Liberal Bill Bennett accuses B.C. New Democrat Jagrup Brar of communism

DIRK MEISSNER
THE CANADIAN PRESS

VICTORIA — A Cuban vacation for an Opposition British Columbia New Democrat has drummed up old-school, red-scare communist rhetoric from the Liberal government.

Liberal Bill Bennett, a top lieutenant in Premier Christy Clark’s election readiness team, took aim Monday at what he called the blatant infatuation with communism expressed by Surrey New Democrat Jagrup Brar following his week-long stay at a Cuban resort.

Bennett further suggested Brar’s pro-Cuba comments peel back the underlying fondness within the B.C. New Democrat caucus for state-run, clampdown-style governments — something that should worry freedom-loving British Columbians.

Brar told a Radio India audience in Metro Vancouver last week that the gap between rich and poor is virtually non-existent in Cuba, education is free and no child goes to bed hungry.

“Jagrup’s interview should be a wake-up call for any British Columbian who values individual enterprise and individual freedom,” Bennett said in a statement. “While Cubans risk their lives in tiny fishing boats across shark-infested waters to escape one of the world’s last communist regimes, the B.C. NDP seems to suggest British Columbia ought to copy Cuba’s approach.”

Bennett, whose outspoken views once landed him outside of the Liberal caucus after a public feud with former premier Gordon Campbell, said Brar’s comments indicate an NDP taste for state-control government.

“Sometimes when people are most relaxed, such as after a refreshing holiday in the Caribbean, they are most likely to express their innermost thoughts,” said Bennett. “In this case, Jagrup may well have given us a glimpse into the secret desires of the B.C. NDP caucus.”

Bennett called on NDP Leader Adrian Dix to distance himself from his clearly communist-infatuated MLA, and he called on Brar to retract his comments and apologize to Cuban Canadians.

NDP caucus chairman Shane Simpson scoffed at Bennett’s comments, saying the Liberals should concentrate on B.C. issues rather than attack an Opposition member’s holiday reports.

“I would think that Bill Bennett and Christy Clark and the B.C. Liberals would be much better served if they paid a little more attention to what’s going on in B.C., (rather) than Cuba,” he said.

But Simpson did wade into international politics, saying there are vast political, social and economic differences between Cuba and British Columbia, but visitors to the Caribbean country can’t deny the country’s health and education achievements.

“Most people would acknowledge that the Cuban society has done a pretty good job in terms of their taking and making education accessible and making health care accessible in pretty broad terms,” he said. “They’ve succeeded in doing that in an economy that is very modest and struggling.”

18:08ET 27-08-12