Tory language critic resigns

BRIAN LAGHI

From Friday's Globe and Mail

May 28, 2004 at 1:35 AM EDT

Winnipeg — The Conservative Party faced a major blow to its campaign Thursday, when the critic for official languages resigned his post after bucking the party line by calling for cuts to services for minority-language groups.

Leader Stephen Harper accepted Scott Reid's resignation late Thursday night after the leader was forced to rebuke him for his remarks.

The resignation came in a one-sentence statement just before midnight.

Earlier in the day, the Conservative Leader said he wouldn't fire the MP, who is a close confidant.

Ottawa-area MP Scott Reid, shown during a news conference in this 2001 file photo, has resigned as Conservative language critic. (Fred Chartrand/CP)

Mr. Reid, who is fluent in French and English, continues to hold his job as critic for intergovernmental affairs and will run to retain his seat in a riding west of Ottawa.

Only four days ago Mr. Harper promised a Quebec audience he would protect French inside and outside the province. He said in an election stop in Winnipeg that comments by Mr. Reid do not reflect those of the party.

The Conservative Leader, however, did not fire Mr. Reid from his position as critic for official languages, nor did he close the door to changes in the policy in the future.

The controversy was also the first significant episode in which the past of the Canadian Alliance and Reform parties past has come back to haunt the Conservatives, which was formed from the roots of those two parties merged with the Progressive Conservatives.

But Mr. Harper told reporters while in St. Boniface, a mostly French-speaking area of Winnipeg, that bilingualism as defined by Pierre Trudeau is not the ideal either.

"It's different to have a bilingual country ΰ la Trudeau, versus a country with two languages and I think our policies have to be adapted to the realities of the country, not to Trudeau's ideal."

Mr. Reid, described by Mr. Harper recently as "one of the smartest guys I know," has been a strong advocate of changing the program and wrote a critical review of the policy that argues it failed in its goals.

News reports quoted Mr. Reid yesterday as saying he supports removing Ottawa's obligation to offer bilingual services in several parts of Canada.

Mr. Reid's remark invited a rebuke from Liberal Leader Paul Martin.

"This is a question of principle and I find it really quite disappointing that Mr. Harper was unable to express himself on what I think is an essential foundation of the way we look at the country," he said while campaigning in Victoria.

Although Mr. Harper said he does not envision changes at this time, he laid out his own philosophy that communities where French is spoken first are best equipped to keep the language alive.

"We have to provide minority service where language warrants, but I think obviously we do it in a way that makes sure that strong communities stay strong."He said his party would make changes to the bilingualism policy in the country only if there was a wide consensus in his own caucus and among parliamentarians.

But yesterday, former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna said Mr. Reid is "speaking in code" when he talks about cutbacks to bilingual government services.

"I really worry when people are sending that kind of a signal — in code — to supporters because I think it means a sea change in the kind of Canada that I embrace," Mr. McKenna said yesterday in Ottawa.

Mr. McKenna said Mr. Reid is "signalling to people that we're going to look after bilingualism — don't you worry — but not saying it in a loud enough voice that it will become an issue."The party has made strenuous efforts to portray itself as moderate, particularly given the history of the Reform Party, for which Mr. Harper once wrote policy. Reform had in the past supported asking Canadians through a referendum to create a language policy that recognized the demographic reality of the country.

The new party has not specifically included bilingualism in a comprehensive platform document, but says English and French have equality of status, and equal rights and privileges as to their use within the government.

With reports Campbell Clark and Simon Tuck

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