Jason Kenney - laying low as is his troglodytic style - has recently been quoted (Calgary Herald) as claiming ethnics in "ghettos" incubate crime... What???We live in Surrey, BC. A city that racists like to claim is a crime-ridden ghetto. Couldn't be further from the truth. Surrey is the size of Vancouver (roughly, and we'll be calling the region Metro Surrey in about 10 years), and has a lower crime rate than: Vancouver, Maple Ridge, Langley, and Abbottsford in the Lower Mainland (while being the most diverse city of that bunch). Surrey also has lower crime than Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg (all from the "peaceful and quiet" prairies). Surrey and Richmond BC BOTH score better on crime than all these other cities... and BOTH are more diverse. Seems to say the opposite of what Kenney is trying to say to voters.
Living in one of the single few "ethnic enclaves" of any sort (and we resent that description, because Surrey is VERY diverse - and it has the kind of diversity all of Canada should have), we cannot say straight-faced that this is a "ghetto" that creates more crime and/or gangs. If it were, we wouldn't be seeing so many residents of North Vancouver moving here to escape the mud slides (and be more centrally located). The high end neighborhoods of Morgan Creek, South Surrey, Crescent Beach (yes - ocean front homes), Panorama Ridge, Tynehead, Fleetwood, and Fraser Heights ALL have many hundreds of homes in the $1 Million to $3-4 Million range. Surrey is a city of parks and beauty, with some of the best nature trails, urban forests, salmon habitats, bird sanctuaries, "urban farms", wineries, golf courses (Northview, for one), anywhere.
Mr. Kenney's views on this are simply bigoted, biased, and wrong, and show absolutely no sensitivity of the type required for a cabinet minister in the role he is in...
From the March 27th Herald article:
For a Cabinet Minister in the Canadian Parliament to be making such statements is APPALING. He is simply appealing to the lowest common denominator - the slack-jaw vote that forms the hard-right base of the Reform movement. What are his definitions of "right policies" and "wrong policies"? Doesn't look like he's ever studied urban sociology.
We've commented over the years on Kenney's anger/hatreds and biases, but when we came across this statement, it simply reinforced everything we've ever thought of him.
Jason Kenney should resign as the Minister of Multiculturalism and Immigration. He is a fifth columnist put in the role by Harper to pander to immigrant groups (without doing anything substantial to help them at all), while slowly killing the idea of multiculturalism from within...
Of course, with Kenney's attitude to be called a "racist", he responds: ""It doesn't bother me," he shrugs. "Heck, I can hardly sneeze without being called a racist."" Oh joy! A federal cabinet minister who doesn't get bothered by being called a racist! One can only be offended by being called such if you are clearly disgusted and angered by the assertion. Apparently Mr. Kenney is not.
Shame.
