“Canada is not a shopping centre,” says People’s Party Leader.
People’s Party Leader Maxime Bernier is calling for Birth Tourism to be made illegal.
His call follows an article in the National Post, which described how more and more pregnant non-citizens are coming to Canada to give birth, which can lead to “debasing the notion of citizenship.”
Here’s an excerpt of the article:
“Melody Bai arrived in Vancouver from China in the late stages of pregnancy with one goal: to give birth to a Canadian baby. Awaiting her was an elaborate ecosystem catering to pregnant women from China, including a spacious “baby house” where she spent four months, attended to by a Mandarin-speaking housekeeper. Caregivers offered free breast massages to promote lactation, outings to the mall, lectures on childbirth with other Chinese mothers-to-be and excursions for high tea.”
Clearly, birth tourism is taking advantage of the generosity of Canadians, and is an insult to both Canadian Citizens and those who go through the full and often lengthy process to get Canadian Citizenship for themselves and their families.
Here’s what Bernier said about it:
“Canada is not a shopping centre, where any foreigner can come and buy a citizenship or future education and employment opportunities for their children, without following the proper immigration channels.
The law should be changed to make birth tourism illegal.”
Canada is not a shopping centre, where any foreigner can come and buy a citizenship or future education and employment opportunities for their children, without following the proper immigration channels.
The law should be changed to make birth tourism illegal. https://t.co/O8onf1DYiA
— Maxime Bernier (@MaximeBernier) January 3, 2019
Bernier has it right here. The Conservatives have also taken a similar position at the convention, voting to end ‘birthright citizenship,’ which is what has created the incentive for birth tourism in the first place. However, it is not yet known whether the party will make that position taken by their members an official policy in the upcoming campaign.
Either way, birth tourism should be banned, and all politicians need to stand up and demand an end to it.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – Twitter
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