Tooth decay is the most common yet preventable chronic childhood disease in Canada and around the world, according to the Canadian government.

I am thinking about all the kids out there who aren't currently going to see the dentist, Tomkins said in an interview with Canadas National Observer. Hopefully, they will have the opportunity before Christmas to get in to see the dentist and to start on that pathway to good oral health.

The government aims to have the program for children under 12 in place by Dec. 1. It would cover expenses retroactive to Oct. 1.

Davies says, for the most part, the NDP got what it wanted for this first phase of the program.

The NDP is satisfied with the amount being offered per child because in most parts of the country, it's enough for a child to have an exam, X-rays, a cleaning and a procedure or two, said Davies, who is the NDPs health critic.

Parents and guardians of eligible children will apply through the Canada Revenue Agency. They must confirm their child doesnt have any private dental coverage and that the benefit will be used for the childs dental care expenses, according to the federal governments statement. It adds that recipients may be required to show receipts. Details on how and when to apply for the benefit will be communicated in due course.

The NDP wanted to have a full dental plan in place by the end of this year, but the Liberals didn't think that they could get it properly set up in the eight months that were given, that's why it's going to take a bit longer, said Davies.

Thats why we came up with the idea of an interim bridge benefit that will get Canadian children to the dentist this year, he explained. But that's conditional on us having a permanent plan in place by the end of 2023.

As our leader Jagmeet Singh has said: If they don't meet it, we will walk from the confidence-and-supply agreement and we won't even hesitate, said Davies. On Tuesday, the federal government reiterated that it remains committed to full implementation of a dental care program for households with incomes under $90,000 by 2025.

Davies noted the NDP believes every Canadian should have access to dental care as part of the public health system.

Every move that gets us closer to making sure that everyone can go to a dentist, regardless of their ability to pay, is a positive step in that direction, said Davies. The bottom line is, we ask ourselves one question: Does this get people who don't have dental coverage to the dentist to get their money? That's our touchstone and that's what we're driving towards. And we're not going to stop until this is done for every Canadian.

The $500 one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit is another ask the NDP embedded in the confidence-and-supply agreement. At a press conference Tuesday, federal Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the Liberals measures as inflationary and said the housing benefit isnt enough to make a substantial difference given the high rent in areas like Toronto.

Is it enough? Of course not, said Davies. But for many low-income Canadians, $500 is significant, he said, and when paired with the temporary GST rebate hike, will provide real help to people.

The GST rebate will be doubled for six months, which while not part of the Liberal-NDP deal, is something the NDP has pushed for in the spring but was rejected by the Liberals.

Putting money into the hands of those people is not inflationary because they turn around and they spend it in our communities, he said.

Natasha Bulowski / Local Journalism Initiative / Canadas National Observer

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Liberals, NDP unveil 'single biggest expansion of public health care in 60 years' - Canada's National Observer