On believability

It's amazing how contrite PMPM can get when political expediency demands it:

Liberal Leader Paul Martin has apologized for the head tax policy that charged immigrants up to $500 to enter Canada, under pressure from B.C. MPs facing tough fights in ridings with large Chinese populations.

"Do I regret this? Yes," Mr. Martin told Vancouver's Fairchild Radio, a multicultural station, Tuesday night. "Do I apologize? Yes."...

Just days before the Liberals lost power, the government announced $2.5-million to help fund education programs, such as museums and stamps, to make the public aware of the head-tax policy that ran from the 1880s to 1920s. But it would not apologize saying that would open the gates to litigation.

Just a month and a half ago, a refusal to apologize was both proposed by the Cons as an essential part of any program to address the head tax, then included as a requirement by the Libs in their deal with some affected groups.

Obviously the movement in the time since then represents progress of a sort. But nobody concerned about the head tax issue should be fooled by the competing false senses of outrage from the Libs and Cons. Only one party recognized the issue before it made the headlines, and continues to press for an official apology in the House rather than a campaign-trail conversion with all the sincerity normally associated with Liberal campaign planks.

NDP candidate Ian Waddell who is running against Mr. Emerson in the Vancouver-Kingsway riding said the Liberals announced the policy without properly consulting all the groups.

"I'm happy that there's an apology. I think it's a good example of why New Democrats are needed in the House. The issue came from the community, but we've pushed it for 20 years," he said Wednesday night. "Now Mr. Martin has to make the apology in the House."

About the only problem with Waddell's take is that it assumes PMPM will still have a seat in Parliament by the time the campaign is done with. But we'll find out who really cares about ensuring a full apology next time a Prime Minister rises in the House to deal with the head tax - or, more likely, next time the NDP points out a continued failure to do so.