Layton slams Liberals for racist taunts against his wife, an NDP candidate
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at 20:31 on December 29, 2005, EST.
By KEITH LESLIE
TORONTO (CP) - A Liberal party official's posting of "racist" comments on a website, comparing Jack Layton's Chinese-born wife Olivia Chow to a dog, was "no joke," the NDP leader said Thursday.
Mike Klander, executive vice-president of the federal Liberal party's Ontario wing, stepped down Boxing Day after photographs of Chow - who is also an NDP candidate in Toronto - and a chow chow dog were posted on his blog, under the heading Separated at Birth.
"I frankly never expected that we would face such things, that a candidate would be singled out," Layton said in his first public appearance since before Christmas.
"I certainly hope racial slurs will come to an end in this campaign."
Layton noted that Europeans who controlled portions of China in the past used to hang signs that read "no dogs or Chinese allowed," and said no Chinese person familiar with their history will ever forget those signs.
"This is no joke, and I think it's a culture of arrogance that has set in ... and the election will have to deal with it," he said. "It reminds us that insults flow from arrogance. There is far too much of this in today's Liberal party."
Chow appeared with Layton later Thursday at a campaign event in the city's east Chinatown district, and said the comparisons to the dog on the Liberal website were hurtful.
"I think I was tremendously saddened," she said. "To have this kind of racial slur is humiliating. I think the true mask of the Liberal party has been taken off, and I certainly hope on Jan. 23 people will understand that it is time for a change."
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper was equally sharp.
"To see them calling Mr. Layton names, comparing his wife to an animal, this is the campaign of the Liberal party," Harper said during a campaign stop in Kelowna, B.C. "It's all fear, it's all smear.
"It's one incident of scandal and corruption after another. What this should tell all of us, the time of these guys is up."
Layton compared the web-based insult to school-yard behaviour, and said it's the same kind of discrimination many new Canadians face when they look for a job.
"That kind of attitude has no place in our country," he said. "Canada should not be governed by people who think that way."
The couple appeared to easily win over their Chinese-Canadian audience Thursday when Layton began by offering greetings in Cantonese with Chow translating into English, before he switched to English while she again translated.
Layton also won applause for saying Canada should apologize for the head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants in the late 1890s and early 1900s, and compensate those who paid the tax and their surviving families.
"We need to have a response from our government that starts with an apology - an open and complete apology to the Chinese community," he said. "That has got to be the starting place for redress."
Ottawa collected $23 million from more than 80,000 Chinese immigrants between 1885 and 1923, with the tax ranging from $50 to $500 a person.
Last month, the federal government signed a $2.5-million agreement in principle with the National Congress of Chinese Canadians and other organizations to set up educational and commemorative projects related to the head tax.
But Prime Minister Paul Martin has refused to apologize for the controversial tax.
So I guess they are bad as Conservatives if I take what Reverend's arguments truthfully, and I have no reason to doubt him so, both the Liberals and Conservatives are racist, or have racist tendencies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
at 20:31 on December 29, 2005, EST.
By KEITH LESLIE
TORONTO (CP) - A Liberal party official's posting of "racist" comments on a website, comparing Jack Layton's Chinese-born wife Olivia Chow to a dog, was "no joke," the NDP leader said Thursday.
Mike Klander, executive vice-president of the federal Liberal party's Ontario wing, stepped down Boxing Day after photographs of Chow - who is also an NDP candidate in Toronto - and a chow chow dog were posted on his blog, under the heading Separated at Birth.
"I frankly never expected that we would face such things, that a candidate would be singled out," Layton said in his first public appearance since before Christmas.
"I certainly hope racial slurs will come to an end in this campaign."
Layton noted that Europeans who controlled portions of China in the past used to hang signs that read "no dogs or Chinese allowed," and said no Chinese person familiar with their history will ever forget those signs.
"This is no joke, and I think it's a culture of arrogance that has set in ... and the election will have to deal with it," he said. "It reminds us that insults flow from arrogance. There is far too much of this in today's Liberal party."
Chow appeared with Layton later Thursday at a campaign event in the city's east Chinatown district, and said the comparisons to the dog on the Liberal website were hurtful.
"I think I was tremendously saddened," she said. "To have this kind of racial slur is humiliating. I think the true mask of the Liberal party has been taken off, and I certainly hope on Jan. 23 people will understand that it is time for a change."
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper was equally sharp.
"To see them calling Mr. Layton names, comparing his wife to an animal, this is the campaign of the Liberal party," Harper said during a campaign stop in Kelowna, B.C. "It's all fear, it's all smear.
"It's one incident of scandal and corruption after another. What this should tell all of us, the time of these guys is up."
Layton compared the web-based insult to school-yard behaviour, and said it's the same kind of discrimination many new Canadians face when they look for a job.
"That kind of attitude has no place in our country," he said. "Canada should not be governed by people who think that way."
The couple appeared to easily win over their Chinese-Canadian audience Thursday when Layton began by offering greetings in Cantonese with Chow translating into English, before he switched to English while she again translated.
Layton also won applause for saying Canada should apologize for the head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants in the late 1890s and early 1900s, and compensate those who paid the tax and their surviving families.
"We need to have a response from our government that starts with an apology - an open and complete apology to the Chinese community," he said. "That has got to be the starting place for redress."
Ottawa collected $23 million from more than 80,000 Chinese immigrants between 1885 and 1923, with the tax ranging from $50 to $500 a person.
Last month, the federal government signed a $2.5-million agreement in principle with the National Congress of Chinese Canadians and other organizations to set up educational and commemorative projects related to the head tax.
But Prime Minister Paul Martin has refused to apologize for the controversial tax.
So I guess they are bad as Conservatives if I take what Reverend's arguments truthfully, and I have no reason to doubt him so, both the Liberals and Conservatives are racist, or have racist tendencies.
