OTTAWA—One of the things I have come to really enjoy in Ottawa is sitting down at the end of the day with fellow Liberal MPs Navdeep Bains and Omar Alghabra at our hotel to talk about our day, our lives, and politics, in general. Through these conversations, and others, I have made two best friends.

 I have often been struck in our talks by how idealistic and passionate they are. They care profoundly about the job they do as MPs and work hard to impact positive change. They are both deeply loyal and are among the most principled people I have ever met. Knowing them as I do makes the last couple of weeks all the more difficult. 

The recent debate on the renewal of the sunset clauses to the Anti-Terrorism Act had just begun, and like me, Omar was staunchly opposed to their extension. Unlike me, however, his motives were questioned. Certain media outlets speculated that Omar’s position was driven by a personal and ideological agenda. They even went so far as to posit that Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion’s position on the sunset clauses was a result of ‘ethnic politics’—propelled by people like Omar whose motives, they claimed, were counter to the best interests of this country. I then realized that Omar would always be seen by some as a hyphenated MP—a Muslim MP.

 I share Omar’s deep concern for the unequal application of the law, and his fear that the anti-terror provisions, now expired, had gone too far because they put our fundamental civil liberties at risk. I too am passionate that these provisions needed to expire. On the issue of the anti-terrorism sunset clauses, our minds were one. We shared everything on the issue…everything except the personal attacks that Omar endured and the aspersions cast on his motives. No one questioned my Irish or German roots. No one claimed my motive was anything but an interest in trying to balance individual civil liberties and collective security. But not so for Omar, who is Muslim—he was treated very differently.

Far worse was the treatment by the Prime Minister and others of Navdeep Bains. I can recall speaking with Nav about the sunset clauses—debating the risks and relative advantages. Nav was more receptive than I to supporting the extension of the sunset provisions—a fact that made what followed even more disturbing.

 The Vancouver Sun recently published a news story reporting that Nav’s father-in-law was on a potential secret list of individuals to be allegedly interviewed in the Air India case. Nav was understandably upset and disturbed by the story. I tried to imagine how he must feel; how I would feel if my family had their characters challenged. Unfortunately, the moment The Vancouver Sun published the story, the Prime Minister’s spin machine got hold of it. In Question Period that day, the Prime Minister implied and suggested that Nav had influenced the Liberal Party leader to take a position against extending the sunset clauses to protect his father-in-law. In the following days, several members of the Conservative caucus continued this erroneous smear.

 Forget the fact that his father-in-law hadn’t been questioned in 21 years or that the provision had been in place for five years and had never been used. Also forget the fact that the Prime Minister had no evidence to support this slanderous allegation. Nav was declared to have dark motives by the Prime Minister and by the National Post. They insinuated that he was trying to protect his family—that because he was Sikh, he didn’t care about Canadian security. I was completely flummoxed. 

In those ensuing days after the Prime Minister stood in the House and attacked Nav and his family—after several newspaper columns that perpetuated this falsehood, I tried to imagine being in Nav’s shoes—my family attacked and my motives questioned—all because of my ethnic and religious background. 

When Nav and Omar organize, it’s ethnic politics; when I organize—I’m just a good organizer. When Omar or Nav express concerns about anti-terrorism measures or foreign policy it’s because of their ancestry or religion; when I question it, either I’m debating hard choices or I’m caving under the pressure of their ideological interests.

 The debate on the sunset clauses reminds me why more visible minority Canadians don’t enter politics—why they feel cut out of the public discourse. Navdeep Bains and Omar Alghabra, two hard-working and loyal Member of Parliament, have become “hyphenated MPs,” not by choice but because people like this Prime Minister and some news outlets would rather promote a culture of fear and prejudice than engage in an honest debate about our civil liberties and collective security.