Alykhan Velshi
Encyclopedia
Alykhan Velshi is a lawyer, policy analyst, and ministerial assistant. He has worked at the predominantly neoconservative
American Enterprise Institute
and was manager of research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, where he co-founded the Center for Law and Counterterrorism with Andrew C. McCarthy
. He has written pieces in support of George W. Bush
's foreign and military policies.
. He attended the Toronto French School
, a private school in Lawrence Park
. He holds a law degree from the London School of Economics
and passed the New York bar exam in 2006. He is an Ismaili
Muslim
and is a distant relative of financial analyst Ali Velshi
and former Member of Provincial Parliament Murad Velshi
.
. His position is pro-Israel
and strongly supportive of George W. Bush
's foreign policy. In a December 2002 letter to the National Post
newspaper, he argued that Canada should ban the political wing of Hezbollah. While attending the LSE, he wrote an academic piece defending George W. Bush
's argument for "preemptive" war in Iraq
as being grounded in both historical precedent and "original texts on international law". Just before graduating, he wrote an article for the National Review
entitled "Choosing Sides: The challenge for Muslims", in which he argued that moderate Muslims were often reluctant to counter what he described as "Islamist extremism". This article favourably quoted George W. Bush's remark, "You're either with us or you're with the terrorists". In January 2006, he criticized the Globe and Mail newspaper for referring to Israel
's separation barrier as a "wall"; Velshi argued that it should be called a "fence."
Velshi wrote a column for The Hill
in June 2006, encouraging the United States Senate
to endorse regime change in Iran
by passing the Iran Freedom Support Act. This bill authorized the President of the United States
to provide $10 million in assistance to dissident organizations inside and outside Iran. Velshi attempted to address concerns that this aid would be directed toward militant organizations by arguing that the terms of the bill restricted aid to groups that "oppose the use of terrorism, support democratic values and human rights and display a willingness to commit Iran to the existing nuclear non-proliferation framework".
In the same year, Velshi wrote an article for the Somaliland Times entitled "Somalia's Collapse into Jihadism". He called for the United States to recognize the breakaway republic of Somaliland
, arguing that this would demonstrate a commitment to the "Bush doctrine
" and also be in America's strategic interests. He also opposed the Union of Islamic Courts in Somalia, and defended the government of Ethiopia
for supporting what he described as the "democratically-elected transitional government based in Baidoa
".
Velshi later supported the prosecution of two New York men accused of broadcasting Hezbollah's al-Manar
television network in the United States.
entitled "We Need A National Security Court". This work argued that America's counter-terrorism strategies of the 1990s were insufficient for responding to what the authors described as the "international terrorist threat" after September 11, 2001. They called for the establishment of an American national security court, to be staffed by independent, life-tenured judges with responsibility for the full range of national security issues.
In September 2006, Velshi and Howard Anglin wrote an article for the National Review
entitled "Who's Really Ignoring the Geneva Conventions?". This piece argued that the conventions "did not anticipate the threat posed by today's militant Islamists", and should not be applied to enemy combatants whom the authors identified as "the terrorists we fight today".
' Failed Peacekeeping in Lebanon
". This work asserted that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
had failed to disarm Hezbollah, and argued that a "new international force [would] therefore have to be willing and able to engage offensive operations" against the Lebanese organization.
Later in the year, Velshi wrote an article entitled "Will the UN appoint another crook?". This work described Kofi Annan
's legacy as United Nations Secretary General as one of "scandal and failure", asserting that the UN was implicated in an "elaborate child prostitution ring" in the Congo
and referring to the UN's Oil-For-Food program in Iraq
as "the biggest financial fraud of modern times". Velshi also described Annan's eventual successor Ban Ki-Moon
, as unfit for the position, accusing him of bribery and of holding anti-American views. In the same article, Velshi accused United States Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice
of "allowing bureaucratic subordinates in the State Department to dictate policy, refusing to draw bright lines in international negotiations with Iran, and distinguishing herself from her predecessor Colin Powell
only by being less perfidious and perhaps more comely".
