Dear Friend,

2007 is shaping up to be another year filled with political excitement and drama. Just today, Stéphane Dion announced his shadow cabinet that will lead the party in holding the Conservatives to account and in shaping policy debates. I am delighted to have been entrusted with a senior role as Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. This file is vital to Canada's social and economic success and I am confident that I will be able to offer intelligent and useful insight to the debates on this matter.

Although I am tempted to focus on this appointment and the future, I must address the recent transparent attempts by Mr. Harper to claim success in attracting the so called "ethnic" voters with the defection of Wajid Khan.

The Prime Minister is making a huge mistake if he thinks that simplistic slogans and fake photo-ops will be a successful strategy in attracting new voters. It will require a lot more work that would involve reforming his policies, adjusting his language and adjusting his perceptions.

First, there is no link between ethnicity and voting behaviour. However, there is a link between policy priorities, needs and voting behaviour. New Canadians and other minorities have similar needs to other Canadians. They want a better health care system, education system, jobs, safer communities, sustainable environment, competitive taxes and a government that recognizes its responsibilities in those areas. But they also have unique experiences and perspectives that may not occur to the majority and hope that their various needs and traditions to be respected and recognized.

The Conservatives have traditionally ignored those needs and dismissed this reality. Let's examine what the Conservatives have done, in less than a year, that would only exacerbate the fears that minorities have towards their policies:

1) The cancellation of the Court Challenges Program: This was an initiative that provided access for minority groups to the courts so they could test any laws that may be discriminatory. History has shown that this initiative has helped various groups in asserting their rights which were neglected when the laws were drafted. For example: Immigrant women were not allowed to receive language training until this program helped them challenge that policy in the Supreme Court. Many believe that the only reason the Conservatives cancelled that program is because of their ideology.

2) Adopting a confrontational foreign policy: Most new Canadians arrive with strong family and social ties to their home countries. Canada traditionally embraces immigrants from all over the world and promotes an environment of mutual respect and appreciation. With this harmony, diversity and a deep humility in understanding other parts of the world, Canadians have come to expect their government to adopt a multilateral and responsible approach in dealing with foreign affairs. The Conservatives tend to be single-minded, confrontational and one- dimensional in dealing with global issues; this turns off millions of Canadians.

3) Their rank and file is infested with unfriendly attitudes towards immigrants and minorities: Earlier this year they attempted to appoint Gwyn Morgan as the Public Appointment Commissioner. Mr. Morgan has been on record blaming Jamaican-Canadians for importing a culture of violence to Canada. Such stereotypes are not only wrong but harmful to Canadians. The Conservatives need to develop a more realistic understanding of our country’s social and racial dynamics before they can expect minorities to give them their confidence.

4) Their insistence on making Canadians feel guilty for holding dual citizenship: The Conservatives are bent on questioning the loyalty of Canadians if they possess a second citizenship. Millions of Canadians are offended by that attitude and feel that they are being treated as second-class citizens.

5) Undocumented workers: The Conservatives' approach when dealing with undocumented workers lacks compassion and economic sense and appears to only be driven by blind ideology.

6) Attempts to pit communities against each other: The Conservative strategy to create animosity between communities by inflaming emotions or claiming moral superiority will never appeal to new Canadians. Minorities know that the use of such a strategy could make them the next target and therefore prefer a conciliatory, consensus-building type of approach.

I could continue, recalling the Conservative rush to conclude that Maher Arar is a terrorist mainly because of his background, or remind us of various quotes that blamed "ethnic" communities for political outcomes, but I think you get the idea.

I think it is healthy that political parties compete for votes. After all, this is how our democratic system operates. But the competition needs to be intelligent and based on ideas and policies. Assumptions that some Canadians are less sophisticated or that they can be bought with empty rhetoric is offensive to many and will ultimately back fire.

If the Conservatives truly want to attract more voters, they must recognize the flaws in their policies and adopt a fundamentally new approach. Don't get me wrong though, I am not vying for the role of the next Special Advisor to the Prime Minister.

In closing, I want to draw your attention to this quote: "After years of making anti-immigrant statements, the Conservatives are now trying to cast themselves as pro-immigrant. How ironic." Wajid Khan made that statement in the House of Commons in April of 2005.

Omar