As a Canadian, I was deeply saddened by a recent exchange in the House of Commons between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of the opposition.
Trudeau said, “Conservative Party members can stand with people who wave swastikas. They can stand with people who wave the Confederate flag.”
In fact, interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen had delivered this message to protestors: “Please remain peaceful. Call out and denounce any acts of hate, racism, intolerance or violence.”
In response to Trudeau’s statement, Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, herself a descendant of Holocaust survivors, asked for an apology but did not receive one. Her colleague Dane Lloyd asked Trudeau for an apology three more times but he simply responded by going off on political rants each time.
Clearly, Trudeau was not respecting parliamentary decorum and was rebuked by House Speaker Anthony Rota who stated, “I want to remind the honourable members, including the Right Honourable Prime Minister, to use words that are not inflammatory in the House.”
In discussing this issue with my Grade 12 students, I stated, “You will be voting in the next federal election. We, as Canadians, have a right to expect more civil and respectful behavior from our elected representatives.”
In fact, even though Parliament has always had the appearance of an unruly classroom, Canadian politicians have traditionally been civil toward each other.
I remember being very moved when Justin Trudeau delivered the eulogy at his father Pierre’s funeral in 2000. He spoke of how his father corrected him as a child when he made and unkind comment about another MP. In French, Justin told how his father explained that we can disagree on issues, but one must always respect the person. Pierre then introduced his son to the person he’d derided and his daughter, and Justin found them to be very kind, pleasant and congenial.
Perhaps we are being influenced by the negative tone of politics in the United States, where any remnant of congeniality has virtually evaporated. Recall the inflammatory words of ultra-conservative House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, which gained tremendous media attention in the 1990s. Some political experts see this as the beginning of the current downward spiral toward polarization in America.
But do we remember when right-wing American media outlets then tried to paint our Reform Party leader Preston Manning as “Newt-of-the North”? Manning would have nothing to do with this label. Though some of his views were indeed quite conservative, Manning always remained a gentleman.
I understand the humanness of our elected representatives. For all of his ideals, Pierre Trudeau is still remembered for the obscene gesture he made to a crowd of western Canadians. I understand that Justin is a person trying to lead his country through a crisis. It must be disheartening to see “F--- Trudeau” written everywhere in Ottawa, and perhaps that is impacting him.
We need to remember that Canada has become a great country, not because any of our leaders were perfect, not because any one person or any political party had all the right answers, but because we listened to and respected one another. This ideal has resulted in much good legislation in our Parliament.
Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, after numerous discussions with NDP leader Jack Layton, recognized that it was time for the Canadian government to apologize for the crimes committed against our Indigenous neighbours in residential schools. Similarly, John Diefenbaker realized that Tommy Douglas had a great idea with socialized healthcare and supported the program nationally.
As a country, our diversity is our greatest strength. It is by listening to each other that we generate our best ideas.
It is important to expect exemplary behavior from our elected representatives and we also need to demonstrate it ourselves.
Disagree with ideas, but always respect the person. That is the Canadian way.
Gerry Chidiac is a Prince George writer.
