BLIND SPOT TO DIVISIVENESS

It was an interesting election and I am happy Sean Fraser was re-elected as he is a good man.

That said, Mr. Trudeau displayed another blind spot when he attributed the divisiveness around this election solely to Mr. Scheer. Whether the Liberals can see it or not, subtle comments like the one Mr. Fraser made to The News reporter Brendan Ahearn in last week’s paper (“... the community I grew up in is a lot more open-minded than I think people gave them credit for when they labelled it a safe Conservative riding.”) are a big part of the problem.

Is it Mr. Fraser’s view that only Liberal voters are openminded? Or is he just caught up in his party leader’s disdain for those who don’t agree with their views? Is it really that closedminded to expect a government to balance a budget in good economic times? Is it not OK for citizens to think there might be a better way than a paltry carbon tax to ward off climate change? Does expecting the government to respect and protect our borders truly make one a closed-minded person?

The Liberals do have some good policy, but when a freshly elected member insinuates that those who lean towards another party have a character flaw, perhaps they need to accept some of the responsibility for the divisiveness we are living through. There may be members — even leaders — of the Conservative party who are closed-minded, but to insinuate that all those who might vote for them fall into that basket is arrogant and condescending.

Regards,

Lorne Matheson Pictou Island