Migrants, war and profits: how federal politics touched Canadians this week
OTTAWA — Cynicism snaked through the corridors of Parliament Hill this week, lurking behind two competing claims of tolerance.
A Conservative motion to condemn all forms of racism was soundly defeated on Tuesday, brought down amidst accusations the Tories were stealthily stoking anti-Muslim sentiment.
The Liberals — themselves accused of playing dangerous wedge politics — prefer their own version, one that specifically mentions Islamophobia, but the Conservatives won’t vote for it, saying it threatens free speech.
Finger-pointing rhetoric aside, Canadians living along the border with the United States are seeing their tolerance tested.