CSIS might want to know! Yes, that’s right. Canada’s intelligence agency apparently wonders what some feel.
According to this Toronto Star article, Chester Richards who apparently came to Canada for a holiday to celebrate his father’s 70th birthday has been held in detention for the past 7 days, ever since arriving from the U.K.
Among the litany of questions he’s been asked, including while undergoing a lie detector test, was “Do you feel patriotic towards the U.K.?”
Sheesh… I hope I’m never asked that question where my life depends on my answer! Are these intelligence agents really that dumb, or do they just treat those that they think need investigating as stupid?
My answer would be, “Has a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup this year? How did we do at the World Championships? We won? Yes!! I feeeeeeeeeel patriotic!”
“But, in about 30 seconds, I’ll likely feel something different if you keep asking me these dumb questions. May we talk about AdScam and my feelings of patriotism? How about the fact my duly elected representative hasn’t replied to my letters on the AdScam situation? Mind if we discuss the fact that for 4 years, I hadn’t been able to locate a doctor taking new patients in my town?”
I wonder if CSIS considers it a bad or good thing to “feel” patriotic towards the U.K., if you’re from there and you’re visiting Canada. What if I prefer to feel patriotic towards Ulster or Scotland, but think England is filled with nincompoops? (Not that I do in reality… but the word “sassenach” comes to mind – you know, those poor folk we pity but dinnae mock them for their birthplace cannot be helped ;P).
On the topic of feelings and patriotism, is it ok for someone from Toronto to feel “more patriotic” towards Ontario, or the GTA perhaps, than to the rest of Canada?
I have no idea if poor Chester is a suspected terrorist. But it seems to me if this is the best our wonderful CSIS agents can come up with, Chester has been detained for about 7 days too long.