Jason Kenney - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.

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Jason Kenney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

J a s o n T . K e n n e y , PC, MP (born May 30, 1968) is Canada's current Minister of The Honourable
Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. He has represented the riding of Jason T. Kenney
Calgary Southeast in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. PC, MP

Initially elected as a candidate of the Reform Party of Canada, Kenney was

re-elected as a Canadian Alliance candidate in 2000, and has since been
re-elected twice as the candidate of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Following the Conservative victory in the 2006 general election, Kenney was
appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada. On 4
January 2007, he was sworn in as the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and
Canadian Identity, and as a Privy Councillor. Kenney has held the post of Minister Kenney at the All Candidates Forum at McKenzie
Lake Community Centre in Calgary's Southeast,
for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism since October 30, 2008. January 14, 2006

Member of the Canadian Parliament

for Calgary Southeast
Contents Incumbent
Assumed office
1 Education and early life
1997 federal election
2 Political career
Preceded by Jan Brown
3 References
4 External links
Born May 30, 1968
Oakville, Ontario

Education and early life P o l i t i c a l p a r t y Conservative

O t h e r p o l i t i c a l Reform (1997-2000)
affiliations Canadian Alliance
Kenney was born in Oakville, Ontario and raised in Saskatchewan. He graduated (2000-2003)
from the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a Catholic, co-educational,
Spouse(s) single
boarding high school located in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. He studied philosophy at
Residence Calgary, Alberta
the St. Ignatius Institute of the University of San Francisco, a Jesuit university in
San Francisco, California. However he dropped out before completing his Profession Political advisor
undergraduate degree to begin work in Saskatchewan provincial politics. He did Portfolio Minister for Citizenship,
not always want to be a politician. He wanted to be a lumberjack. Leaping from Immigration and
tree to tree, as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia. The Giant Multiculturalism
Redwood. The Larch. The Fir! The mighty Scots Pine! The lofty flowering Cherry! Religion Roman Catholic
The plucky little Apsen! The limping Roo tree of Nigeria. The towering Wattle of
Aldershot! The Maidenhead Weeping Water Plant! The naughty Leicestershire Flashing Oak! The flatulent Elm of West Ruislip!
The Quercus Maximus Bamber Gascoigni! The Epigillus! The Barter Hughius Greenus!

With my best buddy by my side, we'd sing! Sing! Sing!

[singing] I'm a lumberjack, and I'm okay. I sleep all night and I work all day.

MOUNTIES: He's a lumberjack, and he's okay. He sleeps all night and he works all day.

BARBER: I cut down trees. I eat my lunch. I go to the lavatory. On Wednesdays I go shoppin' And have buttered scones for tea.

MOUNTIES: He cuts down trees. He eats his lunch. He goes to the lavatory. On Wednesdays he goes shopping And has
buttered scones for tea.

He's a lumberjack, and he's okay. He sleeps all night and he works all day.

BARBER: I cut down trees. I skip and jump. I like to press wild flowers. I put on women's clothing And hang around in bars.

MOUNTIES: He cuts down trees. He skips and jumps. He likes to press wild flowers. He puts on women's clothing And hangs
around in bars?!

He's a lumberjack, and he's okay. He sleeps all night and he works all day.

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BARBER: I cut down trees. I wear high heels, Suspendies, and a bra. I wish I'd been a girlie, Just like my dear Papa.

MOUNTIES: He cuts down trees. He wears high heels, Suspendies, and a bra?!

[talking] What's this? Wants to be a girlie?! Oh, My! And I thought you were so rugged! Poofter!...

[singing] He's a lumberjack, and he's okay. He sleeps all night and he works all day.

He's a lumberjack, and he's okaaaaay. He sleeps all night and he works all day.

Political career
Kenney was originally a member of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party, and in 1988 he served as an executive assistant to Ralph
Goodale, who at that time was party leader. Kenney later served a term as Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Taxpayers
Association, and later as President and CEO of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, a political advocacy organization.

