Well Said, Mr. Harper - Mr. Dion As Well

Nice to know that a seeker after the prime ministership of Canada can express himself well and honourably. Fact is, it's hard to tell from his previous performances, all geared toward ensuring the public has no faith in his adversary, the current prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper. Fact is, if that is all Mr. Dion can bring to the discussion it merely reflects very badly on his own character.

And here I was beginning to think of Stephane Dion as a one-trick pony. He has many interests, is reputed to have a fine academic mind, and is aware of the many problems besetting this country, yet he seems to have had his needle stuck in a dreadful groove of belittling the prime minister. Not recommending or confiding to the prime minister how he feels he might be helpful in assisting the government in any way.

But stuck in the groove of attempting to arouse suspicion in the minds of the electorate about the capability, sincerity and effectiveness of the man whom he hopes to replace. Stuck in the groove of his determination to bring down the government, force an election, fight a winning campaign. And all on a single albeit complex, all-consuming topic: Climate change, global warming, greenhouse gases, environmental degradation.

Which mightn't be so awful, but is, given his own abyssmal record, reflecting that of the party he represents. Yet here is a side of the man which presents as infinitely more palatable, one that deserves a two-handed applause. Responding to a recent controversy over immigrant behaviour in Canada, bringing responses from both Mr. Harper and Mr. Dion on the acceptance of our values and social mores, the reality of Canada as an officially secular society that respects religious freedoms.

"I'm not sure I want to intervene other than just to say that I think in Canada we have an enviable record we should build on of integrating newcomers into our society by encouraging and embracing cultural diversity while at the same time insisting upon the equal treatment of all men and women in our society" said Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Not to be outdone, Mr. Dion responds with "And it goes in different ways. Sometimes you speak to your majority to explain who is the minority. but sometimes you need to explain to some of your minorities that we are in a secular world, where the village's realities have not the same scope as elsewhere. We are in a country where the government itself has no religion. We have values. And one of our values is to protect the rights of each citizen to have religious freedom."

This is the ideal for Canada, for its cultural/religious/ethnic/social mosaic. We try hard, we really do. Despite which, defying our best intentions, the ugly head of distrust does intrude on occasion. To quote Mr. Dion again: "I would say Canada probably is one of the most tolerant countries in the world. But we have a lot of bigotry, racism and mistrust anyway."

Yes, but we do try. "Tolerance and openness has been something we have learned, not something we have in our genes." Well said, Mr. Dion, well said.