Canada

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

A BC Liberal government news release accuses Jagrup Brar of expressing over-the-top admiration for communist Cuba, saying Brar may well be giving a glimpse into the secret desires of the province's NDP caucus. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A Cuban vacation for an Opposition British Columbia New Democrat has drummed up old-school, red-scare communist rhetoric from the Liberal government.

Liberal Bill Bennett, a top lieutenant in Premier Christy Clark's election readiness team, took aim Monday at what he called the blatant infatuation with communism expressed by Surrey New Democrat Jagrup Brar following his week-long stay at a Cuban resort.

Bennett further suggested Brar's pro-Cuba comments peel back the underlying fondness within the BC New Democrat caucus for state-run, clampdown-style governments, something that should worry freedom-loving British Columbians.

Brar told a Radio India audience in Metro Vancouver last week that the gap between rich and poor is virtually non-existent in Cuba, education is free and no child goes to bed hungry.

"Jagrup's interview should be a wake-up call for any British Columbian who values individual enterprise and individual freedom," Bennett said in a statement.

"While Cubans risk their lives in tiny fishing boats across shark-infested waters to escape one of the world's last communist regimes, the B.C. NDP seems to suggest British Columbia ought to copy Cuba's approach."

Bennett, whose outspoken views once landed him outside of the Liberal caucus after a public feud with former premier Gordon Campbell, said Brar's comments indicate an NDP taste for state-control government.

"Sometimes when people are most relaxed, such as after a refreshing holiday in the Caribbean, they are most likely to express their innermost thoughts," said Bennett. "In this case, Jagrup may well have given us a glimpse into the secret desires of the BC NDP caucus."

Bennett called on NDP Leader Adrian Dix to distance himself from his clearly communist-infatuated MLA, and he called on Brar to retract his comments and apologize to Cuban Canadians.

NDP caucus chairman Shane Simpson scoffed at Bennett's comments, saying the Liberals should concentrate on BC issues rather than attack an Opposition member's holiday reports.