(This column originally appeared in the Toronto Sun)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is a man of many flaws. Regular readers of this column will be familiar with his many shortfalls and the many ways he is leading Canada in the wrong direction.
Fortunately for Trudeau, he also has a few redeeming qualities.
One of Trudeau’s strengths is the ability to know his own limits, and the wisdom to delegate. Trudeau surrounds himself with bright and capable people who can pick up the slack and do the heavy day-to-day lifting needed to run the government of a G20 nation.
This talent was on display when Trudeau kicked off 2017 by shuffling his cabinet.
Trudeau removed the incompetent players from his inner circle, replacing them with stronger, more skilled politicians who can stay out of trouble while working towards Trudeau’s utopian dreams for Canada.
My personal favourite cabinet upgrade was the Minister of Immigration. Outgoing immigration minister John McCallum never seemed to grasp control of the complexity of his file.
McCallum treated his job like a walk in the park, believing that newcomers would simply be grateful for the opportunity to be in Canada and that Canadians would accept any and all immigration policies imposed by the government.
He profoundly misread the mood of the country, and the ability of his own government to resettle tens of thousands of Syrians refugees – plucked from a war zone and hotbed of Islamist extremism and thrust into communities across Canada. Because of McCallum’s aloofness, our Syrian refugee program has been beset with problems from day one.
Horror stories have emerged across Canada, ranging from a lack of resources and planning, to disturbing accounts of crime, social problems and an unwillingness of refugees to accept Canadian values.
Thankfully, McCallum is out and has been replaced by the bold and impressive Ahmed Hussen.
Hussen was a former refugee himself, fleeing the horrors of the Somali civil war in the early 1990s, he came to Canada on his own at the age of 16.
His transition from refugee to cabinet minister was no easy feat. Hussen completed high school in Hamilton, Ontario and moved to Regent Park, a corner of Toronto once infamous for its crime, high murder rate and prevalence of thugs and gangs.
Hussen became a voice for the disenfranchised members of the Somali community. He worked hard to complete a law degree and…(READ MORE)
