Without clarity, Kneecap ban appears as a ‘politically motivated PR stunt,’ say critics, civil liberties, and immigration experts
More than a week and a half after Liberal MP Vance Gasparro declared Irish rap group Kneecap were barred from entering Canada over allegations of supporting terrorism and political violence, the ongoing lack of clarity from the government about who approved the decision—or if one was even made—is leading civil liberties and immigration experts to say that it appears to be a “politically motivated PR stunt” and evidence of intra-caucus interference in cabinet mandates.
“This isn’t normal, and it just feels more like trying to push the government into making a decision,” Jamie Liew, an expert on citizenship and immigration law at the University of Ottawa, told The Hill Times. “This isn’t just an issue of privacy. It looks like interference in the [immigration minister’s] mandate.”
On Sept. 29, Gasparro (Eglinton–Lawrence, Ont.), the parliamentary secretary to the secretary of state on combatting crime, announced on social media that the Irish rap trio Kneecap had been deemed “ineligible to enter our country.”
“Kneecap has engaged in actions and made statements that are contrary to Canadian values and laws that have caused deep alarm to our government,” Gasparro said in a video. “[Kneecap] have amplified political violence, and publicly displayed support for terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas.”
According to Sections 34-37 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the federal government can deny entry due to suspicion of participation in espionage, violence, terrorism, or attempts to overthrow a government; the commission or conviction of war crimes or crimes against humanity; criminal conviction including intoxicated driving; or membership in a criminal organization, among others related to health and financial status. Sec. 32 also states that facts related to inadmissibility include those that lead officials to believe those acts “have occurred, are occurring, or may occur.”
At the time of Gasparro’s announcement, one of Kneecap’s members, Liam Óg Ó aHannaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, had been facing terrorism charges in the United Kingdom after footage emerged of him waving a Hezbollah flag while performing in London last November. That case was dismissed on Sept. 29 due to a technical error in the way the charges were laid.
U.K. Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring ruled the proceedings had been “instituted unlawfully and are null,” after finding that the prosecutors had missed the deadline to lay charges by one day.
Following Gasparro’s video, Kneecap responded on social media, calling his comments “wholly untrue and deeply malicious,” and stating that the band had instructed its lawyers to initiate legal action against him.
As Gasparro’s comments were not made inside the House of Commons, they are not legally protected under his parliamentary privilege.
Kneecap has also stated that it has yet to receive an official notification of the ban, other than Gasparro’s social media video, but has cancelled its Canadian tour dates scheduled for this October.
While Gasparro declined to comment on the video on several occasions after it was released, following Question Period on Sept. 29, he did stop to speak with reporters to comment on the legal threat.
“Let me be very clear on that. I’ve done a lot of things in my private sector career. I’ve never been sued. If they want to sue me, I look forward to it,” Gasparro said, but declined to comment on the terrorism charges getting tossed or provide further comment on the ban.
“I made the video based on the information that was available, but look, in terms of the actual commentary, I’ve nothing further to add, and any further comments, immigration officials will answer,” Gasparro said, adding that he would leave the “rollout” to the public service and Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
However, while Gasparro stated that the announcement had been made “on behalf of the Government of Canada” and “on the advice of our officials,” none of those officials or associated ministers within the government have been willing to comment or even confirm the ban.
Just hours after Gasparro’s announcement, Justice Minister Sean Fraser (Central Nova, N.S.) declined to comment on the decision following his press conference on the tabling of the Liberals’ new anti-hate legislation, Bill C-9.
“I’ve only just become aware of this in the minutes before I’ve come out to the microphone,” Fraser said, redirecting reporters’ questions to “the appropriate department to find an answer.”
However, both IRCC and Immigration Minister Lena Diab (Halifax West, N.S.) also declined to confirm whether a decision had been made to ban Kneecap, citing “privacy reasons.”
When asked by reporters on Parliament Hill to confirm the ban, Diab said she was unable to comment on individual cases, and did not respond to shouted questions from The Hill Times regarding how Gasparro would have been allowed to make the original announcement video given her department’s stated privacy concerns.
