NDP’s finger-pointing no substitute for a proper set of policies

Partisan attacks by cabinet ministers do nothing to further cause of government

It’s unlikely that the new Freedom Conservative Party being led by MLA Derek Fildebrandt will cause much trouble for his former party, but it’s easy to imagine the NDP salivating at even the slightest possibility of a conservative vote split in next year’s election.

But if the NDP’s strategy is to portray the United Conservative Party as far right, it becomes a little more awkward if there’s another recognized movement on the right arguing that the UCP isn’t conservative enough. Nonetheless, it’s apparently going to take a lot more than awkward optics to shake the NDP off of its chosen strategy. It should go without saying that hyperbole is nothing new in politics. Perhaps it is naive to believe that politicians should work to convince voters that their opponents are wrong on the issues, as opposed to harbouring a sinister intent.

The NDP has a record to defend in 2019, and an opportunity to explain to Albertans what else they feel they need to accomplish. To that end, they also need to make the case for why the UCP’s vision is wrong for Alberta. Accusing your political opponents of racism and misogyny is no substitute for a coherent argument.

Last week featured not one, but two examples of NDP MLAs — cabinet ministers, no less — doing exactly this. It’s unclear whether this is a deliberate strategy or merely MLAs who are too wrapped up in their own political rhetoric. Given that one has apologized, it may be a combination of both.

First was Culture Minister Ricardo Miranda, who had apparently taken issue with UCP MLA Angela Pitt visiting the Women’s Centre of Calgary. Miranda reiterated this on Twitter, explaining how he was “surprised” Pitt would show up to an event supporting women when she “boycotted every vote on Bill 9 (the abortion bubblezone law).”

If nothing else, such a comment only plays into the notion that Bill 9 was a political trap for the UCP. Opposing Bill 9 is not tantamount to opposing rights for women, and not voting for a bill is not the same as voting against it. But Miranda wasn’t finished there. In a subsequent tweet, Miranda said he would have given “the same response” to a “Holocaust denier who showed up at Shul.” It’s deeply insulting to all involved to think that the reaction to Pitt’s presence at a women’s shelter was in any way remotely comparable to the reception a Holocaust denier would receive at a Jewish house of worship. Miranda did apologize and delete the tweet, but only on the narrow basis that he had inappropriately invoked the Holocaust.

The apology did not extend to the unfortunate assertion that Pitt had no business visiting a women’s shelter.

The following day, it was Social Services Minister Irfan Sabir who embarrassed himself on Twitter, oddly enough by demanding an apology. He posted a video calling on UCP Leader Jason Kenney to apologize to Alberta’s Muslim community. This was on the heels of the UCP expelling a candidate for anti-Muslim comments posted on social media. So follow the logic, if you can. Kenney owes Muslims an apology for expelling a candidate who expressed antiMuslim views? How does that make sense? Sabir could at least acknowledge that Kenney did the right thing and that perhaps the expelled candidate ought to be the one issuing an apology. Say what you will about Kenney, the politician, but this is someone who has worked hard at outreach efforts to all sorts of various ethnic and religious communities, someone who has condemned anti-Muslim hate crimes, and someone who even spoke out against U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban.

There are actual racists and misogynists in society, unfortunately, and the UCP would obviously do well to steer clear of such people and avoid pandering to them. But the NDP doesn’t help matters by throwing around such epithets with such reckless abandon. It’s wrong and it’s lazy.