The leader of the PC Party has accepted an apology from the party’s candidate in next week’s by-election for comments interpreted by some as racist.
Lin Paddock, who is running in Baie Verte-Green Bay, said during a debate that we need to recruit health professionals in areas that love this place, such as from Germany where they adore the outdoors and not India and Pakistan where they “come here and go to Toronto.”
The minister responsible for immigration, Gerry Byrne, says the comments are not based on fact and are downright hurtful.
Lin Paddock
Leader Tony Wakeham, whose previous life was as a health care CEO, says this province has depended on bringing in health care professionals from all over the world for decades.
“Lin has clarified his comments and has apologized. He has served in the Canadian Armed Forces for almost 30 years with people from around the globe and he truly values diversity and inclusiveness,” said Wakeham on Your VOCM Mornings. “He has recommitted those values to me and in no way meant for his comments to be taken as derogatory or disrespectful.”
(File photo.)
However, Immigration Minister Gerry Byrne is not prepared to let Paddock off the hook that easily . He says there is no rationalizing such comments when you look at the sheer numbers.
He says there are 51 Indian and Pakistani doctors recruited to come to NL in the past few years, while there have been zero from Germany, says Byrne. He says such comments cast aspersions on a wide range of society and “it’s unacceptable.”
