Why Have So Many Cabinet Members Still Not Spoken Out on Stopping Government Funding for an Anti-Semite?
Earlier this week, Liberal MP Anthony Housefather called on all 338 Members of Parliament to say something about the need to combat anti-semitism and to express concern about the government's funding of an anti-semite as part of its anti-hate program. At that point, there were few MPs who had spoken publicly, leaving the issue largely to Jewish MPs to express concern. As I noted in a post reflecting on the issue, the message in the silence is that anti-semitism is a Jewish problem, not a broader societal concern. While I realize there is something performative about issuing a statement via tweet, elected officials do this all the time as a signal of their priorities or interests and to amplify their message.
Yet days later, the message has not been amplified and it would appear that the issue is not a priority. As of last night, I could find that only 1/3 of the cabinet has said anything about this issue in the weeks since it emerged: 11 cabinet ministers by tweet or retweet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in two press conferences, and Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez in a statement provided in response to a journalist query (but, to date, no actual statement has been publicly released).
The cabinet ministers with tweets or retweets are:
Marco Mendicino (August 22) - RT Hussen
Marc Miller (August 29) (and RT Hussen)
I'd be happy to correct, but my review indicates that leaves two-thirds of the cabinet in silence:
Lawrence MacAulay
Dominic LeBlanc
Jean-Yves Duclos
Marie-Claude Bibeau
Melanie Joly
Diane Lebouthillier
Harjit Sajjan
Patty Hadju
FP Champagne
Karina Gould
Mary Ng
Filomena Tassi
Joyce Murray
Anita Anand
Mona Fortier
Steven Guilbeault
Dan Vandal
Omar Alghabra
Randy Boissonnault
Sean Fraser
Mark Holland
Gudie Hutchings
Marcie Ien
Helena Jaczek
Kamal Khera
Pascale St-Onge
In addition to the cabinet ministers, there have been a few MPs that have tweeted, retweeted, or responded to direct questions with a tweet. But the overall picture is one of far too much indifference. The reaction has sparked concern from many in the Jewish community, including communications professionals who wrote to Rodriguez and Hussen to urge a more public response (I am a signatory). In fact, Trudeau has never issued a formal statement and Rodriguez has yet to tweet or issue his statement publicly either. When I asked the department for the statement, I was told to ask his press secretary. Repeated requests have gone unanswered.
Then there is Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage Chris Bittle, who after apologizing and deleting a tweet suggesting I am racist, turned to misinformation when he told a reporter that he was "bullied by a bully and got baited into a tweet" despite the fact that I don't follow him on twitter, never tagged him in a tweet, and muted his account months ago.
Before this issue recedes from the spotlight, I think it should be clearly stated that this is not remotely a good enough response for any government, much less one that has emphasized anti-hate and Internet speech regulation. This should not have been hard: a serious mistake was made and a serious government would accept responsibility, immediately cut funding, commit without hesitation to an investigation to ensure it never happens again, and provide a united, vocal front in affirming its deep belief in combatting anti-semitism. I am at a loss to explain why each of these steps has been slow in coming, but I believe it will not be soon forgotten.