Immigration: the Liberals lack Vision and Coherent Policy

I hope Liberals have the good sense not go to polls over changes to the Immigration and Refugee Act. The Liberals lack a compelling vision and their messaging is ineffective, ineffectual, scattered and times pathetic. The source of the problem is that Liberals deluded themselves into believing yet again that coherent policy is not needed. So long as a piece of legislation targets enough constituencies it is a political winner. Policy be damned.

The problem is that if you brining down the government on this issue you should have a compelling vision and policy that embodies the principles set forth in this vision. If the government is brought down over this it is not going to limited to immigrant community. Furthermore even to the extent that is issue mainly of issue to various ethnic groups, the Liberals do not have the resources, governmental or otherwise, to narrow cast. They are not going to be able to use the public purse, the way the Conservatives repeatedly and shamelessly do, to run an expensive ad campaign promoting something that has not become law yet.

The immigration issue is in a microcosm of what is wrong with the Liberal party. Gone is Trudeau’s grand liberal vision with its commitment to liberty equality and fraternity. It has been replaced strategy of targeting and feeding various component parts while letting the body politic starve for sustenance and substance. The history of Canada’s 39th government to date has been the story of Conservatives trying to undermine these Liberal networks and niche markets. This has turned the Liberals, once the champions of change, into the defenders of the status quo and the Conservatives into the agents of change. Needless to say, it is truly pathetic to see Canada’s so called Liberal party, in opposition no less, assumes such a role.