[View the story "Kenney strikes back over 'anti-immigration' tweet " on Storify ]Kenney strikes back over 'anti-immigration' tweet Employment Minister Jason Kenney took Bob Rae to task over Twitter Wednesday, after the former Liberal MP weighed in on the controversy over the Conservatives' Temporary Foreign Workers Program: Storified by CTVNews.ca · Wed, Apr 30 2014 15:27:51
TFW issue has roots in Reform's anti-immigration bias - explosion in "temporary" category is all about segregating and excluding. #cdnpoiliBob Rae
The comment ignited a flurry of debate over
Twitter, but it was Employment Minister Jason Kenney who was most vocal, firing off a series of
tweets -- 18 in total -- directed at Rae. Kenney touted the Conservatives as the "most pro-immigration" government in modern Canadian history, while lambasting the Liberals' record on the file:
That's obscene & beneath you, @BobRae48. We've increased immigration to record levels, the highest per capita level in the developed world.Jason Kenney
Since coming to office, we have tripled the number of "temporary foreign workers" who obtain permanent residency, from 13K to 38K @BobRae48Jason Kenney
We're also admitting record numbers of foreign students & visitors, @BobRae48. Is that all about "segregating and excluding?"Jason Kenney
The Reform Party consistently won a plurality of the votes of immigrants in Western Canada, @BobRae48. Were they "anti-immigration" voters?Jason Kenney
In 1995 Liberal govt imposed a $1000 Right of Landing Fee on new permanent residents, @BobRae48. In 2006 we cut it in half.Anti-immigration?Jason Kenney
In parallel world of Harper Derangement Syndrome, the most pro-immigration govt in modern CDN history has "anti-immigration bias." @BobRae48Jason Kenney
Kenney, who helmed Ottawa's citizenship and immigration file from 2008 to 2013, has been on the defence as controversy over the
scandal-plagued Temporary Foreign Workers Program reached a fever pitch last
week. On Friday, Kenney announced he would be
suspending restaurant industry access to the program.
More than 10 hours after his initial tweet, Rae appeared to shrug off the firestorm his tweet had ignited:
News item that Twitter stock has plunged. Jason Kenney better ease up. #cdnpoIiBob Rae
Rae may have been slow to respond, but #CDNpoli Twitter users weighed almost immediately, including at least one of Kenney's colleagues:
.@kenneyjason @bobrae48 agreed - reducing policy debate on this topic 2 the creation of false boogeymen is ridiculous. Give ur head a shake.Michelle Rempel
Jason Kenney 1
Bob Rae 0
Thanks, bye.Holly
@poneilinOttawa @kenneyjason @BobRae48 I thought Bob was a noble statesman now, no longer a spewer of spurious claims. He's better than thisDebby Simms
@kenneyjason Putting fiction before facts was always a @BobRae48 political trademarkBill Brasky
Others challenged Kenney's claims and accused him of trying to distract from the controversy over temporary foreign workers:
@kenneyjason @BobRae48 the most pro TFW and yet you have made it harder for families to get together, unilaterally dumped waiting list.Polly Ticks
@kenneyjason @BobRae48 so current govt isn't just awful, it's worse than Chretien because it's obvious he didn't make it as easy to cheat.Carolyn R Parsons
@kenneyjason @BobRae48 I dunno Jason, I do recall the #CPC cancelling Youth Employment programs for CANADIANS while expanding TFWP #cdnpoliLeftnoodleofFSM
@kenneyjason you are too much! -another predictable attempt to detract from your latest massive screwup-a strategy 4 yr olds use #cdnpoliKara Ardan
And then there were some who felt the whole matter was childish:
@kenneyjason @BobRae48 Do U 2 need a time out? Sniping on Twitter like preteens is embarrassing, for U & for those who elected you. #cdnpoliPatrick LaMontagne
