None is too Many

I tuned into Justin Trudeau's speech last night, like many to hear what he had to say about Liberty and the Politics of Fear.  I expected he would largely ignore the NDP in the speech and target Harper and the Conservatives and that was what we got.

All day the Liberal party has been pumping up the speech, Liberty and the Politics of Fear. Trudeau provided a little bit of history, praised the Charter of Rights, spoke of multiculturalism, and then got into the politics of fear.  To this point he didn't say much with which I could disagree. He wasn't doing a bad job up to this point.

We all know Trudeau is prone to gaffes in unscripted moments. It's part of his charm. A gaffe in a prepared speech is no longer a gaffe, is it. That's what happened.

Trudeau in an effort to describe the perils of Muslims in Canada under the Conservatives, actually compared their plight to that of the Jews fleeing the Nazis, in the lead up to World War II and subsequently refused entry into Canada.



“So we should all shudder to hear the same rhetoric that led to a ‘none is too many’ immigration policy toward Jews in the ’30s and ’40s being used today, to raise fears against Muslims today,” Trudeau said.

So who was talking the Politics of Fear...

Trudeau in 'implying' that under the Harper government Conservative immigration policies and rhetoric was creating an atmosphere similar to the Liberal government of Mackenzie King's "none is too many" policy against European Jews in World War II. 

If you are unfamiliar with the 'None is too Many' see this National Post article from 2011
‘None is too many': Memorial for Jews turned away from Canada in 1939.

Canada's government was refusing to take in European Jews fleeing Germany. In one example 900 German Jews sailed for Cuba in 1939 and were refused landing, the same happened in Miami, the ship came to Canada and was refused. The ship then had no choice but to sail back to Europe. 254 of the people turned away by Canada died at the hands of the Nazis.

Instead of talking about what Trudeau wanted us to focus on, were all about a gaffe, this one it seems, was written into his prepared speech. 

That's a gaffe one has a much harder time defending. This will need more than #HopeAndHardWork. 

One lucky thing though eh, Trudeau had no media availability and didn't have to explain his support for C51

Michael Geist Giving a talk on standing up for liberty & then saying you don’t want to get into political fight over C-51 makes no sense to me

Trudeau slams Tories for terror rhetoric

UofT prevents me from attending 'The Laramie Project'

Teaching Assistants are on strike at the University of Toronto.  They are underpaid, under appreciated, and under estimated by the administration of #UofT.  I was astounded to learn how little these people made and how much the University actually depends on them. 

You can learn more about the TA'S fight for a fair deal here

No bargaining dates set 

University of Toronto Education Workers

Toronto teaching assistants on strike 

Check out twitter hashtag #WeAreUofT 

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Dear Friends,

I was really looking forward to attending your production of 'The Laramie Project' this week. As a gay man who grew up in a small town in western Canada, this play speaks to my own history.

Unfortunately I can not attend. Teaching Assistants are on strike and it would mean crossing their picket line. I could not cross a picket line in which workers and students are forced to stand against an institution which won't negotiate a fair agreement.

This means I will miss your production which you and many students have put so much effort. I am so very sad. Please convey my regrets to the crew of this production and most certainly onto the President of the University.

I look forward to seeing further productions after the students and workers have received a fair deal.

Sincerely yours

Rick Barnes
Toronto