Michael Higgins: Liberal MP attacks Canadians by spreading P.E.I. protest-fire hoax

Liberal MP Sean Casey would have done better last week condemning the pesky mosquito, that scourge of summer, rather than issuing a self-righteous, moralizing manifesto that appeared to attack Canadians.

High on dudgeon, but low on fact, Casey went to bat for a group of foreign workers in Charlottetown, PEI, who claimed that a protesters’ tent was deliberately set on fire while people were sleeping inside.

In his written tirade, the Charlottetown MP didn’t quite say “this is not who we are” as he vehemently condemned the anonymous arsonists, but he came awfully close to it.

As it turned out, it’s not who Canadians are.

Contrary to what Casey and the protesters appeared to allege, the fire was not the result of hate-filled Canadians reenacting Mississippi Burning, but an accident caused by a mosquito coil.

But such is the rush by some Liberals, including Casey, to show their compassionate and caring side that things like truth, facts and reality are left in the dust.

Dozens of foreign workers have been protesting in Charlottetown over changes the provincial government is making to its immigration strategy.

The province is nominating 1,600 workers for immigration this year, a drop of 500 people. Some temporary foreign workers already in the province believe this will hurt their chances of acquiring permanent residency.

Immigration for the provinces is a difficult issue compounded as it is by ineptness by the Trudeau government.

One of the main reasons the PEI government is reducing immigration is to alleviate the housing shortage and reduce pressure on the health system. A problem other provinces also face.

“PEI, like many jurisdictions, is faced with finding the right balance of welcoming new residents to our Island workforce and relieving the pressure population growth has on our increasingly stressed public services and infrastructure system,” said Premier Dennis King earlier this year.

In protest, some of PEI’s foreign workers set up camp months ago outside the provincial legislature before moving to the grounds of St. Paul’s Church, the scene of the tent fire on Aug. 12.

After the fire, one of the protest organizers, Rupinder Pal Singh, said they wouldn’t be scared away and demanded police action to protect them from the supposed arsonists.

As police and fire officials probed what amounted to a not very large hole in the protesters’ tent, Casey decided to bypass the investigators’ role and, in thunderous tones, seemed to cast aspersions on Canadian society.

“I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the recent tent fire at the encampment where individuals have been peacefully protesting policy changes to PEI’s immigration system,” he began. “This act of Intimidation is not only illegal and completely unacceptable, it goes against the core values of our democratic society.”

In other words: this is not who we are.

The fire could have had “a tragic outcome,” he said.

“Peaceful protest is a fundamental right in Canada, and any attempt to threaten or silence such expressions of dissent cannot be tolerated.”

As a defence of freedom of speech, Casey was right, except no one was being threatened or silenced. The issue was less the fundamental rights of man, and more an overheated mosquito coil.

Casey went on that the callous treatment of the province had contributed to online abuse “that has now manifested itself into real danger.” Violence and intimidation had no place in Charlottetown, he said, vowing to stand with the protesters in the face of adversity.

It was a lot of hot air, hyperbole and cliches for what police would shortly conclude was an accidental fire.

But Casey didn’t wait for the police to investigate, he was more interested in laying blame, on attacking provincial policies, on establishing his compassionate bona fides.

This rush to judgement, and the unseemly urgency to showcase perceived Liberal values of tenderness and thoughtfulness, has gotten Trudeau’s government in trouble before.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly were guilty of similar reprehensible behaviour when they basically accused Israel of bombing a hospital before it transpired a misfired rocket from within Gaza actually caused the damage.

For both Trudeau and Joly, attacking Israel before the facts were known fitted their purpose: it allowed them to grandstand their so-called Liberal virtues. It mattered not that it added fuel to an antisemitic fire.

Casey’s grandstanding will do little to help foster cordial relations in the province of PEI.

Who exactly did he think he was accusing with his diatribe if not ordinary Canadians? Why could he not have waited 24 hours and saved himself the embarrassment of putting out another statement that sheepishly admitted the fire was accidental?

But even in that walk-back statement he couldn’t stop himself from trying to appear morally superior.

“The situation still serves as a stark reminder of the challenges and risks faced by those who exercise their right to peaceful protest,” he proclaimed.

Absolutely, those damn mosquito coils can be a real challenge to free expression.

National Post