During the late 1970s Harper’s beloved National Citizens Coalition embarked on a campaign designed to stop the “invasion” of Vietnamese boat people. Founder Colin M. Brown led the charge. During the campaign, Brown attempted to explain why letting in Hungarians fleeing communism after the Soviet crackdown was a justified and why letting in Vietnamese boat people fleeing communism was not. “I think the Hungarians have made marvelous citizens,” Brown declared, “but the bloodlines run the same way. We all come from Europe so they fit in. You wouldn’t know if the people next door to you are Hungarian or not. They don’t all go and gather in a ghetto.”

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In the 2000 election Alliance candidate Betty Granger also spoke of Hungarian refugees as helping build Canada to were it is today. “Canada was founded, my heavens, on immigration. We've had the Hungarian revolution. We've got to have open-door policy for many, many reasons. Canada's a largely unsettled country, if you will. We're sort of urbanized." And she famously also spoke of an “Asian Invasion” and of the dangers of, presumably, Chinese boat people.

"Have you been to the West Coast? Oh about five years ago I was out there actually on school trustee business and found myself staying with friends that live there. I call it the Asian invasion, but that might not be the best wording, but nevertheless, the Asian students that have come over to Canada pressured the university system. Our own Canadian students actually could not even get into some of our university programs in Vancouver and Victoria. The land prices, apparently they're buying up blocks and blocks -- a well-monied population buying up blocks and blocks of real estate, building ... like there's a whole economy that (U of W political science department chair) Alan (Mills) was referring to that could occur in Manitoba that is occurring there. I wanted to talk to you also about what was happening once Hong Kong shut down with the boat people, the highly questionable people wanting citizenship in our own country. Our own due process had to go into play. We've actually interred some Asian peoples for a year before they were sent back to their homes. I think that problem has been addressed to some degree, but this is problematic not only for immigration, but also for justice issues because there was a realization that what was coming off these boats was not the best clientele you would want to come into this country.”

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Coincidently or not, Stephen Harper spoke of Asian ghettoes and Asian immigrants not integrating into Canadian society in 2001. “West of Winnipeg the ridings the Liberals hold are dominated by people who are either recent Asian immigrants or recent migrants from Eastern Canada: people who live in ghettoes and who are not integrated into Western Canadian society.”

Finally, in 2002 Harper went to bat for Betty Granger. According to Harper, people’s anger at Granger was misplaced. It was Granger who was the victim; She was a victim of a “slur” campaign that he likened to a “kind of low-level form of McCarthyism.”

“Betty Granger is a riding president, a member in good standing. She’s somebody that other members I’ve talked to think very highly of, and quite frankly, she was the victim of an unfair slur story in the last election campaign." (Calgary Herald, January 15, 2002)

 

“Betty Granger is party president in the Winnipeg area and o¬ne of a large number of party presidents that are supporting this campaign. So, I think this kind of thing is just kind of a low-level form of McCarthyism.” (CTV ”Question Period”, February 10, 2002)

 

For what it is worth, I think the Conservatives have abandoned their southern, err Western, plan and moved on. Minority groups are all brothers in arms now; in any furture cultural war the colonial troops will be vital in "protecting" marriage and other threats to the "traditional values".

Seriously, I am not tarring Harper with comments made by some ex minster's assistants, I am questioning his publically stated views. If he does not want to clear the air and explain himself, these statments will continue to dog him and well they should.

If anyone thinks these statments are defensible, then please defend them. I do not think they are. I think it is pretty clear that Ganger was pandering to something pretty nasty.

Harper went to bat for someone who claimed that

A) "asian students" are stealing university spots from our "Canadian students". I am surprised she did not drop all pretense altogether and speak directly to people's fears of UBC becomming "University of a Billion Chinks"

B) "They" are driving up housing prices by buying up all the land.

C) "there was a realization that what was coming off these boats was not the best clientele you would want to come into this country" Boat loads of criminals are comming over. China has emptied is jails, a la Cuba, and they are headed for the Western shores of Canada.