as a "tragedy", and as representative of a legal system "focused less on securing justice than on bringing down the high and mighty while pandering to the politics of envy". He argued that the legal proceedings had ruined Black's financial status and reputation before any finding of guilt, and further asserted that the regulatory state created by Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal
was ultimately responsible for this situation. In the same article, Velshi wrote that Black "hearkened back to the good old days of grand newspaper proprietors, family dynasties and concern for the value of the brand rather than vulgar things like day-to-day movements in share prices". Black was subsequently convicted of obstruction of justice and diverting company funds for his personal benefit, and was sentenced 78 months in an American prison.
Velshi described Canada's health care
system as "old and decrepit" in a March 2006 letter to the Globe and Mail newspaper, sarcastically comparing Canada's system to existing models in Cuba
and North Korea
.
, Canada's newly-appointed Secretary of State
for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity, in early 2007. His official title was changed to "Director of Communications" later in the year.
Velshi supported flying of the Canadian Red Ensign
at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial
in 2007, describing the flag as "an enduring source of Canadian patriotism". Senator
Roméo Dallaire
criticized this decision, arguing that the Red Ensign did not deserve to be placed on equal footing with the Flag of Canada
and the Flag of France
. Velshi later defended the Conservative
government decision's not to fly flags at half-mast for Canadian soldiers killed in combat, arguing that this gesture was not permitted under Canadian law.
Velshi was the official contact on a late 2007 government press release commemorating the Jewish celebration of Hannukah, wherein the festival was erroneously described as marking "the triumph of the Jewish people against tyranny more than two million years ago". He later said that the document went through several revisions before its release, and that the word "millennia" was accidentally changed to "million years" somewhere along the way.
Velshi moved to the department of Environment Minister
John Baird
in August 2008 as Director of Parliamentary Affairs, where he was responsible for "advising and briefing the minister on legislative issues [and] overseeing the legislative approval process". The Hill Times described this as an important position, in that Velshi had a role in formulating the government's response to Liberal Party
Stéphane Dion
's proposed Green Tax Shift.
after the 2008 federal election
, and Velshi returned to work with him as Director of Communications and Parliamentary Affairs.
In late 2008, Velshi articulated the Harper government's position that conscientious objectors from the United States military were not legitimate refugees in Canada. He also defended the government's introduction of limits on the refugee and immigration process on the grounds a few months later, on the grounds that failed refugee claimants and others were abusing the federal pre-removal risk assessment program (which is intended to ensure that people will not be deported from Canada to face torture
).
See also Canadian Arab Federation - Dispute with Jason Kenney and Federal Funding
In early 2009, Jason Kenney became involved in a public controversy with Canadian Arab Federation
(CAF) president Khaled Mouammar. At one stage, Mouammar responded to Kenney's support for Israel in the 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza conflict by describing the minister as a "professional whore who supports war". Kenney later accused CAF leaders of promoting anti-Semitism
, and suggested that the organization's funding would be reviewed. Other CAF representatives described Mouammar's choice of language as unfortunate, but rejected the charge of anti-Semitism and expressed concern that the proposed cuts were vindictive in nature. In March, the CAF circulated a letter in which several organizations called for Prime Minister
Stephen Harper to "restrain" Kenney and "put an end to his dangerous campaign of attacking [the] CAF with slandering and damaging accusations for which he has provided no evidence".
Velshi offered that the signatories to this letter represented only a "tiny" and "quite radicalized minority" of Arab-Canadian organizations. He added that Kenney's position toward the CAF was unchanged, and was quoted as saying, "Groups that promote hatred and anti-Semitism don't deserve a single red cent of taxpayer support. End of story." The National Posts coverage of this matter noted that the letter circulated by the CAF condemned "all forms of racism" and asserted that the CAF's criticism of Israeli military policies had been wrongly conflated with anti-Semitism.
