BC Liberals Pandering To Chinese Voters: Christy Clarke

UNCOMMON SENSE: Expect false advertising come election time

Adrian MacNair is a reporter for the South Delta Leader

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Published: March 15, 2013 9:00 AM

 

First it was the carbon tax. Then it was the HST. Now it’s the so-called “ethnicgate” scandal.
It seems like just as one dark cloud blows over for the BC Liberal government another one takes its place.
In case you haven’t heard the news, a leaked document from the BC Liberals last month shows that the party intended to implement a “multicultural strategy” to woo ethnic voters.
It included things like tailoring government and caucus news for ethnic media outlets and using ethnic spokespersons, identifying and targeting faith-based groups, and apologizing for historic wrongs like the Chinese head tax to produce “quick wins” for the party.
This leaked document understandably created some anger, particularly because some of these political strategies would seemingly involve using taxpayer—and not party—money.
But is it really surprising to learn the Liberals were targeting cultural groups?
Trying to broaden the party’s base support by pandering to ethnic minorities (or even majorities, such as the Chinese demographic in Richmond) is nothing new.
The federal Conservative Party has worked feverishly to implement strategies that reach out to ethnic voters, field ethnic candidates in ridings where demographics allow, and work on policies that appeal to them.
An internal document that surfaced during the 2011 federal election revealed that the party was implementing similar strategies in more than 30 ethnic ridings that they believed could give them a majority government.
One Conservative candidate in Toronto sent out an email to community groups asking whether they could dress up in “ethnic costumes” for a photo op with Stephen Harper.
There was some wailing and gnashing of teeth at the time, but after some damage control the issue was dropped.
It’s not as though the federal Conservatives invented ethnic pandering either.
Whether it be a photo-op of former NDP leader Jack Layton with a head covering at a Sikh temple, or Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson wearing traditional Chinese clothing for a council meeting, politicians are constantly looking for ways to appeal to the broadest possible audience.
Is such a strategy a cynical example of the depths to which politics has plunged? Well, sure. But even that isn’t news.
I find it just as distasteful when politicians pretend the economy is swimming along when it’s tanking, or claim we’re flush with cash when we’re rolling in debt, or tell you they’re not raising taxes even though you can see your health premiums have jumped eight percent in the past two years.
The fact is, if you’re looking for truth in advertising you might want to stop listening to politicians.