Wajid Khan will disappear after the next election. He signed up several thousand Muslims and won the Liberal nomination in a safe Liberal seat. The Liberals will nominate another Muslim against him, and he will likely lose. It gives a government a visible minority presence that it lacks, so in the short term this is good, and it balances a little the optics of a government that had pretty much handed its Middle East policy over to the Canada-Israel committee.
As for Cherniak's suggestion that Khan should resign, there's no point demanding what ain't gonna happen. And since we are probably still up for an election this year (Turner says four months), he should be gone soon enough.
13 comments:
I love hearing someone spout off about the conservatives "supposedly" having more visible minorities - anywhere - in their caucus, in their party, etc. Reality sheds a different light on this. One needs to look at:
1) Caucus make-up/numbers. No-one has ever given any true numbers. Certainly if the Cons have some minorities, they're relegated to the back-benches. At least one hears a LOT from people like Ujjal Dosanj, Herb Dhaliwal (both former South Asian CABINET MINISTERS). Ruby Dhalla and Nav Bains have both been parliamentary secretaries. Add to the mix Hedy Fry, Ray Chan, and others (for many years) who have been strong liberal voices in Parliament.
2) Party Executive - The Cons don't even have an executive chair for Multiculturalism
3) Memberships - Ever go to (or even watch on TV) a Conservative convention? The odd person of visible minority background is often shamelessly paraded around - typically found standing somewhere close behind Shrub or near a podium.
Anyone with a stitch of knowledge about which socio-political issues and ideas impact minorities know very clearly that in any part of the world conservative political movements are unable to attract minorities in large numbers. Perhaps some minority support can be won by Cons when they pretend to lean less to the right - maybe when they make one issue important to potential supporters. We know that for Mr. Khan that issue may well be same sex marriage.
What a shame. Well... he deserves the party he's going to get. He'll have to write memoirs about how uncomfortable he feels at "behind closed door meetings" when crotchety cons make those whispered comments or off-cuff remarks all us of visible minority status have heard coming from these types of people...
Dion said: "You can't have a foot in the government and a foot in the opposition,"
Andrew Coyne wrote:
"No, indeed. The idea's absurd. It's like, I don't know, being Prime Minister of one country and a citizen of another."
What a stupid comparison; are other countries political oppositions in the House of Commons? Coyne really discredits himself when he goes for the cheap shot, but then, he only has to impress the little conserva-knobs like...well...wilson61. for example.
I love hearing someone spout off about the conservatives "supposedly" having more visible minorities - anywhere - in their caucus, in their party, etc.
Did you know that a lot of Conservatives think the CPC has the highest proportion of women MP's, when in fact, it has the lowest?
This is a perennial problem with the Right. They operate far more on belief than actual knowledge.
Ah, well, as it has been said..."Most stupid people are conservative."
I'm a visible minority (Chinese ethnicity) in the Conservative Party.
I have been a member of my EDA board of directors. Over half the board were visible minorities, either Chinese or South Asian.
Our local candidate in both 2004 and 2006 was also a visible minority.
Funnily enough, most of my friends who are also visible minorities are Conservative, and most of my white friends are Liberals.
Also, why do you think there will be an election within 5 months. Even before today's events, I never believed that there would be an election before 2008, for either the Bloc or NDP, they have absolutely no reason strategically to force an election at this point.
I will also point out that none of the first Chinese-Canadian MP (Douglas Jung, Progressive Conservative 1957-62), the first African Canadian MP (Lincoln Alexander, Progressive Conservative 1968-84), nor the first Japanese-Canadian MP (Bev Oda. Conservative 2004-current) were Liberal.
And I forgot about first Muslim MP (Rahim Jaffer, Reform/Conservative 1997 - present)
Harpor is doing a slick job in remodelling the image of his party as 'ntolerant. Money for chinese head tax (photo with chinese-canadians around him), acting as tho only the Cons understand Israel's right to defend itself (while suggesting Liberals are anti-israel), taking on Khan as a special assistant on the middle-east and afghanistan situation. But thru my own liberal-lens, I see a very white cabinet, with women having less and less key positions (but hey, when ministers are told to sit at their desk and smile while decisions are made by the PMO, what does it matter?). I'll agree with some Cons supportors who suggest we Liberals do not own the minority vote, and that minorities have various reasons to be active or support a political party. There's been subtle fearmongering by the Cons sector on same-sex marriage, that its acceptance will change the fabric of other canadian families or force churches to do the unspeakable. None of that has proven true. However, as a mantra to attract and frighten people into intolerance, I suppose its a crafty position.
The Liberal toadies here and at the G&M just can't get over one of theirs jumping ship. Get used to it boys and girls more are on the way.
Torontocrawler...in addition to your copy of "Conservative Beige People on Parade," are you aware of any other catalogue listing political firsts for visible minorities who aren't Conservatives?
The CPC's tokenism isn't much of an argument, you know.
I simple refuse to believe that a party chock full of racists and bigots is genuinely accepting of ethnic diversity. I think it's simply accepting of people who crave power and money.
The Conservatives have more visible minorities? Huh? Just take a look at Harper's caucus - few women and very few visible minorities.
The NDP have the most women and the Liberals have to most visible minorities.
Just take a look.
I simple refuse to believe that a party chock full of racists and bigots is genuinely accepting of ethnic diversity. I think it's simply accepting of people who crave power and money.
And ignorant of the facts you will remain. Hopefully, other Liberals are just like you... it will be your downfall amongst visible minorities like myself... Khan is only one of many who is now seeing the light.
Comparing the record of the old Progressive Conservative party to this new incarnation when it comes to issues of tolerance is an insult. Their biases against multi-culturalism, bilingualism and Eastern Canada have been on display for years, and this does nothing to change that reality. The fact remains that the Conservatives have not won a seat in any of Canada's three major cities and the next election will continue that streak
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