Conservatives are slow to learn the art of responsible opposition

Brad Wall will never be Canada’s prime minister.

That was almost certainly true even before this week. The popular and successful premier of Saskatchewan was always likely to discover that his poor French would become a disqualifying handicap. If it finished off John Crosbie thirty years ago, how could it not be a deal breaker this deep into the 21st century?

But even if that enormous unilingual obstacle was somehow overcome, Wall is now freighted down with the weight of his position on Syrian refugees. If your answer is that the polls back him my reply is that polls change. Especially on heated, volatile matters such as this and in times like these. Before long, his call to suspend our country’s commitment to those in need will haunt him like a ghost in the federal arena. Not because there aren’t people who harbour similar attitudes in the flush of emotion following the terrorist attacks in Paris. And not because proper screening of newcomers isn’t a necessary provision.

But because Wall’s quick pull on the fire alarm communicates a set of values that in time — six months, two years, and certainly, four years down the road — will seem as ungenerous and off-key with prevailing Canadian attitudes as Harper’s intransigence on this same issue appeared during the recent election campaign. That’s not likely to be an asset for a party seeking to renew itself.

Most political commentary over the past week has been dedicated, understandably, to how our new prime minister has reacted to ISIL’s renewed aggression — is Trudeau showing an impressive resolve by sticking to his campaign positions or an ill-advised rigidity in the context of new developments. That’s all fair ball. This is his first major test as a G8 leader and he is rewriting Canada’s foreign policy in the shadow of gravely shifting circumstances. Such decisions deserve scrutiny.

But he’s not the only one being tested. Even though we’re bare weeks from the last election and four full years from the next, the stakes for the Official Opposition — and those who might seek to lead it — are also significant. Conservatives need to avoid, not repeat, past mistakes. Taking a position in the fierce heat of this last week that bends to reactionary impulses, a position that would reset Canada’s refugee policy to make it effectively indistinguishable from one advocated by Donald Trump, that barking clown of American politics, would be a gigantic risk for the Conservatives. It’s essentially a bet that our screening will fail, that bad people will slip through and that harm will be done to the rest of us.

Not that Brad Wall has any specific or relevant expertise on these matters or access to intelligence briefings or security assessments. And not that his concern comes with any hard evidence. In fact, The Economist reports that since 9/11 not a single one of the 750,000 Iraqi refugees resettled in the US has been arrested for terrorism.

The hesitations of those like Brad Wall will age poorly, looking more narrow and knee-jerk with each passing day.

More likely the future unfolds this way — in the weeks to come the government fulfils its commitment and Syrian refugees begin to reach Canada. They’re well screened and responsibly processed. The families, neighbourhoods and church groups who sponsored their arrival will greet them warmly. And as they settle into communities across the country we will learn how they managed to survive in the face of barbarous odds and devastating violence.

Chances are the country will quickly come to admire the determination of these people, and it will become a measure of pride that Canada went to such lengths to help them. It also won’t take long before hindsight shows us that the hesitations of those like Brad Wall will age poorly, looking more narrow and knee-jerk with each passing day.

There is a more prudent course available to Conservatives wishing to fulfil their duty to challenge the government. They could focus their attentions on Canada’s proper contribution to the coalition. Trudeau argues that withdrawing our jets is justifiable particularly when balanced by a boost in the number of military trainers. Some will agree. Some will not. What is clear is that Conservatives can argue this point with unrestrained passion and no fear of appearing jingoistic. They can cast it as a reasonable disagreement over how we commit to collective security and avoid any suggestion that they’re trampling on Canadians’ instinct to be open and welcoming.

Such an analysis will stir the ocean of hawkish opinion washing over so much of the country’s hard-right media since last Friday. Tabloid newspapers have been crammed to overflowing with one same-think piece after another. Meanwhile, legions of Social Media Marines and Twitter Toughs lecture us on the need to stop being so soft. With a condescending told-you-so tone we’re fed a hysterical diet of complaints: that our new prime minister is naïve, that we need to raise our suspicions, close our borders and, above all else, commit to war more strenuously. Otherwise, we’re scolded, Canada will be seen as a bunch of weaklings.

But courage comes in more than one form, including the rejection of barely disguised xenophobia and rushed judgments taken in the fog of anger. It is possible to actually regard the ISIL threat seriously and not descend into inhospitable prejudice. Just as it is possible that, as public passions cool, Trudeau will end up more in tune with Canadians than his high-volume critics.

Another kind of courage is to be found in our communities — in places like the city of Peterborough. After local Muslims found their mosque gutted by arsonists in what police called a hate crime, the people of Peterborough rallied to their side. Almost overnight, the money to rebuild was raised through public donations. Even more remarkably, the doors of other local churches were opened wide to the city’s Muslims so that they might have a safe place to worship.

In sharing the news of this response, Mayor Daryl Bennett signed off his tweet with the words “Forward Together”. Bennett, incidentally is a wellknown Conservative.

His example is one that others might think to follow.