LABOUR
AND COMMUNITY LEADERS SLAM CAMPAIGN BIGOTRY
For
immediate release
Toronto
October 24th, 2003
Labour
and community leaders came together to condemn a bigoted election leaflet
of Catholic School Board Trustee Mike Del Grande.
Del Grande is running against Councillor Sherene Shaw in
Scarborough Ward 39. His
flyer states “After fifteen years of foreign representation, it’s time
to elect a local resident with a proven track record to represent you”.
Shaw is of Guyanese
origin, and chairs the City’s Committee on Ethnic and Race
Relations.
Speaking
at today’s media conference in Kensington Market, the symbol of
multiculturalism in the city were:
Marie
Clarke-Walker, Vice President of the 2.5 million member Canadian Labour
Congress
Dr.
Joseph Wong, founding member of the Chinese Canadian National Council
Lister
Tennant, Carpenters Union Representative
John
Cartwright, President, Toronto & York Region Labour Council
Lister
Tennant, a Scarborough resident, saw the flyer first and was shocked
at its message. “I have
been here for 35 years, but this makes me feel like anyone who was not
born in Canada is somehow not entitled to seek elected office, or for that
matter, not an equal citizen.”
Dr.
Wong said “This reminds me
of the infamous W-5 television show that profiled Asians 24 years ago. It
was wrong, and had to ultimately issue an apology.
It is appalling that such a message is being delivered many years
later in this election.”
Marie
Clarke-Walker, also a Scarborough resident, explained that when her 15
year old son saw the flyer, his immediate response was that it was racist.
“As a student in the Catholic School system, he knows that Del
Grande is a trustee. The
labour movement does not accept that anyone holding public office can
issue this kind of material.” said Clarke-Walker.
“We
have worked for a long time to build an understanding of how harmful
racism is within the workplace, and in our society.
We will to continue to speak out against it”.
John
Cartwright, Labour Council President, called on both Del Grande and the
Catholic School Board to repudiate the language in the flyer. “Toronto
prides itself on its diversity and multiculturalism”, he said ”from
our Olympic Bid to the plans of the City Summit Alliance, we continually
say that our prosperity and our social well-being is based on welcoming
newcomers to this city, and building racial harmony. The fact that Del
Grande was Chair of the Catholic School Board for two terms, and is
currently an elected trustee, means there is a very different level of
impact on these words. Any
form of racism or bigotry is out of place in Canada’s largest urban
centre.”
When
questioned whether the term ”foreign” could refer to Ms. Shaw living
just outside the ward, all of the participants replied that the flyer
would have said that if that is all that was intended. But the wording was
clearly designed to play on another issue - that of prejudice and
intolerance.
