David Suzuki says Canada is ‘full’ and calls country’s immigration policy ‘crazy’
Famous environmentalist makes some questionable comments about immigration in interview with French newspaper
David Suzuki, photgraphed in Banff, Alberta, in 2007.Photo: Jenelle Schneider/Calgary
Environmentalist icon David Suzuki says Canada’s immigration policy is “disgusting” for contributing to a brain drain from poorer countries and that Canada doesn’t have enough room to accommodate many more newcomers.
He made his remarks to French newspaper L’Express on July 1, as part of a wide-ranging interview about climate change and environmentalism.
It was his remarks about Canada’s immigration system that Canadian commentators latched onto, however. Asked about Australian environmentalists’ concerns that continued population growth would be unsustainable for that country, Suzuki said:
Ezra Levant (Jew-ed.), always happy to skewer the environmentalist, did a whole segment on his Sun News show The Source about Suzuki’s “xenophobic, crazy ideas that would put him to the right of the Ku Klux Klan on immigration.”
To be fair, Suzuki is still in favor of immigration for humanitarian reasons. His quibble is more with mass immigration for economic purposes, so take that as you will.
Suzuki, whose grandparents immigrated from Japan, may well have lost some of his intended meaning through translation from French to English, but his comments still don’t sit well with a lot of people.
He made his remarks to French newspaper L’Express on July 1, as part of a wide-ranging interview about climate change and environmentalism.
It was his remarks about Canada’s immigration system that Canadian commentators latched onto, however. Asked about Australian environmentalists’ concerns that continued population growth would be unsustainable for that country, Suzuki said:
“Oh, I think Canada is full too! Although it’s the second largest country in the world, our useful area has been reduced. Our immigration policy is disgusting: We plunder southern countries by depriving them of future leaders, and we want to increase our population to support economic growth. It’s crazy!”
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney blasted Suzuki, calling his remarks “toxic and irresponsible” on Twitter. He also said a conservative making the same comments about immigration would have received swift denunciations from media.Ezra Levant (Jew-ed.), always happy to skewer the environmentalist, did a whole segment on his Sun News show The Source about Suzuki’s “xenophobic, crazy ideas that would put him to the right of the Ku Klux Klan on immigration.”
To be fair, Suzuki is still in favor of immigration for humanitarian reasons. His quibble is more with mass immigration for economic purposes, so take that as you will.
Suzuki, whose grandparents immigrated from Japan, may well have lost some of his intended meaning through translation from French to English, but his comments still don’t sit well with a lot of people.