British Terrorist? (former MP) Tries to Enter Canada

[tenni]

Outspoken former British MP George Galloway is due to arrive in Canada Saturday after the federal government yanked the welcome mat on him last year.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney branded him a terrorist because he had provided financial support to Hamas, which Ottawa has declared a terrorist organization.

Mr. Galloway decided not to come to Canada for a speaking tour because he would likely be denied entry.

Last month a Federal Court judge dismissed an appeal by Mr. Galloway's supporters, but said the Harper government had acted politically to suppress his opinions.

Immigration officials can still deny him entry, but a Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman would only say that a decision will be made “if and when” he arrives in Toronto.

Mr. Galloway says the terrorist allegations were extremely damaging to him, costing him his seat in the British House of Commons and putting him in personal danger.

So, British posters did the Canadian government labelling him a terrorist cost him his seat or ?

It will be interesting to see if they send him back while permitting the Tamils who landed on a leaky ship to stay...all the while the government tries to decide which of the 500 Tamils are refugees or terrorsists...lol

[dafydd]

Outspoken former British MP George Galloway is due to arrive in Canada Saturday after the federal government yanked the welcome mat on him last year.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney branded him a terrorist because he had provided financial support to Hamas, which Ottawa has declared a terrorist organization.

Mr. Galloway decided not to come to Canada for a speaking tour because he would likely be denied entry.

Last month a Federal Court judge dismissed an appeal by Mr. Galloway's supporters, but said the Harper government had acted politically to suppress his opinions.

Immigration officials can still deny him entry, but a Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman would only say that a decision will be made “if and when” he arrives in Toronto.

Mr. Galloway says the terrorist allegations were extremely damaging to him, costing him his seat in the British House of Commons and putting him in personal danger.

So, British posters did the Canadian government labelling him a terrorist cost him his seat or ?

It will be interesting to see if they send him back while permitting the Tamils who landed on a leaky ship to stay...all the while the government tries to decide which of the 500 Tamils are refugees or terrorsists...lol

he's not a terrorist. he's just very annoying. if providing financial support to terrorist groups makes you a terrorist then the US government isn't on very virtuous ground.

d

[slipnslide]

he's not a terrorist. he's just very annoying. if providing financial support to terrorist groups makes you a terrorist then the US government isn't on very virtuous ground.

d

Ohh zing. Good point.

Incredibly these days my own Canadian government scares me more than this Galloway guy.

[darkeyes]

he's not a terrorist. he's just very annoying. if providing financial support to terrorist groups makes you a terrorist then the US government isn't on very virtuous ground.

d

I know poor George from my time in the Labour Party.. and I rather like him. The thing about George is that much of what he says is sound, positive and very accurate.. however he is a bit of a tit by the way he so frequently puts his foot in it. For man who can be so perceptive to very often use so little of his intelligence and have no idea what some of his antics say to the world about him and what he says, he does himself and his cause, which is often my cause, no favours whatsoever.

To answer the point about whether allegations of terrorism cost him his seat, the answer is simply no. He didnt stand in the seat he held because it was merged with another constituency. However, his reputation and the controversy which surrounds him and consequent media villification didnt do him any favours when he stood in a neighbouring constituency, but he still polled a respectable 8000 odd votes. What did for him more was standing against a Labour candidate thus splitting the left wing vote at a time the government of the day was on its last legs and as with most candidates of the left he suffered by the swing to the right which elected the current bunch of greaseballs to power..

George Galloway a terrorist? You're havin a larf aintcha? A bit of a jester maybe.:):tong:

[tenni]

Well, he did land in Canada and after an hour or two of being interviewed he was permitted to stay. He did take his original ban to court and a few weeks ago the courts stated that the Harper government had the right to ban him from entry but the court found no evidence that he was a terrorist. He had supporters waiting for him at the airport. He is considering suing the cabinet minister who declared him a terrorist. The "proof" had to do with the fact that he had given money and supplies to the people of Gaza(I think). It shows you how a neocon government acts. Harper has to go. Are there enough people willing to vote him out? The problem is that the electorate doesn't like any of the parties well enough to give any of them a majority.

Galloway may be making a speech today in Toronto.

[Canticle]

Yep.....Fran is correct...nothing needs adding there.

Another thing which didn't do his credibility ratings much good, was agreeing to be part of Celebrity Big brother (and while the House of Commons was sitting), being fairly obnoxious when in the Big Brother House (understandable, when encountering a young female....not a ''celebrity''...who was incredibly ignorant, about things...things which amazed George)....and also dressing up and doing Big brother's bidding, by pretending to be a cat. He had to be on the floor, lapping milk from a saucer and behave accordingly, when petted and talked to by his ''owner,'' another of the ''celebrities.''

Not one of George's more sensible decisions.

[diB4u]

george galloway a terrorist, pleeeeeeeeeease lol hes annoying, but no terrorist. besides which this is the same man that dressed up as a cat in big brother and purrred on national tv.


:bigrin:

[tenni]

Standing on stage, in front of hundreds of rowdy supporters, defiant former British MP George Galloway donned a pair of winter mitts, stood in a boxer’s pose and threw down the gauntlet to his nemesis: Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

In his first public appearance Sunday since being barred from entering Canada, the politician and outspoken supporter of the Palestinian people used the first half of his speech to condemn Mr. Kenney for branding him a terrorist, and called on the minister to resign.

Cara Zwibel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, which acted as an intervenor in Mr. Galloway’s case, said the Canadian government should never have prevented the former MP from doing his speaking tour.

“People overseas would be surprised to hear that this kind of activity is happening. I certainly think our friends in the United States would be surprised to hear that Canada is trying to suppress speech on these political grounds,” Ms. Zwibel said. “I think it calls into question our credentials as a liberal democracy that respects people’s fundamental rights and freedoms.”

But Bernie Farber, chief executive officer of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said that when a speaker like Mr. Galloway, known for his “antics and silliness,” comes to deliver a message, nobody wins.

“We have always stated that Galloway can come to Canada as long as he doesn’t violate Canadian law. Our concern was, and it was a legitimate concern given his history, that he would be coming to this country to raise money for Hamas,” Mr. Farber said.

“I think Jason Kenney did very much the right thing when he pointed the finger and said here is a man whom we know has raised money for terrorist causes and that is a concern. I hope that the magnifying glass would be more on that than anything else.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/george-galloway-challenges-jason-kenney-to-go-five-rounds-in-a-public-debate/article1740537/