Regardless of what specifics we're using in a different context, the real point I'm trying to make is that it's not asylum seekers crossing borders that we need to fear; it's the ideas and the potential for discrimination that are invading our politics that I am most concerned about.
I wanted to take this chance. As an StFX graduate, you may appreciate, Minister, a very inspirational story about a newcomer family, the Hadhads, who are making chocolate in Antigonish. My friend Tareq Hadhad posted not long ago on Facebook. He said, “I am so sad how #Ontario government is acting against the real Canadian values of openness and welcome by spreading hatred that impacts directly the most vulnerable group of asylum seekers. No one was born to immigrate. But if they are forced to leave their homes, let's show some kindness! #kindnessMatters”.
This is the impact, intended or not, of some of the language being used, not just by you but people across the political spectrum. We need to be careful. My request is for you, when you get back to Queen's Park, to have a conversation with your colleagues—and I'll undertake to do the same with mine—that we be careful in our choice of language, because words matter. It's causing a real impact for the people who live and work in my riding.