Canadians of convenience
John Ivison: Ottawa might have been duped into rescuing ‘Canadians of convenience’ from Sudan
As many as half of the 175 Canadian citizens and permanent residents are refugees who were granted status in Canada, then returned to Sudan
OTTAWA — In 2006, the Harper government evacuated thousands of Canadians from the war in Lebanon who it turned out were citizens in name only, having acquired and maintained their citizenship as a form of insurance to be used only in case of emergency.
Our military isn’t a travel agency
… The frantic evacuation of Canadian citizens from Sudan brings to mind the Lebanon strife of 2006. At that time, 15,000 Canadians were rescued from Beirut and Tyre during Hezbollah’s conflict with Israel. It was later reported later that 7,000 of that number had returned to Lebanon within a month of being evacuated. It’s estimated the cost of that exercise was $85 million.