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Although the majority government of Canada is now the Liberal Party instead of the Conservative Party, the political cartoon above still embodies the article’s objective. The beaver represents the Canadian population urging the donkey, the country’s government, to provide further aid for the Syrian refugee crisis despite how hesitant and reluctant they appear to be.
Canada is of favourable reputation, but this article questions the humanitarian abilities of this country. Focusing specifically on Syrian refugees, the author contrasts Canada’s meager contributions to statistics from the United Nations and numbers of other countries. Knowing that Canada was able to take in tens of thousands of refugees in previous years when the country was less affluent, initiative needs to be taken on helping others immediately. It is Canada’s responsibility to provide international aid because as the author states, “ultimately, all Canadians are immigrants - let us not forget that truth”. Whether to take in more refugees or not, this issue appeals to a national audience as everyone has an opinion on this topic. Refugees will have to settle somewhere and the communities they ultimately end up in will have changes in the lifestyles and economy in the long term.
There is certainly bias within this article as it is a commentary. It is evident that the author is trying to portray the message that Canada is not charitable as it seems and making it appear as if the country should feel ashamed for not contributing enough to these global issues. The objective of this piece is to persuade the reader into thinking that we are capable of doing more for the refugees than we currently are. There is no other perspective regarding the Canadian government's view on this topic or on everything they need to take into account when accepting new people into the country.
If Canada is urged to take in such a large number of Syrian refugees, should the same number to applied when accepting refugees from other countries? How might this be a problem (consider the government’s perspective and the things they need to take into account)?
Find the full article at: The Globe and Mail