Canada's citizenship and immigration minister got a roasting on live television Wednesday over the Conservative government's response to the Syrian refugee crisis.
Chris Alexander is being destroyed by @RosieBarton right now.
Will this be available on pay per view? https://t.co/uS3L7DVunz
i am terrified of @RosieBarton (in a good way)
The issue of Syrian refugees became a hot topic on the campaign trail Wednesday after a photo of a dead Syrian toddler washed up on a Turkish beach made global headlines.
Barton demanded Alexander clarify why the government is relying more on the private sector to take in refugees from war-torn Syria rather than leading the effort.
Alexander, exasperated, asked her why she was persisting in that line of questioning.
Alexander: "Why do you keep saying that?" @RosieBarton: "Because it's a fact." #PnPCBC
Things got even feistier when Alexander tried to turn things around on Barton.
Yeah, she wasn't having that.
Alexander also claimed it was the first time he had been on the show to talk about the subject. Again, Barton was not having it.
To recap, Alexander said he'd never been on @PnPCBC panel on Syrian refugees. @RosieBarton pointed out he wasn't allowed (by his keepers).
His "keepers" (Conservative headquarters) didn't allow him to appear on the show because he was a cabinet minister, she charged.
Later in the program, Barton and her team totally debunked Alexander's accusations.
P&P covered Syrian refugees 32x since 2011. Incl 5 debates & 1x1 intv w/ @calxandr. Many more intv requests denied. http://t.co/m1GPD9WGhd
Boom.
Even Stephen Harper's former chief spokesperson said the #BartonBeating was "earned," all while providing the Tories' approach to news shows.
Some context in light of the earned @PnPCBC #BartonBeating. Approach to 5pm shows: Ministers do 1 on 1s; panels go to Parl Secs #cdnpoli
NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar and Liberal MP John McCallum both went after Alexander multiple times as well.
Brian Mulroney and Joe Clark would be "utterly ashamed" by this government's refugee policy, says @JohnMcCallumLPC
Dewar, for his part, asked Alexander "what the hell" Canada is doing in the short term to take in more refugees.
According to Alexander, who's running for re-election in the Toronto area, Canada has accepted about 2,500 refugees from Syria, and about 20,000 from Iraq.
. @MinChrisA: Canada remains a model of humanitarian action & we have to accept that we will not be able to resettle all of those refugees.
Canada is participating in a U.S.-led bombing campaign against ISIS in both countries.
McCallum and Alexander ended the segment by sending best wishes to their respective rivals in their ridings...but Alexander didn't end things there.
Conflict that has killed 300K, made 4M refugees, displaced 8M deserves much more than one panel every two months. @RosieBarton @LeslieCBC
I'm gonna have a glass of wine now.