Liberals still getting criticism from within

By Dan Hilborn
Published April 24, 2004


Tony Kuo is refusing to back down from allegations that the Liberal Party of Canada is using a discriminatory, race-based process to choose its candidate for the Burnaby-Douglas riding.

After making the claims during an emotionally charged, live television news conference Wednesday afternoon, Kuo continued to lash out at party president Bill Cunningham and Prime Minister Paul Martin on Friday morning during an interview with the Burnaby Now.

"If he continues to do this ... if he refuses to do this, our conclusion is that Bill Cunningham is a chicken," Kuo told the Now. "He needs a big daddy prime minister to push all the minority candidates away.

"But if he can't get the nomination without the help of big daddy, how can Bill Cunningham win the election for the Liberal party? If he does this, this is undemocratic, this is discriminatory and this is race-based," Kuo said.

Kuo made the comments after reading a Vancouver Sun story that said Prime Minister Paul Martin is proud of his party's longtime support for multiculturalism.

"The Liberal party has right from he beginning been a great coalition of people right around the world," Martin told reporter Peter O'Neil. "That's our great strength. It was in the time of my father and it is very, very much today."

The whole debacle started on Tuesday afternoon, when an "urgent media advisory" was issued by the Burnaby-Douglas Liberal riding association, expressing concern about the way the Liberal party was handling the nomination process in the riding.

"We, the riding association board, have repeatedly urged the prime minister, in writing, to address this issue, but have been ignored in every instance," said the statement. "Therefore, unless he proves to the contrary, we, the Burnaby-Douglas federal Liberal party riding association, will unanimously deem the Prime Minister's conduct in this matter to be discriminatory, race-based and undemocratic.

"The Liberal Party of Canada, from the late prime minister Lester Pearson to former prime minister Jean Chretien, could once boast of having a proud record of promoting multiculturalism and minority rights. Today, unfortunately, the party is becoming increasingly out of touch with the reality of the Canadian multiethnic mosaic. In spite of all his empty promises to the contrary, the 'democratic deficit' remains alive and well under Prime Minister Paul Martin."

Tania Kourline, the riding association spokesperson named on the press release, told the Burnaby Now that she was in meetings on Thursday and would be able to speak to the subject on Friday morning. She did not call.

But Tony Lee, a longtime Burnaby Liberal who is also seeking the nomination in the riding, said the process may be discriminatory, but it is not racist.

"You have to look at it from different angles," Lee said. "If you think that our representation has to reflect the proportion of ethnic groups in the community, in that case we are discriminated against because the riding is made up of 30 per cent Asians, and approximately 43 per cent are ethnic minorities.

"But based on the facts, Burnaby-Douglas has sent forth visible minority candidates in the past," Lee said. He also said the three previous Liberal candidates in the riding - Franca Zumpano, Mobina Jaffer and Kwangyul Peck - all came from visible minority communities.

"On this basis, I believe the federal Liberal party is not racially discriminatory. We are an inclusive party."

However, until his nomination papers are approved and he is given the green light to sign up new members, Lee agreed that the party is not offering a level playing field for the potential candidates.

Meanwhile, the person at the heart of the storm believes that the party may well soon decide to hold a formal nomination meeting for the riding.

Cunningham, who was contacted on Friday morning before Kuo made his most recent controversial comments, said that he has always expected to have to win a nomination race before being declared the candidate.

"I entered this race on the presumption that that (a nomination meeting) was going to happen. That is what my campaign team is preparing for," Cunningham said, adding that he expects some kind of announcement on the nomination process for the riding within two weeks.