Heading into caucus on Sept. 24, Liberal MP Salma Zahid (Scarborough Centre–Don Valley East, Ont.) said she would be seeking that clarity once inside. She said she had not received any answers two days later.
While Zahid noted that entry into the country is a “privilege and not a right,” she added that those decisions should be made based on the “provisions within the immigration act by public service visa officers.”
“While there are obviously limits, I think we need to be careful restricting entry to Canada based on speech, and such decisions need to be made fairly and consistently, without political interference or bias,” Zahid told The Hill Times.
Speaking on background to share their opinions freely, senior Liberal sources also expressed concern over how the announcement had been made, and similarly remained in the dark over whether the ban had indeed been implemented. However, none were willing to offer Gasparro the benefit of the doubt that the announcement was entirely above board, with one source describing him as a “loose cannon.”
One senior Liberal source told The Hill Times that they think Gasparro’s tenure as parliamentary secretary is now in jeopardy, and that the announcement could cost him his position.
On Sept. 28, CBC News reported that Gasparro had not alerted the offices of Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree (Scarborough–Guildwood–Rouge Park, Ont.), or the federal privacy commissioner before the announcement, and that the former had only learned of the situation once the video was posted to social media.
Canada’s Privacy Act stipulates that the head of a government institution must notify the privacy commissioner in writing before disclosing private information, provided that “the public interest in disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of privacy that could result from the disclosure.” However, that legislation does not generally apply to parliamentarians acting in an official capacity.
Following the CBC’s reporting, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary Nose Hill, Alta.), took to social media to post a gif of a dumpster fire, followed by her own request to IRCC and Diab to confirm whether Kneecap had been banned while tagging Gasparro’s account.
NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.) said the lack of clarity from Gasparro or any of the involved ministers calls into question whether the announcement was “actually government sanctioned.”
“When actions are taken haphazardly and without accountability, it comes across as politically motivated and can be viewed as censorship,” Kwan told The Hill Times. “At a time when people’s constitutional rights are under threat and routinely stripped, as is the case south of the border, Canada must be vigilant in protecting our freedoms and not mimic or be influenced by the likes of [U.S. President Donald Trump].”
Several sources also noted the incongruity with the decision to ban Kneecap when the Government of Canada had allowed Christian singer and “MAGA superstar” Sean Feucht to perform multiple legs of a Canadian tour this summer—despite his documented associations with a listed terrorist entity, the Proud Boys, members of whom he engaged as security detail in 2021, post-designation. Feucht has also previously denounced what he calls “gender confusion [and] sexual perversion” among young people, abortion as “the slaughter of the unborn and the newborn,” and described Pride Month as a “demonic agenda seeking to destroy our culture and pervert our children.”
Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, director of the fundamental freedoms program for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, told The Hill Times that the handling of the ban has made what should have been a legal decision by a border officer into a political determination.
“The decision to grant or deny access to Canada should not be a political one, and it should not be about whether the government agrees or disagrees with the applicant’s views,” Bussières McNicoll said. “But the way in which the announcement was made was very obviously a political statement.”
Liew said that while the way the announcement was handled was “extremely unusual,” the lack of clarity was not, given her experience attempting to receive answers from IRCC.
Liew explained that, in some high-profile cases or when an applicant is already working with a lawyer, an individual may be notified of their ban. However, in many cases, they would only be informed upon arrival at a port of entry.
Liew also noted that, despite the recent charge dismissal, the current regulations would still permit the band to be barred from the country, particularly given the publicly available video evidence.
However, Liew said regardless of whether Kneecap is indeed banned from entry, the announcement made by a parliamentary secretary to an unrelated ministerial file appears more as a “politically motivated public relations stunt” rather than a “considered legal determination.”
“This is unprecedented and raises questions about how the government is maintaining the lines drawn in cabinet,” Liew said.
Liew added that even if Gasparro’s announcement was in line with the IRCC’s own decision-making, the question remains as to how Prime Minister Mark Carney (Nepean, Ont.) would address Gasparro’s apparent “rogue behaviour.”
Prime Minister Carney did not respond to questions regarding Kneecap’s ban following his bilateral meeting with Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Sept. 25, and his office has directed all questions to IRCC.
The Hill Times
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