Kenney may be blunt, but mincing words hasn't worked
Kenney's blunt language has offended some, but Albertans aren't getting the message
Premier Jason Kenney's remarks on higher rates of COVID spread in Alberta's South Asian community are insulting, shameful, insensitive, scapegoating and an example of systemic racism, says Calgary NDP MLA Irfan Sabir.
These are, of course, serious allegations. It's certainly the case that we've all got to be on the lookout for treating every individual and every group with care and consideration during a saga so traumatic and stressful as the pandemic and related lockdown. Did Kenney fail in this regard? One week ago, after announcing a ban on all non-family visitors to Alberta households, Kenney conducted five interviews with different journalists from South Asian news outlets in Calgary.
Kenney chose the five journalists with a purpose. As Sabir himself has said, there's a “COVID crisis” in northeast Calgary, with more than three times the infection rate than other parts of the city. The area has a high concentration of South Asians.
Kenney was first interviewed by host Rishi Nagar on RED FM 106.7, which broadcasts mainly in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi. Nagar, a senator at the University of Calgary and a member of Calgary's Anti-racism Committee, is a long-time journalist, who immigrated to Canada from India in 2009.
“Let me be absolutely blunt and get to the point, Rishi,” Kenney said to start. “The largest spread in the province is in northeast Calgary, and we see a very high level of spread of COVID-19 in the South Asian community.
“I don't say that to blame or target anyone. The fact of the matter is this: one of the beautiful, wonderful things about my friends in the South Asian community is a strong sense of family and hospitality. And people have very often in the community have large families, multi-generational families. I have great respect, great respect for how so many South Asian families care for their seniors, their grandma and grandpa at home. And sometimes three, four generations. And we know that it's a tradition to have big family gatherings at home. And we think this is one of the reasons why we have seen a much higher level of spread ... so I'm calling your program with a wake-up call. We must have people understand the new law is no social functions at home.”
Nagar quickly raised a clarification, pointing out that part of the problem with COVID spread is the huge number of drivers, janitors, airport and care workers in the South Asian community out working during the pandemic.
Kenney accepted Nagar's point at once, adding that he has enormous respect for such frontline workers. But he also pointed out the numbers were unequivocal, with home gatherings being by
far the biggest source of spread. In a subsequent interview with Israr Kasana of JNN-TV, Kenney added that, “South Asian and Southeast Asian communities in Alberta represent 11 per cent of our population, but about 19 per cent of cases.”
Was Kenney insensitive here? I went to Nagar for his thoughts.
“It was shocking in the very first sentence when he said, `a wake-up call for the South Asian community,' but then he elaborated and I felt relieved,” Nagar said. “When I asked the follow-up question he replied in a nice manner. He said that, `I know I have friends in the South Asian communities. I know they are frontline workers.' He recognized and acknowledged their frontline services.”
There is a lack of awareness in the South Asian community about COVID rules, Nagar said, in part because the conception of what constitutes close family is much broader, including great aunts and uncles, aunts and uncles. At the same time, with so many frontline workers, there's also much fear about COVID.
“The fear of getting infected is very high. These are vulnerable people.”
In the end, Nagar said he agreed with Kenney's message and took it in a positive manner. “He was blunt for sure. He was trying to educate. He was trying to bring about the message to the South Asian communities. Some people might have taken it otherwise.”
It's clear Kenney's often brusque bedside manner during the pandemic hasn't gone over well with numerous Albertans.
At the same time, we're now nine months into a growing crisis and the government has already tried voluntary measures, along with cajoling and pleading with Albertans to change cherished customs that are deadly.
That approach has obviously failed. Kenney is now trying a stricter and pointed approach. There's a risk in singling out any community but it's also true that mincing words about known COVID dangers might well cost lives.