Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative MP from Nepean, Ont. is facing questions this afternoon from opposition politicians who are curious about his use of the term “tar baby” twice in Question Period, this afternoon. Liberal Ralph Goodale and NDP MP Paul Dewar both objected to this racially-charged term with points of order in the House after QP. Wikipedia tells us that, at the very least, one ought to be a little careful using this phrase. During the last provincial election in Ontario, a Hamilton-area Liberal candidate who was a black woman was called a “a tar baby” by a columnist in a local paper. Columnist Kevin Verner ended up apologizing to candidate Nerene Virgin.
“The use of this term is unacceptable,” Virgin said at a press conference at the time. “It's like a linguistic shackle and it just anchors us in the past.”
For the record, here's what Poilievre said in the House:
Hon. John McKay (Scarborough—Guildwood, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, in the first year the government sole-sourced 40% of its $17 billion in military procurements. It is estimated that sole-sourcing increasing costs by 30%.
However that is just the tip of the iceberg. We have a finance minister who has a talent for pricing illegal contracts to his friends but shows no aptitude for estimating deficits. We have a Prime Minister who craves appearances on U.S. television while driving Canada's fiscal house into the ditch.
Why?
Mr. Pierre Poilievre (Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, CPC): Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we have a leader, a real Canadian leader.
On that side of the House, they have the man who fathered the carbon tax, put it up for adoption to his predecessor and now wants a paternity test to prove the tar baby was never his in the first place. He attacks the deficit that he voted for but wants billions more for a 45-day work year.
On this side of the House, we stand for lower taxes, strong economic action plan, getting the job done for Canadians. That is where we stand. That is our leader.
Then later …
Mr. LaVar Payne (Medicine Hat, CPC): Mr. Speaker, last May, CTV's Craig Oliver asked the Liberal leader:
Now that you're the first leader as a candidate for leader to talk about a carbon tax and you took a little bit of heat for that, do you still believe in a carbon tax? Of course you do.
The Liberal leader replied:
I do, Craig. I learned there's no punishment more severe in politics than being the first guy with a good idea.
Is that what the Liberal leader meant when he asked, last month, “Will we have to raise taxes?”?
Would the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister please inform the House?
Mr. Pierre Poilievre (Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader should give himself more credit. He fathered the carbon tax idea. Then he generously put it up for adoption to his predecessor. And now, of course, he wants a paternity test to prove that this tar baby is not his.
He says the coalition on which he signed in support of would break up the country. He attacks the deficit that he voted for and wants billions more of spending, even on a 45-day EI work year. When he is in Britain, he is British. When he is in America, he is American. When he is in B.C., he is against the auto bailout. When he is in Ontario, he wants it to be bigger. The Liberal leader does not seem to know who he is.
UPDATE: PMO answer to this blog post: Nope.
A bad pun on the Carbon Tax and the LPC playing politics with the Tar Sands… not very clever but a hard stretch to make him into some kind of raving racist.
Give it a rest Akin you pathetic Liberal hack
You have to ask? That's disburbing. Keep in mind, he was told it was wrong and still wouldn't apologize.
No defence on this one. He's got a track record – remember.
MI has a love affair with the Alberta Tar sands,
and Pierre calls the love child a Tar baby.
That's funny!
Liberals rush in screaming 'racist', is that how environmentalists will see the comment?
I don't see it used in any way that would make it racist and in fact, my guess is that Poilievre may not even understand what the term means. He's young, I'm quite sure my children wouldn't understand when the term comes from. Aren't there more important things to discuss?
Do you idiots actually not realize that this is an awful racist slur right up there with the n-word? Or do you just not care because you are supporting your good ole boy?
No worse than “cat meat”, baby.
Wow, lots of anonymous cowards in here. This was clearly a signal from the Conservative party to their racist supporters. Shameful at best.
Using the term “tar baby” is NOT racist. It is referring to a W.B. Thornton story, I believe. The details are a bit fuzzy in my memory now, but I used to know it well. It is about a fox that got the better of a rabbit by putting a doll covered with tar on the path. The rabbit was insensed that the doll wouldn't answer him, and kept giving him cuffs for his insolence. Soon the poor rabbit was totally stuck to the doll. That's basically the story as I remember it. Nowadays, the expression 'tar baby' is used when a person won't give up on something, which just makes it worse and worse. So Pollievre used it in the correct sense. Maybe the opposition is making a tar baby out of this issue!!
What a bunch of uneducated dim wits, read this before you start mouthing off.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_baby
Akin's you should know better. Always trying to create a race issue against the CPC. I wonder who the racist really are.
Right on. Why do people try to make something out of nothing…it's all about trying to make a political point that doesn't need to be made. I say, grow up already.
The fact that the previous poster has to go to such onerous lengths to justify the use of the expression further mires the story.
Perhaps Mr. P. is the clever fox tossing that out so we talk about something else rather that the abysmal economic performance of this government
Whatever the reason, whatever justification is used, it is unacceptable.
Do you also think that spearchucker simply refers to someone who throws spears?
Hey, he apologized.
Poilievre didn't.
Wilson thinks it's funny? Wilson is disgusting.
I think Pierre was last seen dueling banjos after that remark.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary. Tar Baby: “something from which it is nearly impossible to extricate oneself”.
For most Canadians, this expression has only one meaning. The fact that he repeated the same comment twice can only mean that he had given the expression some thought before using it – he knew full well the generally accepted meaning of 'tar baby'.
Of all the people I have asked today, only ONE knew that “tar-baby” supposedly had racial connotations. Everyone else (and I polled a good dozen highly educated people) had never heard the term before….
Anyone who thinks Pierre was trying to plug a racist comment into his answers is an idiot.
Absolutely correct. For a party bragging about Harvard grads and bank execs, the Libs don't demonstrate alot of literacy.
You are correct. He knew the generally accepted meaning. I have never heard tis term used in a racial manner
Unfortunately neither the Liberals nor many of their supporters seem very literate when they pretend not to know what it means. Harvard grad, my ass.
The word “bitch” means female dog, at least that's what the dictionary says.
The word “faggot” means bundle of twigs, at least that's what the dictionary says.
The word “prick” means pierce, at least that's what the dictionary.
The word “tit” means small bird, at least that's what the dictionary.
And so it goes.
You win this round, IMO.
I don't usually comment on this BS…but I am really disgusted with the actions of both the false racist claims being made to score political points by the opposition and I am just as disgusted by the government in power not staying the course and buckling to the whims of the tax and spend socialists. Maybe we need a benign dictatorship to take over for a while so you idiots that post here will appreciate our democracy a little better…!
Aaah, another well-educated liberal makes an appearance. So, you have read a dictionary. These words, if used in the proper context would not make you a racist, nor hateful. So, what's you point?
Exactly.
You expose the double standard: its OK to use the term if you are a Liberal MP or a journalist, but not if you are a Conservative. Well, that’s obviously nonsense and only reveals the political games being played.
The term is only racist if you make it racist, and nobody thinks Poilievre meant it that way.
Ralph Goodale, on the other hand, chose to make it about racism, and he should be ashamed of himself. None of us would be talking about tar babies if it weren’t for Ralph Goodale.