Shrub Goes After Minorities

So it didn't take very long for Shrub to go after one of the old Reform Party's favorite targets: immigrants. While he made a minor promise using unrealized tax dollars (the lowering of the landing fees), he immediately showed immigrants and minorities what they really mean to this middle-aged, white-male-dominated government...

Among Harper's first neo-Con moves was to kill the Multiculturalism Ministry. This "good 'ol boy" move is an insult to immigrants and other minorities. One of his early next moves was to reduce immigration numbers. Thanks to the war he's running with the press gallery little of this is actually being given much attention.

10 years ago we vividly recall the very same Western MPs who now sit as Conservatives in Ottawa attack the very idea of multiculturalism - as well as taking pot-shots at Sikh's turbans (in the RCMP), First Nations, and Quebec. Back then, these very same individuals were sitting as Reform MPs. The public needs to realize they haven't changed.

As Liberals, it is crucial for our party to address the needs of some of our most loyal supporters. For many years recently, we've almost taken these groups for granted. New Canadians have been a stalwart of our support, and a big reason for our strong showing in urban areas. Recently, Harper has been making some overtures to these groups - often targeting "hot button" causes that are agreeable to Conservatives.

To reinstill minority group confidence in our party, we need to be very vocal about the Conservative dismantling of the Multiculturalism Ministry and reducing immigration numbers. Some of our leadership hopefulls have voiced strong support for multiculturalism - including strong supporting facts about the side-benefits of increased success in foreign trade, etc. Michael Ignatieff recently delivered a strong speech in Calgary focused on the value of multiculturalism - especially with the recent emergence of countries like India and China as world economic powers. We need to ensure our party continues to speak loudly for multiculturalism. If we don't, we'll start to see our urban numbers decline...