At the CP24 debate in Toronto on August 17th at the former home of the Masonic Temple, the "top" five mayoral candidates entertained several questions from the audience on the subject of immigration. I suppose neither the moderators, presenters, candidates, or political commentators knew or ought to have known, that Immigration as it pertains to citizenship is a federal issue, not a municipal one. A good handbook rule for all Canadians and aspiring holders of our constitution, is to remember that the distribution of powers and the issues that each tier may govern under, are consistent with upholding the laws dealt within that jurisdiction. Last time I read, there is no "Toronto court of Immigration". The constitution clearly sets out the jurisdictional areas of power and governance by each tier of government. This is another example of why Canadians' political literacy plummets during and after each election and to the next one, and forever there as long, politicians forget to do their homework.
We must remain critical of why these "top 5" candidates are top 5 to begin with. They are certainly not the top 5 well versed in distribution of powers as set out in our constitution. My guess is, that at least for those candidates that have not activly particpated in decision making at any tier, the rest, including deputy mayor Joe Pantalone, Former Health Minister George Smitherman, and councillor Rob Ford, should have known better than to entertain Canadians on a gross misrepresentation of powers they do not and can never exercise in their capacity as mayor.
I can not be any less forgiving of the mainstream media. They are responsible for delivering a message of fact. This negligent nature has been tolerated for far too long.