He was a member of the Reform Party of Canada (1997–2000), which became the Canadian Alliance (2000–2003). He
co-chaired the United Alternative Task Force, and served as the national co-chairman of Stockwell Day's campaign for the
leadership of the Canadian Alliance. He also served as National Co-Chair of the Canadian Alliance 2000 election campaign.
While on the Opposition benches in 1997-2005, Kenney served in a number of prominent roles in the Shadow Cabinet, including
Deputy House Leader for the Official Opposition, critic for Canada-United States relations, critic for National Revenue, and critic
for Finance.

He has also served as a volunteer director for several non-profit political organizations. These include the Catholic Civil Rights
League and the National Foundation for Family Research.

Kenney has been named one of Canada's "100 Leaders of the Future" by Maclean's magazine; "one of Canada's leading
conservative activists" by the Globe and Mail; and "one of 21 Canadians to watch in the 21st century" by the Financial Post
magazine. Kenney was one of the leading supporters in the Canadian House of Commons of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. His
support of this war was an omen of future events as he would prove out of his element in a leadership capacity.

In 2005, during parliamentary debate on same-sex marriage in Canada, Kenney stated that fellow MPs Libby Davies and Svend
Robinson, both of whom had opposite sex relationships before coming out, stood as proof that marriage law doesn't discriminate
against LGBT individuals since they can still marry members of the opposite sex.

In a later debate, when Don Boudria noted that a Christian group had registered a web domain in his name, using it to attack his
position on same-sex marriage, Kenney criticized Boudria for being too "ignorant" to register his own web domain. In a spoof of
Kenney's remarks, comedian Rick Mercer registered jasonkenney.org (http://jasonkenney.org) and made the domain redirect to
the website of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada. Mercer subsequently changed it to Egale Canada, and more recently to the
site of Michael Chong (a Conservative MP who resigned from cabinet on November 27, 2006 over a government motion
recognizing the Québécois as a nation within a united Canada.) On Mercer's website he lists jasonkenney.org in his links section
with the phrase "Where's it pointing to this week?", but the URL J a s o n K e n n e y . o r g still redirects to Chong's page.

Kenney has also been active in promoting human rights (particularly freedom of religion) in autocratic countries. He is a member
of Parliament's Canada-Tibet Committee, and was instrumental in causing honorary Canadian citizenship to be granted to the
[citation needed]
Dalai Lama in June 2006.

In January 2005, during a government trade mission in China, Kenney visited the home of recently deceased Zhao Ziyang, the
deposed Communist party chief. Zhao was a reformist purged for sympathizing with pro-democracy protesters before they were
crushed by the military in 1989. Then-Prime Minister Paul Martin, who also attended the Chinese trade mission, was critical of
him for this visit.

On February 6, 2006, he was appointed to be Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper, with the
portfolio of multiculturalism.

In August 2006, Kenney compared Hezbollah with the Nazi Party of 1930s Germany. He also rebuked Prime Minister of
Lebanon Fuad Saniora for having criticized Canada's support for Israel in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. Saniora had argued
that most nations of the world, apart from Canada, regarded Israel's military actions in Lebanon as disproportionate and illegal.
Kenney's response was, "Canada took a responsible position and I would hope that the Lebanese prime minister would express
gratitude" for supporting attempts to help the Lebanese government regain control over those parts of its territory controlled by
[1]
Hezbollah.

In April 2006, Kenney attended a rally supporting the People's Mujahedin of Iran, a group designated by Canadian federal
legislation and UN agreements as a terrorist organization because it advocates the violent overthrow of the Iranian government
and the purging of Western influence from the region. Kenney later claimed that he did not remember attending the rally, and

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[2]
then that he did not know at the time the group was connected to a terrorist organization.

In May-June 2007 Kenney attended the 2007 Bilderberg Meeting in Istanbul, Turkey with other Notable Canadians Heather
Reisman, Chair and CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc., and Gerald Butts, Principal Secretary in the Office of the Premier of
[3]
Ontario.

