February 26, 2008 - Peterborough Examiner Editorial, A4

Trustee on record; Gordon Gilchrist can't separate comments from school board role

From: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=917648

Gordon Gilchrist can backtrack on the inflammatory statements he made in a letter to the editor calling for Canada to drastically reduce the number of immigrants it accepts.

He can claim his remarks were not intended to be racist. He can state that "if the fault is in my writing, I am truly sorry."

Those who read his original letter and his follow-up explanation in the Cobourg and Port Hope daily newspapers, and coverage of the resulting controversy in The Examiner, can judge his claims for themselves.

But there is one important qualifier Gilchrist has tried to introduce that he cannot get away with.

His comments were not those of a "private citizen."

Gilchrist is an elected trustee on the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. He has been the town of Cobourg's representative on the board since 2000.

Gilchrist gave up his claim to private citizen status when he was elected. His opinions are a matter of public interest. No one should be expected to believe that he has one set for his "private" self and another when he is voting at a school board meeting.

School board chairwoman Diane Lloyd made that point in a letter to The Examiner. While not criticizing Gilchrist or his statements directly, Lloyd noted that, "he holds a locally elected office from which he cannot remove himself."

Lloyd then made a considerable effort to distance the board from Gilchrist's letter. She repeatedly referred to "equity, diversity and inclusiveness" and stated: "We are representative of the many voices and faces of the global community."

Clearly, Lloyd was troubled by Gilchrist's letter and picked up an anti-immigrant message. Others who wrote in reply were more direct, accusing Gilchrist of racism.

Gilchrist's response was that he had made a mistake in not qualifying his remarks. He state that the examples he used "were not intended to impugn all honest, hard-working and loyal citizens of any race."

Yet that is what his original letter did - define what appeared to be a very clear belief that a large percentage of the 250,000 or so immigrants who come to Canada each year are either a danger to society or a drain on it.

According to Gilchrist, "most" immigrants have virtually no understanding of Canadian history or values. "Many" re-fight "old-country feuds and hatreds" in Canada.

He states that "these quasi-Canadians" take Canadian jobs, increase the rate at which farmland is needed for housing and cause traffic congestion.

"Why do we welcome our enemies?" he asked, without any qualifier as to how many of those 250,000 annual immigrants are "enemies."

Those statements represent fear mongering at best. Are they racist? Gilchrist claims not.

Do they reflect ignorance of Canada's immigration history and future needs? Absolutely.

There are some problems within immigrant populations. It would be better if more immigrants settled outside the major cities and fewer chose to live in isolated pockets of those cities. But that was also true of the European immigrants who swelled Canada's population in the early- to mid-1900s.

The reality is that those immigrants faced prejudice when they arrived, but helped make Canada the free and prosperous country Gordon Gilchrist is so proud of today, just as the Asian, Middle Eastern and African immigrants arriving since the 1970s have done, and will continue to do.

The other reality is that Gilchrist is a school board trustee. If he runs for office again in 2010, voters in Cobourg should consider his recent statements to be part of his election platform.