Terror Strikes Or Labour Strikes?

Weekly Commentary By Stockwell Day, MP Okanagan-Coquihalla

Terror strikes or Labour strikes, which do you prefer?

I’ve heard complaints this week about Paul Martin meeting with some Muslim leaders accused of being radical extremists.

There were so-called moderate Muslim leaders who said the prime minister was wrong to meet with dangerous radicals, to give them a platform.

And some self-confessed extremists, such as Aly Hindy, berated his fellow Muslims for meeting with the prime minister. Others said Mr. Martin was allowing a sense of respectability to those who are not respectful, just for a photo-op.

On this issue, I won’t join the critics. Without commenting on his motives, I’ll give the P.M. credit for at least keeping a dialogue going. His meeting also gives the true moderates a chance to confront the extremists in their own community.

At the Conservative Party’s Policy Convention in Montreal in March, we had a much larger meeting with a couple hundred Muslims from all walks of life. We had worked with them in setting up a special venue where all delegates could meet and exchange views.

It was a positive and healthy exchange. It had the added benefit of being an open event with people from all persuasions and walks of life. Hmmmmm, kind of like Canada itself.

Funny thing though, the national journalists were not interested in taking photos of a positive meeting hosted by Canadian Muslims with a positive response from many non-Muslims.

I realize the national media feels a need to focus on controversy, or to create it if they can’t find it, but every now and then, they should let their hair down and report some positive stuff.

Getting back to the prime minister, I know a photo I would like to have seen. A shot of Paul Martin, or any federal Liberal for that matter, meeting with the striking truckers on the Vancouver docks this past week would have been nice.

There we have 1,200 independent haulers, trying to work out longstanding problems with port authorities and over 60 brokers and shippers.

This strike is having a horrendous effect on B.C. business and on Canada’s foreign trade deficit as a whole.

Frustratingly, as in far too many other federal crises, this one could have been headed off.

The federal government needs to embrace B.C.’s “Gateway to the Pacific” plan as a matter of national interest and foreign policy.

As important as Eastern seaboard and Toronto harbour infrastructure issues are, B.C. truly is Canada’s Gateway to the Pacific.

For years the truckers and haulers have been pointing out the need to develop a more modern and efficient land-to-sea system throughout the province.

Now, only in a time of crisis do we see the federal government taking notice. Crisis management is not the way to run a country, coming up with half-baked solutions and half-filled cash offerings at election time.

Hopefully the feds will look at solutions, which we and others have put on the table. Then they could pretend there’s an election on and start taking action to implement the badly-needed initiatives.

And since I started this column mentioning terrorist extremists, let me finish on a cautiously optimistic note. Last week the Irish Republican Army declared it is renouncing the use of terror. It just goes to show (3600 murdered people later) that if civilized people stand firm against barbaric terrorists, the war on terror can be won.

Stockwell Day, MP
Okanagan-Coquihalla

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.