Conservatives’ Multicultural Minister Tim Uppal , without ever addressing the Citizenship Act changes and the second class Canadian citizen it creates of those not born in Canada or even those born to new Canadian parents who still have connection to their parents homeland, instead attacked Trudeau, saying the Liberal leader was calling him “a new Canadian”, which was somehow inflammatory.
By R. Paul Dhillon
OTTAWA – At a press conference in Ottawa on Monday, June 22nd, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau rightly criticized the introduction of the government’s new, proposed Oath of Citizenship Act, which basically is a “racist” reimagining of the Citizenship Act which creates “second class” Canadian citizens of those who have come from abroad and whose citizenship can be easily stripped cause they still somehow belong to another country where they can go back to if the government willy-nilly decides to strip them of their citizenship.
Following the Conservative announcement of the Act changes which was done by Conservatives token junior minister Tim Uppal, Trudeau had this to say: “An example is to use Minister Uppal who is very visibly from a new Canadian community, because he is a Sikh.”
Uppal , without every addressing the Citizenship Act changes and the second class Canadian citizen it creates of those not born in Canada or even those born to new Canadian parents who still have connection to their parents homeland, instead attacked Trudeau, saying the Liberal leader was calling him “a new Canadian”, which was somehow inflammatory.
“Justin Trudeau’s inflammatory and insensitive reference to me as being from a ‘new Canadian community’ because I am a Sikh is inexcusable,” Uppal said.
“I have heard from many Canadians of the Sikh faith across the country who took great offense to this comment, as did I.”
“I was born and raised in Canada and just because I am a Sikh does not mean that I am a “new Canadian.”
“Sikhs have a long and proud history in our great country dating back over 100 years, and have contributed significantly over the decades to Canada’s economic prosperity and enviable pluralism.
It must be pointed out here that not a single Sikh group or organization publicly supported his claims of inflammatory comments by Trudeau and not a single supporting comment from the Sikh community was cited by Uppal himself in his press release.
While Uppal was cow-towing to his party, which has no other choice to do, satirists at the This Hour has 22 Minutes show was making fun of how Prime Minister Stephen Harper was using Uppal as a backdrop to all his racist policies, a kind of joke minister who is can easily be equated to the old West’s “Uncle Tom.”
And to get an idea of how far Uppal is willing to follow the party dogma is in the contrast of his comments on Sikh turbans, which were momentarily banned last week at airport and quickly reversed by his government sensing outcry from the Sikh community, and his stand against the Muslim niqab.
“I am proud to be a part of the Conservative government which has championed Sikhs’ rights to wear the kirpan and turbans on the soccer field,” Uppal said.
“It is no surprise that Mr. Trudeau would make such an outrageous comment given that his top political advisor, Gerald Butts, equated the Sikh turban and beard to the niqab in a post on Twitter.”
“Comparing a religious head-covering, such as a turban, to a full face-covering for women, like the niqab is ignorant,” Uppal continued.
I guess the Muslim community is too divided to take on Uppal and his government but they need to take a lesson from other minorities and stand up for themselves.
