In defence of Ruby Dhalla (yeah, you heard right!):Jason Kenney carries on his crusade against "multi-culturalism", and today the Cons - with their new friends, the NDP (or should we say "socialist coalition partners"?) - decide they'll accuse another visible minority MP from a suburban riding (remember the Navdeep Bains attacks - which turned out to be a bunch of Conservative lies?), of actions which haven't even been evidenced in any sort of a hearing yet.
In the Dhalla situation, I will wait to see what transpires in a judicial hearing or - more likely - labor board tribunal. It was very good of Ms. Dhalla to step down from role as a critic (as these allegations are quite serious). As Liberals, we don't have to fight such things "tooth n' nail" - we have much more talent than the Conservatives, and the post will quite easily be filled. If Ms. Dhalla, or any other politician is found to have contravened regulations in such a manner, then - of course, they need to pay the fines/levies/back salaries, etc., required.
One KEY FACT to note: Ruby lives within an extended family - something quite commonplace among South Asians and new Canadians in general. She has quite clearly stated she had no role in the hiring, supervision, etc., of these folks. I believe that. In a South Asian home, the eldest male or female (usually male) is the head of household. They householder would be the one paying the bills, supervising, and spending most of their day with the servants. This is the same way it works in India. Ruby is probably innocent of anything here, but due to her public persona, is being vilified. Ruby also spends very little time at home - next to none - and probably hardly ever saw these employees "of the family"...
Without a proper understanding of extended family households in the South Asian community, one cannot claim any wrongdoing had anything to do with Ruby - whatsoever. Disgruntled ex-employees often claim things. They often conspire to attack their former employer, or perceived employer. This all is left to be proven (or disproven)... I live in an extended household, and there are literally thousands of financial and social transactions carried on by my family members (who are all active in various business interests, cultural foundations, clubs, etc.). It would be ridiculous for me to bear any responsibility for the actions of someone ranging from a brother, sister, parent, or grandparent who just happen to reside at the same address...
I guess this was a post in defence of Ms. Dhalla. So be it.
11 comments:
You do realize that these allegations were brought up by the Toronto Star right? A highly liberal paper if there ever was one. And you know for the Star to have brought this up against a Liberal MP there has to be some truth to it. For you to say this is just some Conservatice conspiracy to attack ethnic Liberal MPs betrays your ignorance of the whole story.
But there are records that it was Ruby who held onto the passport of at least one woman until threatened with a call to the RCMP by a worker's advocacy group. And even if some of the wrongdoings were not directly her fault, as an elected public official she has to be held to a higher standard than a normal citizen, she should have been aware of the labor and hiring norms taking place under her own roof.
Compounding this is the fact that this is not Ruby's first brush with scandal - and no, I'm not talking about the Bollywood movie - please remember her initial callous reaction when slum children in India stole the purse of one of her assistants, only to receive a brutal beating from local police. Although she later tried to clarify her remarks, the picture that emerges is not of a person who puts the rights of the vulnerable first.
And as far as "ethnically diverse" riding attacks, the Conservatives were very happy to welcome Wajhid Kahn into their caucus. Joe Volpe was viciously attacked during the last leadership race - from within the party. Mr. Grewal was kicked out of his caucus and lost the nomination due to scandal. I just think that politics is basically a bloodsport and it's naive to say that one party attacks another on exclusively the basis of their riding ethnicity - all politicians get attacked all the time, if you are in the game you should know better than to pay an employee $1.52 per hour or seize their passport.
Where there is smoke, there is fire - Ruby would not have stepped down so quickly if this was truly insubstantial - at least that's my take on the situation. Time will tell, but the evidence reported so far does not bode well for Ruby.
I too find it interesting how the rush to convict seems to be led by the Liberals rivals. Same way the CONs found Maher Arar guilty on the face of little facts, they're taking this serious accusation and proclaiming a decision before the court of public opinion. And Canwest and the MsM are eating it up.
Let the facts come out, let the accusors get their chance to speak, and let the Dhallas have their chance to defend or state their case. Then have at it.
But it just kind of seems odd that this came out right after the convention, when the PM is out of the country... I have a friend who faced similar accusations -- she voted CON the past two elections, too, and is a visible minority herself -- and was the victim of lies. But she lost face in her community, while the accuser used it as a means to break her contract and gain citizenship.
Ms. Dhalla absolutely deserves her day in court but for you to twist the focus & facts of this case to blame a "Conservative conspiracy" is beyond the boundaries of reasonable credibility.
Your focus should first be on that "far right" newspaper known as the Toronto Star. Please carefully review the PDF file they provide a link to.
Thanks for the insight!
Ruby Dhalla is going to jail.
Are you saying that the Conservatives are to blame for any wrong doing by this Mp or is your point that ethnic minorities should get a free pass?
The "allegations" were brought forward politically Tory... and you know it. How else the careful coordination between MPs, current policy announcements?
You talk like you've been around politics for a while, yet you pretend you aren't aware of the hyperpartisan and vindictive attacks on Ms. Dhalla over the past few years? The cooperation between the Conservative Party and any "dirt-diggers" available to make trouble for Dhalla in favor of the Conservative "golden child" in GTA?
Get off it.
Liz: There are no "records" of Dhalla doing anything. The only "records" are of Neil Dhalla - her brother - who hired and supervised the care-givers. She lives in an extended family home, and shouldn't have to bear the responsibility for the transgressions of her brother's cousin's niece's dog... (or so ridiculous it seems)...
Pelalusa: Sure. The Cons aren't in the middle of this. It's so obvious. They are also attacking her in Parliament (but won't say anything outside the House) - even though these are simply allegations at this time.
Geordie: Your statement is simply lame. We state pretty clearly in our post that if she has broken rules, then whatever fines or tariffs apply should be. The point is that NOT ONE SHRED OF EVIDENCE HAS HER NAME ON IT.
And to the moron with the "jail" comment, do you have any idea how these things are dealt with? What Mr. Harper did in the Cadman affair is FAR more serious than this (not to belittle this thing). The matter is a decision for a labor relations board - and a slap of the hand from Employment Standards (including fines, etc.).
As far as Dhalla supposedly "holding passports" that is all hearsay. You can make disgruntled former employees say anything you want. They often come together. We've seen this in the family businesses, and we've seen it managing various businesses for others. Is there any evidence of this? NO. Was there ever a complaint filed to the police over any of the "quote/unquote" "abuse"? Never.
Keep up the partisan attacks though... While the economy slides... and Canadians worry about their jobs...
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