Canadian refugee claim reforms endanger American cars, says Gawker.com

Canadian politics and government policies rarely rate a mention in U.S. news media.

Canada's role in the Afghanistan War is largely unknown and a lot of Americans still believe the 9/11 attackers came via Canada.

But our political profile seems to be rising, though not always in a good way. Some Americans seem upset about official support for oil sands development, for instance, or the willingness to bail out the Quebec asbestos industry.

The latest Canadian blip on the radar comes via Gawker.com, of all places.

The irreverent gossip site has discovered a connection between an alleged serial arsonist and Canada's tough new refugee policy.

"Canadian politics used to be a cute, inconsequential thing that occurred somewhat north and to the left of New York, where people with slightly funny accents debated how to most efficiently prove they were not American while travelling," Gawker's Taylor Berman says in a piece this week.

But the Conservative government's plans to reform the refugee-determination process this year to cut a 42,000-case backlog has Berman worried.

Look no further than the case of Harry Burkhart, now in custody in Los Angeles for allegedly torching perhaps dozens of cars.

"Well, it turns out Burkart had recently lost his three-year bid for refugee status in Canada, so he decided to come to LA and light a bunch of cars on fire instead,' says Berman.

Canada's days as a soft touch for asylum seekers are numbered as it begins dealing more quickly with refugee claims that now languish for years.

"This law will potentially send many of those seeking asylum in Canada to the States, where they will set our cars on fire,": says Berman.

U.S. officials promise claimants denied asylum in Canada won't automatically be turned away at the border, despite a 2004 Canada-U.S. agreement that bars failed claimants in one country from trying their luck in the other.

Of course Canada can't be held directly responsible for Chechnya-born Burkhart's alleged fire-starting rampage. Prosecutors in Los Angeles claim it was sparked when a court rejected his mother's bid to avoid deportation back to Germany, where she's wanted on criminal charges.

"The question we all want to know is: what will Canadians cling to without their precious record of being generally decent and un-American to their immigrants?" Berman wonders.