On March 18, Velshi on behalf of Minister Kenney announced that government funding to the CAF would not be renewed after the current contracts expire. CAF executive director Mohamed Boudjenane expressed surprise at this decision, indicating that these contracts allowed his organization to help settle and provide English lessons for recent immigrants.
In a subsequent email sent to Arab organizations, CAF President Khaled Mouammar argued that the CAF was the victim of a "well-planned Zionist campaign ... being waged by the Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith supported by some politicians" to intimidate Arab Canadians. He also stated that this campaign "was developed after the Lebanon war of July, 2006, to suppress all criticism of Israel and equate it with anti-Semitism." Velshi argued in response that Mouammar's naming of the Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith "[did] not just disdain Zionists, but the Jewish community as a whole." He also said of Mouammar's email, "It's the ugliest, most vile sort of language. It's not surprising to us that he is again engaged in this sort of reprehensible rhetoric trying to pit community against community."
Velshi also reported Kenney was considering re-examining all refugee cases heard by Mouammar during his tenure as a member of Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), after reports surfaced that the acceptance rate in cases heard by Mouammar was disproportionately higher than the average rate. Velshi stated that "I think it's fair for Canadians to ask why Mouammar's acceptance rate was so much higher than the IRB average for the same countries, as well as whether he was letting people in who he shouldn't have."
George Galloway
On March 20, 2009, a Canadian border official refused British
MP
George Galloway
permission to enter Canada, likely based on the "preliminary decision of inadmissibility" made by the Canadian government. Velshi told the media that the Canadian government would not reverse this decision, stating that Galloway had expressed sympathy for the Taliban cause in Afghanistan
and describing him as an "infandous street-corner Cromwell
who actually brags about giving 'financial support' to Hamas
, a terrorist organisation banned in Canada. The decision to ban Galloway was supported by the Canadian Jewish Congress
, B'nai Brith Canada
and the far-right Jewish Defence League of Canada, which took credit for initiating the action. It was subsequently noted that Velshi had begun preparing media lines regarding Galloway several days before the ban was announced.
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 that make us who we are". He threatened legal action against the Harper government, asserting that he was not a supporter of terrorism and was not barred from entering any other country, including Israel.
Velshi defended the Kenney's decision to the media, saying that the minister would not "provide special treatment to a man who brags about giving 'financial support' to Hamas, a banned terrorist organization in Canada, or who offers sympathy for Canada's enemies in Afghanistan [...]."
The National Post suggested that Galloway did support Hamas by citing a 2007 interview in which he described them as a national liberation movement rather than a terrorist organization. Galloway later stated, "I don't raise money for Hamas. That's just a false statement. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a supporter of Hamas."
New Democratic Party
MP Olivia Chow
accused the Harper government of censorship for refusing to allow Galloway to speak in Canada. Galloway was ultimately not able to enter Canada, but instead addressed his supporters by a video link.
On September 27, 2010, Federal Court judge Richard Mosley found that Kenney's office had acted inappropriately, using "a flawed and overreaching interpretation of the standards under Canadian law for labelling someone as engaging in terrorism or being a member of a terrorist organization." He also determined that the Canadian Border Services Agency had produced its assessment of Galloway on scant evidence after receiving instructions from Velshi. Noting that Velshi had told reporters the decision to bar Galloway was made on national security grounds, Mosley wrote, "one might hope that a ministerial aide would exercise greater restraint in purporting to speak on behalf of the government, his comments to the press amount to little more than posturing." In October 2010, Galloway said he would sue the Canadian Government for breaching his privacy rights and branding him a terrorist.
Neoconservatism
Neoconservatism in the United States is a branch of American conservatism. Since 2001, neoconservatism has been associated with democracy promotion, that is with assisting movements for democracy, in some cases by economic sanctions or military action....
American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
and was manager of research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, where he co-founded the Center for Law and Counterterrorism with Andrew C. McCarthy
Andrew C. McCarthy
Andrew C. McCarthy III is a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. A Republican, he is most notable for leading the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven others. The defendants were convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center...
. He has written pieces in support of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's foreign and military policies.
