And whilst we're on subjects related to Fiddy, a Toronto MP has contacted Canadian immigration minister Joe Volpe to ask him to prevent 50 Cent from entering the country. Fiddy is all set for a Canadian tour beginning in Vancouver on 3 Dec, but Liberal MP Dan McTeague says he promotes gun violence and shouldn't be allowed into the country and points out that a shooting coincided with the rapper's last appearance in Toronto back in 2003. McTeague says "I don't think people in Toronto or any urban centre need or want to hear Mr Jackson's message right now. I think it's time we send a message of our own to those who glorify violence that their gratuitous violence and movies are not welcome in our country. We need to do a better job at protecting Canadians from people whose message runs counter to all of our efforts of trying to curb gun violence."
Joe Volpe's spokesman said that he was unaware of the communication, but that it would be inappropriate for the minister to comment on an individual case anyway. Because Fiddy has a criminal record, he needs to obtain a ministerial permit to enter the country, and the spokesman, Steven Heckbert, says the permits are issued with a fair degree of regularity: "It's permission that's granted typically about 12,000 times a year. In many of those cases the minister does not intervene directly. The department has delegated authority to make such decisions."
All this comes on the back of sustained criticism of the rap star, who is accused of celebrating the drug and gun culture irresponsibly, and of course, those previously reported complaints about the posters promoting Fiddy's film 'Get Rich Or Die Tryin', a number of which were subsequently removed from billboards. There is a growing movement in Toronto at the moment to attempt to curb the escalating gun violence in the city. A coalition of African-Canadian groups met with Prime Minister Paul Martin in Ottawa last week regarding the issue.