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Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has slammed environmentalist David Suzuki’s views on immigration as “toxic and irresponsible” after the CBC host said Canada was “full.”

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I’m not here to denounce; they’re valid opinions. It’s just that coming in rapid fire as they did, I almost wondered if Suzuki was entering some cranky, late-period rabble-rousing phase. “Y’all say you care about the environment, but will you support a carbon tax? Nooooo. I’ve had it. Now sit down and shut up, ’cause I’m going to tell you jerks what I really think!”

If he actually has any good ideas that are sensitive on the political left, people might listen because he’s so respected. And more cynically, I thought, he might believe in some things so nutty (phrenology? Sasquatch?) that it would be enjoyable to watch all his disciples’ heads explode.

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In an interview with the French news weeklyL’Express, Suzuki was asked about Australian environmentalists who oppose immigration to their country because they believe population growth will drain natural resources past their breaking point.

“Oh, I think that Canada is full too! Even if it’s the second biggest country in the world, our usable land is reduced,” he said in the article, dated July 1. “Our immigration policy is enough to make you sick: we pillage the countries of the south by depriving them of their future professionals and we want to increase our population to help our economy grow. It’s crazy!”

When asked if that view was selfish, Sukuki said Canada still has to take in refugees.

“Canada should always open its doors to those who are oppressed or in cases of emergency,” he said. “When Canada offered refuge to 50,000 boat people in Vietnam in the 1970s, I was particularly proud to be Canadian.”

The qualifier did little to sooth Kenney, who took to Twitter to vent his anger at Suzuki.

“Suzuki’s views are toxic [and] irresponsible,” Kenney said Wednesday, adding he was “disappointed.”

He also expressed annoyance about the lack of media coverage in Canada of Suzuki’s interview with the French-language weekly news magazine.