Early life
Velshi was born and raised in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. He attended the Toronto French School
Toronto French School
The Toronto French School , founded in 1962 , is an independent, bilingual, co-educational, non-denominational school in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Elizabeth II, as Queen of Canada, is the royal patron of the school....
, a private school in Lawrence Park
Lawrence Park, Toronto
Lawrence Park is one of Toronto, Canada's most affluent residential neighbourhoods, along with Rosedale, the Bridle Path, and Forest Hill. It is also one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Canada....
. He holds a law degree from the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
and passed the New York bar exam in 2006. He is an Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
and is a distant relative of financial analyst Ali Velshi
Ali Velshi
Ali Velshi is a Canadian-American television journalist best known for his work on CNN. He is CNN's Chief Business Correspondent, Anchor of CNN's Wake Up Call and a co-host of CNN's weekday morning show American Morning.-Personal life:...
and former Member of Provincial Parliament Murad Velshi
Murad Velshi
Murad Velshi is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He is an Indian Muslim who lived in Kenya and migrated to Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1990.-Background:...
.
Foreign policy and the Middle East
Velshi has written extensively about foreign policy, particularly with regard to the Middle EastMiddle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. His position is pro-Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and strongly supportive of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's foreign policy. In a December 2002 letter to the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
newspaper, he argued that Canada should ban the political wing of Hezbollah. While attending the LSE, he wrote an academic piece defending George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's argument for "preemptive" war in Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
as being grounded in both historical precedent and "original texts on international law". Just before graduating, he wrote an article for the National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
entitled "Choosing Sides: The challenge for Muslims", in which he argued that moderate Muslims were often reluctant to counter what he described as "Islamist extremism". This article favourably quoted George W. Bush's remark, "You're either with us or you're with the terrorists". In January 2006, he criticized the Globe and Mail newspaper for referring to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's separation barrier as a "wall"; Velshi argued that it should be called a "fence."
Velshi wrote a column for The Hill
The Hill (newspaper)
The Hill, a subsidiary of News Communications Inc., is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C. since 1994.Its first editor was Martin Tolchin, a veteran correspondent in the Washington bureau of The New York Times....
in June 2006, encouraging the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
to endorse regime change in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
by passing the Iran Freedom Support Act. This bill authorized the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
to provide $10 million in assistance to dissident organizations inside and outside Iran. Velshi attempted to address concerns that this aid would be directed toward militant organizations by arguing that the terms of the bill restricted aid to groups that "oppose the use of terrorism, support democratic values and human rights and display a willingness to commit Iran to the existing nuclear non-proliferation framework".
In the same year, Velshi wrote an article for the Somaliland Times entitled "Somalia's Collapse into Jihadism". He called for the United States to recognize the breakaway republic of Somaliland
Somaliland
Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...
, arguing that this would demonstrate a commitment to the "Bush doctrine
Bush Doctrine
The Bush Doctrine is a phrase used to describe various related foreign policy principles of former United States president George W. Bush. The phrase was first used by Charles Krauthammer in June 2001 to describe the Bush Administration's unilateral withdrawals from the ABM treaty and the Kyoto...
" and also be in America's strategic interests. He also opposed the Union of Islamic Courts in Somalia, and defended the government of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
for supporting what he described as the "democratically-elected transitional government based in Baidoa
Baidoa
Baidoa is a city in south-central Somalia, situated by road northwest of the capital Mogadishu. It is the capital of the Bay region, which is traditionally inhabited by the Digil and Mirifle clans....
".
Velshi later supported the prosecution of two New York men accused of broadcasting Hezbollah's al-Manar
Al-Manar
Al-Manar is a Lebanese satellite television station affiliated with Hezbollah, registered as Lebanese Media Group Company, broadcasting from Beirut, Lebanon. It has an offering a "rich menu" of high production news, commentary, and entertainment. The self-proclaimed "Station of the Resistance" ,...
television network in the United States.
