Angry in the Great White North

The National Post is the only place where you will read Liberal Party leadership candidate Michael Ignatieff declaring Canada, and in particular, the Canadian government, to be actively racist:

Liberal MP Michael Ignatieff opened his campaign for the Liberal leadership on Thursday with a full-on assault aimed at Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his fellow Conservatives, accusing them of a range of political crimes. After announcing he is not running against fellow Liberal candidates but “against Stephen Harper and the Conservative government,” he charged them with dishonesty, incompetence and something close to bigotry and racism.

“We do not want a Canada where the colour of your skin, the language that you speak, the country you originated from determines how well you survive this economic downturn,” Mr. Ignatieff declared. Liberals, he added, “are going to fight for all Canadians to get the same shot at the economic dream.”

Where is there evidence that skin colour or language or country of origin is affecting decisions companies are making about plant shutdowns, or the way government benefits for the unemployed are being distributed?

Maybe this is exactly what it happening.  I doubt it, but Michael Ignatieff is suggesting that this is the case, or that we are headed in this direction.  One can presume that Michael Ignatieff would hold the Conservative government responsible for this.

Again, based on what evidence?

Some politicians see their role as more than representatives of a group of constituents, but also as problem solvers.  Indeed, that is the definition of the activist government, and the Liberal Party is pretty activist, as such things are reckoned.

But what if the problems are already being tackled?  Yes, there is a global economic downturn, but numerous international organizations have concluded that Canada is placed better than most everyone else to weather the storm.

Is that the problem for Michael Ignatieff?  A lack of problems?

I want to be Liberal leader!  Why?  Um, well, because...

That wouldn't do at all.  So Michael Ignatieff comes up with a problem that only he, as head of the Liberal Party, can solve.  That problem is how in Canada today, skin colour is going to determine how well, or how badly, you do in a recession.  Or country of origin.  Or maybe other things too.

Fine, except that there is no reason to think that this is true.  The media ought to be on Michael Ignatieff, demanding an explanation of how he has determined that this systemic racism and bigotry is present and affecting government policy, and once he has explained how it is that we've all missed it, what he's going to do about it.

Is it the bureaucracy?  Is it the banking sector?  Is it management in Canadian industries?  Is it the over 140 Conservative MPs?  Is it the cabinet?  Is it Stephen Harper?

The media, except for the National Post, seems to have given Michael Ignatieff a pass on this one.  That's not a good sign.

Maybe it's the media playing favourites.