Removing anti-immigration billboards is censorship, says columnist

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Despite public outcry, billboards urging Canadians to "Say NO to Mass Immigration" should not have been taken down, a columnist says.

"It's a disgusting message," said Lise Ravary, a writer with the Montreal Gazette and broadcaster with Cogeco Media.

However, she told The Current's guest host Matt Galloway that "as long as a billboard advertising is, you know, within the limits of the law, I don't see under what pretence we could say: 'Take it down.'"

"To me it's censorship. He's allowed to think what he thinks he's allowed to say it to people."

The billboards started appearing in different spots across the country last week. Though they featured the face of politician Maxime Bernier and the logo of his People's Party of Canada, they were placed and paid for by a third-party advertising group: True North Strong & Free Advertising Corporation.

The sign's message was swiftly met with a outpouring of criticism from some politicians. Halifax Premier Stephen McNeil tweeted that "as Premier, I welcome everyone to Nova Scotia — but I don't welcome this negative, divisive tone."

Pattison Outdoor Advertising, the company that owns the billboard network, removed the national campaign over the weekend.

Bernier, who has said he agreed with the message, responded to the decision by tweeting the billboard was "only controversial for the totalitarian leftist mob who want to censor it."

"The message on the billboard is not 'controversial' for two-thirds of Canadians who agree with it, and for those who disagree but support free speech and an open discussion," the Quebec MP wrote on Twitter.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the "freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression," but journalist and human rights advocate Amira Elghawaby said to claim the issue was about free speech is "absolutely wrong."

"Free speech is not a ticket to demonize and marginalize," said Elghawaby, who serves on the board of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. 

She called the billboards an example of "dog whistle politics" to get the attention of voters who hold "anti-immigrant views."

"Mr. Bernier can claim that this is him wanting to have a debate, but what it actually is, it's him signalling to those people who again are holding these views … that he is the one who's going to quote, unquote, save Canada."

No mass immigration to Canada: expert

Contrary to the wording scrawled on the billboards, there is no mass immigration to Canada, points out immigration expert Usha George.

"Canada's one of the very few countries in the world which has got a very organized immigration system," said George, the director of the Centre for Immigration and Settlement at Ryerson University. 

The government operates a points system, she explained, which prioritizes immigrants who contribute to the economy.

"Our family immigration is much smaller, and our refugee immigration is even smaller than that,"  she said.

The immigration plan is revised and must be approved by parliament each year, she added.

Last October, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen announced a multi-year plan to increase the immigration target to 350,000 per year by 2021 — a figure that is close to one per cent of the country's population.

The government said the increase was necessary to meet demands of the labour market and expanding economy.

In February, a Leger poll had almost half of respondents saying they believe Canada welcomes too many immigrants and refugees. Another in June reported that 63 per cent of respondents think the government should prioritize limiting immigration levels.

George said that sentiment "comes from a lack of understanding about how immigrants contribute to the system," and from "negative propaganda about immigrants." 

"It also comes from the fact that more and more of the immigrants who come into this country these days are from countries that are non-European," she told Galloway.

"The diversity of the immigrants who are coming in also incites fear among far-right groups, and really conservative kind of individuals, who feel that Canada is changing." 

Written by Padraig Moran. Produced by Julie Crysler, Samira Mohyeddin and Marc Apollonio.