Security and terror suspects
In 2006, Andrew C. McCarthy and Velshi wrote a white paperWhite paper
A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...
entitled "We Need A National Security Court". This work argued that America's counter-terrorism strategies of the 1990s were insufficient for responding to what the authors described as the "international terrorist threat" after September 11, 2001. They called for the establishment of an American national security court, to be staffed by independent, life-tenured judges with responsibility for the full range of national security issues.
In September 2006, Velshi and Howard Anglin wrote an article for the National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
entitled "Who's Really Ignoring the Geneva Conventions?". This piece argued that the conventions "did not anticipate the threat posed by today's militant Islamists", and should not be applied to enemy combatants whom the authors identified as "the terrorists we fight today".
United Nations
In August 2006, Velshi wrote a piece entitled "The United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
' Failed Peacekeeping in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
". This work asserted that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, was created by the United Nations, with the adoption of Security Council Resolution 425 and 426 on 19 March 1978, to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon which Israel had invaded five days prior, restore international peace and security,...
had failed to disarm Hezbollah, and argued that a "new international force [would] therefore have to be willing and able to engage offensive operations" against the Lebanese organization.
Later in the year, Velshi wrote an article entitled "Will the UN appoint another crook?". This work described Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
's legacy as United Nations Secretary General as one of "scandal and failure", asserting that the UN was implicated in an "elaborate child prostitution ring" in the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
and referring to the UN's Oil-For-Food program in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
as "the biggest financial fraud of modern times". Velshi also described Annan's eventual successor Ban Ki-Moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
, as unfit for the position, accusing him of bribery and of holding anti-American views. In the same article, Velshi accused United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
of "allowing bureaucratic subordinates in the State Department to dictate policy, refusing to draw bright lines in international negotiations with Iran, and distinguishing herself from her predecessor Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
only by being less perfidious and perhaps more comely".
Canada
In late 2006, Velshi described the prosecution of Canadian-born newspaper baron Conrad BlackConrad Black
Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, KCSG, PC is a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords, and a historian, columnist and publisher, who was for a time the third largest newspaper magnate in the world. Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc...
as a "tragedy", and as representative of a legal system "focused less on securing justice than on bringing down the high and mighty while pandering to the politics of envy". He argued that the legal proceedings had ruined Black's financial status and reputation before any finding of guilt, and further asserted that the regulatory state created by Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
was ultimately responsible for this situation. In the same article, Velshi wrote that Black "hearkened back to the good old days of grand newspaper proprietors, family dynasties and concern for the value of the brand rather than vulgar things like day-to-day movements in share prices". Black was subsequently convicted of obstruction of justice and diverting company funds for his personal benefit, and was sentenced 78 months in an American prison.
Velshi described Canada's health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
system as "old and decrepit" in a March 2006 letter to the Globe and Mail newspaper, sarcastically comparing Canada's system to existing models in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
.
39th Canadian parliament
Velshi was hired as senior special assistant to Jason KenneyJason Kenney
Jason T. Kenney, PC, MP is Canada's current Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. He has represented the riding of Calgary Southeast in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997....
, Canada's newly-appointed Secretary of State
Secretary of State (Canada)
Secretary of State was a title given to some Ministers of State in the Government of Canada sitting outside Cabinet from 1993 to 2003 and again from 2007 to 2008. Secretaries of State were members of the ministry and the Queen's Privy Council for Canada...
for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity, in early 2007. His official title was changed to "Director of Communications" later in the year.
Velshi supported flying of the Canadian Red Ensign
Canadian Red Ensign
The Canadian Red Ensign is the former flag of Canada, used by the federal government though it was never adopted as official by the Parliament of Canada. It is a British Red Ensign, featuring the Union Flag in the canton, defaced with the shield of the Coat of Arms of Canada.-History:The Red Ensign...
at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial
Canadian National Vimy Memorial
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a memorial site in France dedicated to the memory of Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War. It also serves as the place of commemoration for First World War Canadian soldiers killed or presumed dead in France who have no known...
in 2007, describing the flag as "an enduring source of Canadian patriotism". Senator
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
Roméo Dallaire
Roméo Dallaire
Lieutenant-General Roméo Antonius Dallaire, is a Canadian senator, humanitarian, author and retired general...
criticized this decision, arguing that the Red Ensign did not deserve to be placed on equal footing with the Flag of Canada
Flag of Canada
The national flag of Canada, also known as the Maple Leaf, and , is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. Its adoption in 1965 marked the first time a national flag had been officially adopted in Canada to replace the Union Flag...
and the Flag of France
Flag of France
The national flag of France is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured royal blue , white, and red...