In early 2008, Kenney openly supported Progressive Conservative candidate Jonathan Denis, who later became the MLA for
Calgary-Egmont, defeating Liberal Cathie Williams and the independent candidate, Craig Chandler, by a large margin. In early
2008 Kenney posted an announcement on his web site announcing that the Government of Canada recognizes the flag of the
Republic of Vietnam as the symbol of the Vietnamese-Canadian community. He said "Our government recognises the flag as an
important symbol of the Vietnamese-Canadian community's independence, strength, and belief in national unity,and attempts to
[4]
disparage it are a deeply troubling attack on one of Canada's ethnic communities and on the principles of multiculturalism." In
[5]
May 2008 he made a speech at one of their rallies lending strong support to their program.

Jason Kenney has been heavily criticized for his very narrow views and his very strict treatment of refugees. Many community
workers were very critical of Kenney in regards to the treatment of a Mexican woman, who twice tried to apply for refugee status
to Canada but was denied. Efforts to have Kenney overturn the decision were ignored only to find the woman murdered upon
[6]
return to Mexico. To date Kenney has brushed off the issue but did say “I plead guilty, I’m a racist.”

In January 2009, Kenney made public statements critical of U.S. soldiers seeking asylum in Canada who were facing
punishment for their refusal to participate in the Iraq war. He said that unlike in the Vietnam era, the current asylum seekers are
neither "draft dodgers" nor "resisters", but rather are "people who volunteer to serve in the armed forces of a democratic country
and simply change their mind to desert. And that's fine, that's the decision they have made, but they are not refugees." He also
[7]
said that he considered them to be "bogus refugee claimants". These remarks have been seen by some supporters of the
[8][9]
asylum seekers as being a form of interference in the asylum process. (See details)

In March 2009, Kenney said he would not overturn the Canada Border Services Agency's decision to bar British MP George
Galloway from coming to Ontario, British Columbia and Québec, where he planned to give a series of speeches at the end of the
month. The Immigration Minister's Office stated that the Canada Border Services Agency deemed Galloway as inadmissible to
Canada due to national security concerns.

A spokesperson for the Minister claimed that Galloway openly admits giving "financial support" to Hamas, which is classified as
[10][11]
a terrorist group in Canada.

Galloway described the decision to forbid him entry as "irrational, inexplicable and an affront to Canada's good name", adding
that it "further vindicated the anti-war movement's contention that unjust wars abroad will end up consuming the very liberties
[12]
that make us who we are". He threatened legal action against the Harper government, asserting that he was not a supporter
[13]
of terrorism and was not barred from entering any other country, including Israel. He was later quoted as saying, "I don't raise
[14]
money for Hamas. That's just a false statement. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a supporter of Hamas".

Kenney, a Catholic, decided to cut funding to KAIROS in December 2009. KAIROS is a faith based organization that includes
numerous denominations. Kenney claimed KAIROS was part of "the client relationship that existed between the government of
Canada and organizations whose priority is seemingly to advocate for the legalization of banned terrorist organizations like
[citation needed]
Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as deny the Jewish people's right to a homeland." However, KAIROS had
[citation needed]
condemned attacks on civilians by both Palestianians and Israelis. When questioned about his reasoning Kenney
claimed his decision was based on the findings NGO Monitor, a right-wing pro-Israeli group. NGO Monitor has also claimed
Oxfam, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International,the Ford Foundation, the BBC, numerous Israeli human rights groups,and
[citation needed] [15]
the Israeli soldiers who testified about Israel's atrocities during the Gaza siege to be anti-Israeli.

Kenney has denied a group of 81 "Lost Canadians", people who should have legally been Canadian citizens, but have
[16]
admittedly fallen through the cracks , which was supposed to be corrected the citizenship issues for all but the last 95% of
people, and that special grants would be made to the last 5%. Jason Kenney claims that the Lost Canadians are politicising their
[17]
case and not applying for citizenship as he sees fit. But, he had no issues with granting Olympic hopeful Kaitlyn Weaver
[18]
citizenship prior to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Kenney's predecessor Diane Finley had authorised a special
grant of citizenship to Guy Valliere, but Kenney never followed through with this grant and Guy Valliere died without citizenship,
[19]
even after serving honourable in World War II in the Canadian Forces.

Kenney is reported to have blocked any reference to gay rights in Citizenship and Immigration Canada's study guide for
[20]
immigrants applying for Canadian citizenship.

