I readily concede that the federal government should have tendered the contract for the summer volunteer project that was awarded to the WE charity. The contract with WE no longer exists and the Prime Minister has apologized but there is now a growth industry searching for further inappropriate links. I thought it was a bit of a stretch to fuss over the fact that Trudeau’s wife was paid – in 2012 - $1,400, but the critics were just warming up. More recently there has been much finger-wagging because Seamus O’Regan, almost 10 years ago, worked with a volunteer group called Artbound that raised money for WE before it had that name – which we are supposed to believe somehow has tainted his objectivity a decade later. Now we are told that Trudeau’s step-brother was paid by WE when he was invited to give a talk at cryptocurrency conference – hardly surprising since he had written a book on this subject.
I await news that someone in the Cabinet has a son or daughter who, 25 years ago, attended the same Grade 8 class as Craig Kielburger and, therefore, should have declined to take part in the Cabinet discussions and approval of the project. This whole matter seems to be a very small scandal by Watergate standards and perhaps should be known as Weegate. [Sorry, can’t help myself.]
Exhibit B
The justifiable anger about racism, especially with respect to the way that police treat minorities, is now generating some strange and unhelpful responses. I thought it was encouraging to learn that the RCMP (hardly a paragon of equal treatment of all) had used de-escalation techniques to apprehend the intruder who had crashed through the gates of Rideau Hall without any shots being fired or anyone sustaining injuries. Inexplicably, this result, according to federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, only serves to demonstrate systemic racism, since the intruder would have been treated much more harshly had he been black. The only defence against this line of reasoning would appear to be for the RCMP to adopt the slogan: “We don’t discriminate; we shoot everybody.” Somehow this does not seem helpful.
Exhibit C
The war on words continues, with more and more sports teams under attack about inappropriate names. The Washington Redskins have agreed to change their name while the Atlanta Braves recently indicated that they will keep that name but will review the future of the oft-criticized (deservedly!) Tomahawk Chop. Other teams with names subject to criticism include the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Browns, and Kansas City Chiefs. But what about the Carolina Panthers since that name could be seen as a reminder of the militant Blacks Panthers of the 1960s and be offensive to white folks? What about the blatant references to the Catholic religion among sports teams with names like the New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Angels, or San Diego Padres? The Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Pittsburgh Pirates are names that glorify criminals who raped and pillaged![1] While on that theme, what about the Nashville Predators, and New Jersey Devils?
Turning to the Canadian Football League, what about the Edmonton Eskimos and the Ottawa Redblacks? The latter name could be construed as insulting to both Natives and Blacks, but it is the Eskimo name that has long been under attack. A letter to the editor in the Globe and Mail (Marty Shukster, July 7) addressed this long standing issue and suggested that since Alberta has other sports teams with the names Oilers and Flames, a similar theme would lead to the name Edmonton Emissions. The new name, Shukster pointed out, would allow the EE brand to be maintained and fans could be invited to buy seasons tickets with carbon credits.
Exhibit D
In closing this rather flimsy blog, I will return to the issue of streets named after unacceptable individuals. It pains me to confess that there is in Myrtle Beach, only a few blocks from where we have spent the past 18 winters, a street named Tindal! What more is there to say?
[1] These examples were provided in an email to long time journalist Clarence Page after he published an article in the Chicago Tribune calling for a name change for the Washington Redskins.