. Velshi later defended the Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
government decision's not to fly flags at half-mast for Canadian soldiers killed in combat, arguing that this gesture was not permitted under Canadian law.
Velshi was the official contact on a late 2007 government press release commemorating the Jewish celebration of Hannukah, wherein the festival was erroneously described as marking "the triumph of the Jewish people against tyranny more than two million years ago". He later said that the document went through several revisions before its release, and that the word "millennia" was accidentally changed to "million years" somewhere along the way.
Velshi moved to the department of Environment Minister
Minister of the Environment (Canada)
The Minister of the Environment is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's environment department, Environment Canada...
John Baird
John Baird (Canadian politician)
John Russell Baird, PC, MP is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper....
in August 2008 as Director of Parliamentary Affairs, where he was responsible for "advising and briefing the minister on legislative issues [and] overseeing the legislative approval process". The Hill Times described this as an important position, in that Velshi had a role in formulating the government's response to Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2008...
's proposed Green Tax Shift.
40th Canadian parliament
Jason Kenney was promoted to Minister of Citizenship and ImmigrationMinister of Citizenship and Immigration (Canada)
The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government department responsible for immigration, refugee and citizenship issues, Citizenship and Immigration Canada...
after the 2008 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
, and Velshi returned to work with him as Director of Communications and Parliamentary Affairs.
In late 2008, Velshi articulated the Harper government's position that conscientious objectors from the United States military were not legitimate refugees in Canada. He also defended the government's introduction of limits on the refugee and immigration process on the grounds a few months later, on the grounds that failed refugee claimants and others were abusing the federal pre-removal risk assessment program (which is intended to ensure that people will not be deported from Canada to face torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
).
March 2009 controversies
Canadian Arab FederationSee also Canadian Arab Federation - Dispute with Jason Kenney and Federal Funding
In early 2009, Jason Kenney became involved in a public controversy with Canadian Arab Federation
Canadian Arab Federation
The Canadian Arab Federation was formed in 1967 to represent the interests of Arab Canadians with respect to the formulation of public policy in Canada. It presently consists of over 40 member organizations....
(CAF) president Khaled Mouammar. At one stage, Mouammar responded to Kenney's support for Israel in the 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza conflict by describing the minister as a "professional whore who supports war". Kenney later accused CAF leaders of promoting anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
, and suggested that the organization's funding would be reviewed. Other CAF representatives described Mouammar's choice of language as unfortunate, but rejected the charge of anti-Semitism and expressed concern that the proposed cuts were vindictive in nature. In March, the CAF circulated a letter in which several organizations called for Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Stephen Harper to "restrain" Kenney and "put an end to his dangerous campaign of attacking [the] CAF with slandering and damaging accusations for which he has provided no evidence".
Velshi offered that the signatories to this letter represented only a "tiny" and "quite radicalized minority" of Arab-Canadian organizations. He added that Kenney's position toward the CAF was unchanged, and was quoted as saying, "Groups that promote hatred and anti-Semitism don't deserve a single red cent of taxpayer support. End of story." The National Posts coverage of this matter noted that the letter circulated by the CAF condemned "all forms of racism" and asserted that the CAF's criticism of Israeli military policies had been wrongly conflated with anti-Semitism.
On March 18, Velshi on behalf of Minister Kenney announced that government funding to the CAF would not be renewed after the current contracts expire. CAF executive director Mohamed Boudjenane expressed surprise at this decision, indicating that these contracts allowed his organization to help settle and provide English lessons for recent immigrants.
