Justin Trudeau
Justin TrudeauReuters

Amid heavy concerns as jihadists and rapists have infiltrated the massive influx of migrants from the Middle East to Europe and North America, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came out with a surprising statement defending his immigration policy.

Speaking with CNN's Fareed Zakaria at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last Wednesday, the Liberal leader was asked if he worries that more terrorist attacks such as those that occurred in Paris and Canada as well might make it difficult to "maintain your policy of tolerance, inclusion and the welcoming of refugees, you’ve already slowed that down slightly?"

Trudeau responded by saying he was confident in people who "don't think a lot about politics, don't think a lot about terrorism," in an exchange that can be seen in the video below from 4:17 on.

“I think people are open to not choosing to live in constant fear," Trudeau began. "There are terrible things in the world, terrible people who want to attack our freedom and open society and we have to make a choice about how much we are going to close and limit and crack down within our societies in order to protect it, because if you do that too much you lose part of the free and open nature of society."

And then he dropped the bombshell, saying, "I have a tremendous level of confidence in ordinary people who go through their lives, don’t think a lot about politics, don’t think a lot about terrorism, think a lot about their families, about their job, about their future and about their community and want to see things working in the right way."

“Yes, one of the primary responsibilities of any government is to keep its citizens safe, but one of the other primary responsibilities is to keep us free and true to our values, and getting that balance right in a responsible way as opposed to a way that raises fears and anxieties is I think what people are looking for.”

Trudeau was recently condemned by Canadian journalist Ezra Levant for being "stupid," with Levant saying he is unable to tell "Hamas from hummus." The journalist particularly picked up on the way the prime minister responded to a question to pick his favorite Baltic state by saying "that's not a thing."

The point about Hamas particularly strikes a chord given that Trudeau appointed Omar Alghabra as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Alghabra was previously the head of the radical Canadian Arab Federation (CAF), which ran afoul of the state for its open support of Hamas.