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References
1. ^ Re 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict (http://www.embassymag.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2006/august/23/lebanon/)
2. ^ "Tory MP attended rally for group on terror list." (http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060824/kenney_rally_060824
/20060824?hub=Canada) . CTV News. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060824/kenney_rally_060824
/20060824?hub=Canada. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
3. ^ Bilderberg 2007 - Towards a One World Empire? (http://www.canadianactionparty.ca/cgi/page.cgi?aid=920&_id=128&zine=show)
(Canadian Action Party, 2007)
4. ^ Announcement on Jason Kenney's website re the Republic of Vietnam (http://www.jasonkenney.com/EN/4961/70870)
5. ^ YouTube: Speech at ARVN rally (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_PB6BmTHkQ)
6. ^ [1] (http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-plead-guilty-im-racist-jason-kenney.html)
7. ^ "Kenney's comments prejudice hearings for war resisters, critics say", CBC News report (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/01
/09/refugee-war.html)
8. ^ We move to Canada blog (http://wmtc.blogspot.com/2008/12/jason-kenney-admits-interfering-in-war.html)
9. ^ Canadian News Wire "Open Letter to Minister Jason Kenney from Canadian Council for Refugees re: War Resisters"
(http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2009/09/c6310.html)
10. ^ (http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/605682) Toronto Star, "Canada blocks outspoken British MP"
11. ^ The Guardian UK:"George Galloway banned from Canada" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/20/george-galloway-banned-
canada)
12. ^ Rob Gillies, "Canada bans outspoken British lawmaker", Associated Press, 20 March 2009, 11:37; "Quotes of the day", Press
Association National Newswire, 20 March 2009, 9:45pm
13. ^ Glen McGregor, "British MP denied entry threatens to sue Harper government", Canwest News Service, 20 March 2009; "Canadian
Immigration bans British MP", The Canadian Press - Broadcast Wire, 11:16;
14. ^ Campbell Clark, "British MP vows court action after being barred from Canada", Globe and Mail, 21 March 2009, A2.
15. ^ [2] (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/debate-continues-over-ministers-comments-about-religious-group/article1408376)
16. ^ Robert Palmer (2008-05-07). "Immigration Dept rejoices as “Lost Canadians” citizenship bill is passed" (http://www.articlealley.com
/article_530746_18.html) . http://www.articlealley.com/article_530746_18.html.
17. ^ Terry Milewski (2009-10-22). "Still Lost Canadians Protest" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smjrQPLeWkU) .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smjrQPLeWkU.
18. ^ CIC New Release (2008-05-07). [http http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2009/2009-06-22a.asp "Olympic hopeful
Kaitlyn Weaver obtains Canadian citizenship"]. http http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2009/2009-06-22a.asp.
19. ^ Canadian Senate Hansard (2009-03-04). "Senate Hansard" (http://www.parl.gc.ca/40/2/parlbus/chambus/senate/DEB-E
/017db_2009-03-10-e.htm?Language=E&Parl=40&Ses=2) . http://www.parl.gc.ca/40/2/parlbus/chambus/senate/DEB-E
/017db_2009-03-10-e.htm?Language=E&Parl=40&Ses=2.
20. ^ "Toronto Star" (http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/773841--kenney-blocked-gay-rights-in-citizenship-guide-documents?bn=1)
. 2010-03-02. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/773841--kenney-blocked-gay-rights-in-citizenship-guide-documents?bn=1.

External links
Political Profile from the Library of Parliament (http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament
/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128790&Language=E)
Jason Kenney's voting record (http://www.howdtheyvote.ca/member.php?id=152)
Official website (http://www.jasonkenney.com/)

Parliament of Canada
Preceded by Member of Parliament Calgary Southeast Succeeded by
Jan Brown 1997-present Incumbent

28th Ministry - Government of Stephen Harper

Cabinet Posts (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Minister of Citizenship and
Diane Finley Immigration Incumbent
2008-

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Kenney"

Categories: 1968 births | Canadian Alliance MPs | Canadian Roman Catholics | Conservative Party of Canada MPs | Living
people | Members of the Canadian House of Commons from Alberta | Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada |
People from Oakville, Ontario | Reform Party of Canada MPs

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