Campaign heats up at the JCC

PAT JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

Increasing anti-Semitism in Canada was criticized by candidates from the three main political parties at a candidates' forum co-sponsored by Canadian Jewish Congress.

Libby Davies, the incumbent New Democrat for Vancouver-East, cited this year's B'nai Brith report, which indicated an alarming spike in attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions. As her party's house leader, she said, she received unanimous support from the House of Commons for a motion condemning recent incidents.

"When any group is attacked, we are all attacked," said Davies. "That means our democracy is under attack."

Davies was one of 15 candidates who appeared at the meeting in the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver June 9. With its co-sponsors, the Vancouver Multicultural Society and the Chinese community agency SUCCESS, Canadian Jewish Congress invited the Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic party candidates for the five Vancouver ridings. All of them showed up.

On the Middle East, candidates were asked what Canada can do to prevent Palestinian terror. Hedy Fry, Liberal incumbent in Vancouver-Centre, voiced a fragile optimism.

"The role of negotiations in the Middle East is not yet past," Fry said. "Canada is committed to working with multilateral organizations like the United Nations." She added: "We believe Israel has a duty to protect itself from terrorism."

Her NDP opponent, Kennedy Stewart, urged a return to Pearson-era policies that saw Canada's role in the world as one of peacekeeping.

The forum's focus was on social justice, immigration, human rights and Canada's international role, but nothing was off the table as the sparring got under way.

Ujjal Dosanjh, British Columbia's former NDP premier who is now a Liberal running

in Vancouver-South, led the charge against what he characterized as a radical, hidden Conservative agenda of leader Stephen Harper.

Dosanjh said he didn't expect to return to public life after his defeat in the last provincial election. But he said he was worried about the kind of Canada a Conservative government would create, warning that Conservatives threaten women's reproductive freedom, the inclusion of sexual orientation in hate crime provisions and warned the Conservatives would use of the notwithstanding clause of the Constitution.

"I certainly don't want the kind of Canada that Mr. Harper says he doesn't want but we know he wants," said Dosanjh.

Ian Waddell, a former provincial NDP cabinet minister and long-time federal MP seeking to win back his old seat Vancouver-Kingsway, equated federal Liberal economic policies with the unpopular provincial Liberal government of Premier Gordon Campbell.

The assertions brought fire from Conservatives.

"I stand foursquare for a woman's right to choose," said Stephen Rogers, a former provincial Social Credit cabinet minister who is seeking a return to public life as the Conservative candidate in Vancouver-Quadra.

Gary Mitchell, the Vancouver-Centre Conservative candidate, said he believes that a Conservative government would legalize gay marriage.

"This is a tolerant and inclusive country and we will pass this legislation," said Mitchell, who is gay.

Candidates in East Vancouver ridings focused on crime and safety issues.

Jesse Johl, the Conservative candidate for Vancouver-Kingsway, said a Conservative government would "let people walk freely down the street.
"I've seen crime on the rise," said Johl. "I've seen bars on windows."

Vancouver-East Liberal candidate Shirley Chan said that when she was growing up in Chinatown, she didn't have to worry about walking home alone. That's changed.

"I'm tired of the human misery that you'll see when you go through the Downtown Eastside," said Chan.

The comment brought a rebuke from Davies, Chan's NDP opponent.

"When we talk about human misery, we have to talk about what caused the human misery," Davies said, blaming federal budget priorities while Paul Martin was finance minister for some of the social deterioration Vancouver has seen.

Vancouver-Quadra's Liberal incumbent Stephen Owen lamented the pessimism expressed by some candidates.

"Hearing some of the criticisms, you'd think we were in some sort of a failed state," said Owen, who listed off a litany of positive Canadian values he said are thriving, including diversity, multiculturalism and immigration policies.

Candidates didn't disagree on everything, though. Everyone seemed in accord against racial profiling.

"It's clearly wrong, it's discriminatory," said Owen.

His NDP opponent David Askew agreed, adding: "I don't think we can give up our civil liberties in the face of terrorist attacks."

Unanimity was also found on numerous questions from the floor relating to the Chinese government's oppression of Falun gong practitioners, though agreement was not obvious on how Canada should confront the Chinese government over the issue.

Likewise, all candidates were agreed that Canada was failing its immigrants by not recognizing foreign educational or professional credentials and by taking too long to process immigration requests. The $975 processing fee for immigrants was attacked by all parties.

"I think it's shocking that these fees are so high," said Victor Soo Chan, the Vancouver-South Conservative candidate.

But in a campaign that has been one of the most dramatic and hard-fought in more than a decade, it was not surprising that tempers occasionally flared. Vancouver-East Conservative Harvey Grigg infuriated some in the crowd with his put-down of a pro-Palestinian heckler.

"You can go home now, your cage has been cleaned out," said Grigg, before immediately apologizing.

Vancouver-Kingsway Liberal David Emerson raised heckles with his comment that English as a second language training should be extended long enough to allow people to lose their accents.

Bev Meslo, the Vancouver-South NDP candidate, reacted angrily to a resurfaced two-year-old quote in which she had called for economic sanctions against "apartheid, Zionist" Israel.

The event organizers gained the wrath of some parties for excluding all but the three parliamentary parties from the stage. Candidates and supporters of other parties met voters and handed out literature outside the auditorium.

Pat Johnson is a native Vancouverite, a journalist and commentator.

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