OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he’s still waiting to hear back from Justin Trudeau about whether the Liberal leader is willing to meet his condition for a discussion about the blackface scandal.
Singh reiterated his contention on Saturday that he not be used as a public relations “tool” by Trudeau to whitewash the controversy that has erupted over his past dressing in blackface.
Singh said Saturday he’s willing to talk to Trudeau but that he wants their conversation be private, and out of the media’s glare.
“I don’t want to be used as a tool to exonerate Mr. Trudeau. I don’t want to be a part of a PR process to say he checked off these boxes and, look, he made this call, and he’s all good. I don’t want to be a part of that,” Singh said while campaigning in Toronto.
“I will always say, yes. It’s important to have dialogue, but I made the condition it has to be a private conversation.”
The Liberal campaign had no immediate response on Saturday afternoon.
Singh was answering questions at his second campaign stop of the day after holding a roundtable discussion on racism with Toronto community leaders.
The discussion was open to the media, and some participants expressed the view that they didn’t want Trudeau’s behaviour to embolden white supremacists.
Singh said he wants to see a broader public discussion about racism in Canada, stressing that the issue is larger than one person.
“I’m worried, because as some of the folks here said, the conversation has been about Mr. Trudeau instead of about the impact on people,” said Singh.
That means people who have “faced violence, physical, words, barriers, economic injustice because of the colour of their skin, because they’re Indigenous, because they’re racialized. If we don’t make it about the people, it could be easily forgotten.”
Trudeau re-election bid has been rocked controversy this past week after new images showed he chose to put on black- or brownface as part of costume events. Trudeau’s has repeatedly apologized, calling the act of darkening one’s skin racist, and says he remains committed to fighting racism, and continuing to lead the Liberals.
Trudeau had to contend with global mockery on Friday, including from late-night American comedians, as images of the three times he chose to put on black- or brownface as part of costume events continued to flash around the world. U.S. President Donald Trump said he was surprised by the images of Trudeau.
Liberal cabinet minister Catherine McKenna said Saturday Canada still has credibility on the world stage as a climate change champion despite the controversy.
“The measure of a person and of a party should be based on what you have done, and whether it’s action we are taking internationally to tackle climate change and provide a leadership role at the table, or it’s action to combat racism or our announcement yesterday, that we would eliminate assault weapons,” she said.
McKenna, the environment minister, tried to push the fractious federal election campaign onto more familiar territory for her and her embattled party, framing the fight against climate change as the core issue facing voters.
“This election could not be more important,” noting that issues like climate change are at stake,” she said.
“We have (a) Conservative Party and Conservative politicians who do not believe in action on climate change.”
McKenna promised to advocate for a ban on single-use plastics from federal government buildings, museums and parks at an event on the shores of the Ottawa River just west of Parliament Hill. The pledge was part of her local campaign as the MP for Ottawa Centre, and was not a plank in her party’s federal platform.
Trudeau wasn’t campaigning Saturday and neither was Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer. Both were taking a break from the road, as is common on Saturdays during federal elections, after keeping up full-tilt schedules since the federal election call on Sept. 11.
Singh campaigned earlier in day in Toronto, reiterating his commitment to help self-employed workers who are feeling left behind economically. He was joined by Andrew Cash, a former NDP MP who is trying to take back his Davenport seat from the Liberals. They held a discussion on precarious work at a neighbourhood coffee shop.
Green Leader Elizabeth May is in Winnipeg, where she’s to make an announcement and campaign with Manitoba Green candidates at The Forks later.
People’s Party Leader Maxime Bernier is in northern Ontario for a plowing match and a rally in North Bay.