Friday, May 29, 2009

Poilievre deserves two smackdowns

That Pierre Poilievre has once again proven himself to be a racist is not a surprise and has not gone unnoticed.  Regardless as to whether or not this instance can be explained away (I disagree), another aspect of his screed was disgraceful.  I will highlight the other unacceptable piece in the quote.
Mr. Pierre Poilievre (Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, CPC): Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we have a leader, a real Canadian leaderOn that side of the House, they have the man who fathered the carbon tax, put it up for adoption to his predecessor and now wants a paternity test to prove the tar baby was never his in the first place. He attacks the deficit that he voted for but wants billions more for a 45-day work year. On this side of the House, we stand for lower taxes, strong economic action plan, getting the job done for Canadians. That is where we stand. That is our leader.
Poilievre has no right to pick and choose who is a real Canadian and who is not.  The implication that Stephen Harper is a real Canadian and Ignatieff is not is dangerous.  The racism, bigotry and hatred expressed towards the "other" implicit in those words must not be overlooked.  The Conservatives are ramping up their rhetoric of hatred against those who are opposed to them.  The former comment shows hatred towards a visible minority and is an abomination.  The latter pejorative term demonstrates a willingness to incite anger towards all opposition.

During the prorogation crisis we saw the application of these tactics against the Quebecois.  During that time, I reviewed how dangerously far along the path towards genocide the Conservatives were travelling in using this inflammatory language.  Seeing this ogre raise its head is not unexpected but is no less disappointing.

It must end now.
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3 comments:

Patrick Ross said...

Well, I'd actually agree with you on Poilievre's comments.

But.

The Liberal party, too, has a habit of trying to define who is and is not a "real Canadian". I disagree with the Conservative and Liberal attempts to do so alike.

Michael Ignatieff, however, has had the temerity to claim sole credit on the Liberal party's behalf for building Canada. This, too, is an extremely troubling act.

No politician has the right to determine who is and is not a real Canadian, any more than any politician has a right to claim credit for building the country.

As for Poilievre and his racist comments, stupid is as stupid does. I think it's as simple as that.

Constant Vigilance said...

Good point on the claim. I am not sure if I can recollect any instances of a Liberal making such upsetting statements. I may be blind of course.

Patrick Ross said...

If you ignore the few seconds of those god awful "Just Visiting" ads slotted into the video at the top of the blog post I linked to (I thought it was easier than to recount my thoughts in their entirety here), they're pretty much right after that, as I recall.

It's food for thought. I don't think this is a responsible route for any politician to be following.

Canadians built Canada together.