Illegal Aliens, Jilbab

The Conservative government of Canada is deporting thousands of illegal workers, mainly Portugese and Italians, from Canada. Many have come on a visit visa, some ten years ago, and have stayed on. They worked in mostly construction projects, paid taxes and generally did not leech off the Canadian welfare system. Yet, many are now given less than two weeks notice to depart Canada. As usual, the left is out crying "Amnesty", or the construction industry claiming deporting thousands of workers will hurt a booming sector. The right is leading with sloguns such as "follow the rules" or "join the line" or "illegal is illegal".

I am generally to the left of center, but here I would have to agree with the right. When my dad decided to move here with his family, we paid an exorbitant landing fee, went for an interview, got our skills evaluated, went for a medical exam, waited months, before getting the nod. After coming here, it was another struggle to assimilate, gather experience, education, transfer skills before being integrated into the social fabric. Illegals jump the queue. They come here under false pretenses, get a job and settle down. Then, when found out and ordered to leave, they point to their very act of breaking the law as reason for amnesty.

Illegals also steal jobs. It's no use saying no Canadian wants the jobs. If there is a shortage of Canadians to do the jobs, the government should bring in guest workers under a specific plan, so that employers follow the rules (minimum wage, safety standards and so on). An employer can hire an illegal alien, pay them lower wages, turn a blind eye to safety and workplace regulations, and the illegals won't complain. This also creates a class of work which now has a stigma so that no local will do the job. Witness the US immigration problem, where illegal Mexicans now pluck their fruits, make their beds, wash their cars and so on. Their illegal immigration has grown to such an epidemic that it is now impossible to deport illegals. Canada is doing the right thing by coming down firmly on these workers. I don't doubt their honesty, sincerety and hard work, but you can go back and reapply to come to Canada legally.

In another piece of news, the British Law Lords, Britain's highest court, has ruled against Shabina Begum's right to wear the 'jilbab' to school. The school she originally attended implemented a school uniform, and the jilbab was found contravening the school code. The Lords took into consideration the fact that the school implemented a policy acceptable to most mainstream Muslims, as the uniform was designed in consultation with representatives of Muslim students, who made up more than 79% of the student body. The shalwar kameez was permitted, as was the scarf. Again, I see nothing wrong with this ruling.

In a recent post, Muslim blogger Abu Sinan said women who wear the hijab but also extremely tight, revealing clothes (in other words dress like a whore with a hijab on) cause a disservice to thousands of Muslim women who are trying to win the right to wear the hijab to work, school and so on. I would postulate that women in the other extreme, who fight to wear the nikab, jilbab and the Afghan burkha on their driver's licenses, school and work places also cause a disservice to thousands of mainstream Muslim women who wear the simple hijab. I fail to see what was Shabina's problem, especially when the school took the pains as it did to design a school uniform to fit mainstream Muslim needs. If she indeed believed her religion required such extremism, she should go to a religious school that fits her needs.

Tags: Canada Illegal Aliens Jilbab Britain Shabina Begum