CANADIAN PRESS
August 10, 2006 Thursday

Tories step up courting of ethnic voters

by Jennifer Ditchburn, canadian press

These days, you’re just as likely to see Conservative politicians
pressing the flesh at a Sikh temple or a Greek food festival as you
are at a corn roast or backyard barbecue.

Top Tories, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, have
substantially increased their visibility in Canada’s ethnic
communities.

Harper has also made at least a half-dozen policy moves or important
statements about various cultural groups – the most aggressive action
the party has taken yet to score a breakthrough with ethnic voters.

This week, Harper made the symbolic gesture of appointing a Liberal
MP, Muslim-Canadian Wajid Khan, as his adviser on the Middle East and
South Asia. The announcement comes as the Conservative Mideast policy
threatens to alienate the Lebanese and Arab communities.

List of announcements

Other announcements over the past six months include:

þ An apology and redress for the Chinese head tax.

þ An inquiry into the Air India tragedy.

þ A statement recognizing the Armenian genocide.

þ A promise last weekend to address the turning away of hundreds of
Indian passengers aboard the Kamagata Maru in 1914.

Harper also issued a statement congratulating Italian Canadians on
the victory of the Italian soccer team in the World Cup.

Conservatives say they’re challenging the conventional wisdom that
the Liberals are the party for immigrants by showing that they’re
actually putting money where their mouth is.

"The bar is higher for us," said Goldy Hyder, a Tory strategist and
longtime advocate of outreach to cultural communities.

"Whereas Liberals can get away with lip service, Conservatives have
to actually deliver . . . in order to say we just didn’t talk about
it. That builds credibility in the constituencies."

The outreach is also part of an effort to shake the intolerance label
that the Liberals successfully attached to the Conservatives and
their predecessors in past elections.

Sometimes it was the candidates and MPs who provided the fodder.
There was Canadian Alliance candidate Betty Granger’s comment about
an "Asian invasion" during the 2000 election. And Calgary incumbent
Eric Lowther once suggested the country could hold a referendum on
immigration.

Visibility is key to the new strategy, and so there are emissaries.

Environment Minister Rona Ambrose speaks Portuguese and often attends
that community’s events. MP Barry Devolin speaks Korean and does his
part. Health Minister Tony Clement, whose father was a Greek Cypriot,
will be at the Taste of the Danforth Greek food festival this
weekend.

Busy weekends

Then there’s the king of the cultural event, Alberta MP Jason Kenney,
a parliamentary secretary to the prime minister charged with
outreach.

One particular weekend, Kenney attended a dozen events, including
gatherings of Afghans, Tamils, Sikhs, Armenians, Hindus and the
Jewish community.

On a non-partisan level, Kenney said the various communities are
simply appreciative of having a federal government representative at
their events.

On a political level, he said the party is shaking loose some of the
support that’s traditionally gone to the Liberals with a combination
of targeted announcements, but also by promoting tax cuts, a tough
law-and-order policy and respect for the "family unit."

"These are universal aspirations, and they just respect a government
that is accountable, that keeps its promises, that gives more freedom
to individuals economically and respects the family unit."

Rattan Mall, editor of The Indo-Canadian Voice newspaper in British
Columbia, said the party’s gestures are making a difference.

"Despite the suspicions against the former Reform party and the
traditional backing for the federal Liberal party, there is a shift –
it’s taking place very gingerly, people are just testing the waters,
but people are very impressed with what Harper is doing," he said.

But he noted that immigration is often at the heart of the
community’s concerns, and Harper will be watched closely for what he
does on that file.

Victor Wong of the Chinese Canadian National Council said the Chinese
head tax in particular has had a "restorative" impact on that
community, but Chinese Canadians won’t necessarily support a party
based on a single issue.

"I think for some, there will be more checkmarks in the Conservative
column," said Wong. "But they’ll still have to see the whole
package."

And there are still Conservatives who oppose Canada’s immigration
policy.

GRAPHIC: Prime Minister Stephen Harper gives the "thumbs up" with a
group of Indian dancers as they have their picture taken in Surrey,
B.C., last Sunday.