In a subsequent email sent to Arab organizations, CAF President Khaled Mouammar argued that the CAF was the victim of a "well-planned Zionist campaign ... being waged by the Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith supported by some politicians" to intimidate Arab Canadians. He also stated that this campaign "was developed after the Lebanon war of July, 2006, to suppress all criticism of Israel and equate it with anti-Semitism." Velshi argued in response that Mouammar's naming of the Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith "[did] not just disdain Zionists, but the Jewish community as a whole." He also said of Mouammar's email, "It's the ugliest, most vile sort of language. It's not surprising to us that he is again engaged in this sort of reprehensible rhetoric trying to pit community against community."
Velshi also reported Kenney was considering re-examining all refugee cases heard by Mouammar during his tenure as a member of Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), after reports surfaced that the acceptance rate in cases heard by Mouammar was disproportionately higher than the average rate. Velshi stated that "I think it's fair for Canadians to ask why Mouammar's acceptance rate was so much higher than the IRB average for the same countries, as well as whether he was letting people in who he shouldn't have."
George Galloway
On March 20, 2009, a Canadian border official refused British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
permission to enter Canada, likely based on the "preliminary decision of inadmissibility" made by the Canadian government. Velshi told the media that the Canadian government would not reverse this decision, stating that Galloway had expressed sympathy for the Taliban cause in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and describing him as an "infandous street-corner Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
who actually brags about giving 'financial support' to Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
, a terrorist organisation banned in Canada. The decision to ban Galloway was supported by the Canadian Jewish Congress
Canadian Jewish Congress
The Canadian Jewish Congress was one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country, although it often competed with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. At its dissolution, the president of the CJC was Mark Freiman. Its past co-presidents were Sylvain Abitbol...
, B'nai Brith Canada
B'nai Brith Canada
B'nai Brith Canada is the Canadian section of B'nai Brith . It was founded in 1875 and is the country's oldest Jewish service organization.-Members:...
and the far-right Jewish Defence League of Canada, which took credit for initiating the action. It was subsequently noted that Velshi had begun preparing media lines regarding Galloway several days before the ban was announced.
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 that make us who we are". He threatened legal action against the Harper government, asserting that he was not a supporter of terrorism and was not barred from entering any other country, including Israel.
Velshi defended the Kenney's decision to the media, saying that the minister would not "provide special treatment to a man who brags about giving 'financial support' to Hamas, a banned terrorist organization in Canada, or who offers sympathy for Canada's enemies in Afghanistan [...]."
The National Post suggested that Galloway did support Hamas by citing a 2007 interview in which he described them as a national liberation movement rather than a terrorist organization. Galloway later stated, "I don't raise money for Hamas. That's just a false statement. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a supporter of Hamas."
New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
MP Olivia Chow
Olivia Chow
Olivia Chow is a Canadian New Democratic Party Member of Parliament and former city councillor in Toronto. She won the Trinity—Spadina riding for the New Democratic Party on January 23, 2006, becoming a member of the Canadian House of Commons. Most recently, she was re-elected in her riding for...
accused the Harper government of censorship for refusing to allow Galloway to speak in Canada. Galloway was ultimately not able to enter Canada, but instead addressed his supporters by a video link.
On September 27, 2010, Federal Court judge Richard Mosley found that Kenney's office had acted inappropriately, using "a flawed and overreaching interpretation of the standards under Canadian law for labelling someone as engaging in terrorism or being a member of a terrorist organization." He also determined that the Canadian Border Services Agency had produced its assessment of Galloway on scant evidence after receiving instructions from Velshi. Noting that Velshi had told reporters the decision to bar Galloway was made on national security grounds, Mosley wrote, "one might hope that a ministerial aide would exercise greater restraint in purporting to speak on behalf of the government, his comments to the press amount to little more than posturing." In October 2010, Galloway said he would sue the Canadian Government for breaching his privacy rights and branding him a terrorist.