As usual Donald Trump wins first prize for outrageous statements, with recent ones confirming his racist leanings. On July 14, he told four congresswomen of colour that they should go back to the “broken and crime infested countries from which they came” – even though all four are American citizens and three of the four were born in the USA. He had previously stated that he didn’t want immigrants from “shithole countries.”
There was almost no response from the morally bankrupt Republican Party but its elected members should read the words (from a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus) that are found on a plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
For generations these words signified Lady Liberty’s welcome to newcomers and one can only hope that America still exists.
Reactionary Actions by Scheer
While I’m pleased to report that the Canadian example is free of racism, it does illustrate the misleading and dishonest statements that make people so cynical about politics and politicians. For quite some time now, Conservative Premiers and the federal Conservative leader, Andrew Scheer, have been waging a war (complete with court challenges) against the carbon tax of the Federal Liberal Government, portraying it as a great burden on hard-working Canadians. They continue this charade in spite of the fact that there have been countless reports explaining that federal rebates will leave almost all Canadians with more money than they paid because of this tax.
Not content with these mendacious activities, Scheer has accused the Liberal Government of imposing a secret fuel tax that will eventually cost Canadian drivers four cents a litre, a tax that he would abolish if elected. What complete and utter nonsense! The object of Scheer’s attack is fuel standards, of the sort Canada has had for decades. We have moved away from leaded gasoline and taken steps to reduce the toxins that used to spew from the tailpipes of vehicles. As part of this ongoing effort to reduce air pollution, beginning in 2022, Canadian refiners will have to create gasoline that is 10 to 12% less carbon intensive, which we all should applaud. Scheer would have us believe that improvements in gas emissions are a secret tax that he would abolish. He should be ashamed.
Before I could post this blog, Scheer doubled down on actions that can only be described as reactionary. Obviously playing to his audience (the Dairy Farmers of Canada), Scheer attacked the new Canada Food Guide for its reduced emphasis on meat and dairy. He parroted the claim that Canadians were shut out of the process of developing the Guide, even though Health Canada conducted almost two years of consultations before finalizing it. To top off his ludicrous performance, Scheer promised to scrap the federal government plan to require labels on the front of packages of food high in sugar, salt, and saturated fat. Food for thought, indeed!