Liberal leader Justin Trudeau is seeking forgiveness from Canadians. This, all in the fallout of photos and a video showing a younger Trudeau in blackface and brownface surfacing.
Trudeau apologized and admitted the make-up is racist, but some still want to hear more. This includes Regina-Pasqua MLA Muhammad Fiaz.
“Painting black or brown faces, those are not costumes. The children of this country, they’re facing racism in workplaces or in school, they’re looking for an answer to why did he do that,” Fiaz said.
“We’re known in the world as an inclusive country, and having this type of behaviour from Mr. Trudeau, that was totally not acceptable.”
Fiaz also pointed to this being a pattern of behaviour from the Liberal leader, with three documented cases of blackface or brownface.
Like Fiaz, NDP nominee for Regina-Lewvan Jigar Patel wanted a stronger apology from Trudeau on Thursday morning.
“I need to see Trudeau say sorry, but he also needs to say something more to fill a proper apology to Canadians like me,” Patel said.
“Racism has no place value in our country. That will show up in the next election when Trudeau will go to us for the vote.”
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While speaking in Winnipeg, Trudeau got deeper into his mindset at the time of the offending photos and video.
“I didn’t understand how hurtful this is to people who live with discrimination every single day. I have always acknowledged that I come from a place of privilege, but I now need to acknowledge that comes with a massive blind spot,” Trudeau said.
WATCH: Justin Trudeau addresses blackface controversy at Saskatoon town hall
Some are more forgiving of Trudeau, including former Saskatchewan Human Rights commissioner Christine Lwanga.
Now serving as lead researcher for the African Canadian Research Network, Lwanga said she prefers to judge Trudeau on his current actions — seeing his policies as respecting human rights and dignity.
While she questions the political timing of these photos surfacing, Lwanga added this opens the door for a valuable discussion about societal racism.
“In North America, and probably globally, we all have biases, and the culture we live in is very biased. So each individual has to daily engage in critical self-reflection to make sure that we don’t carry those biases,” she said.
In addition, Lwanga added these photos serve a purpose to shown how wrong acts like blackface and brownface are.
“It tries to dehumanize the other. It tries to put down the other and magnify our differences,” Lwanga explained.
“There are differences, and there’s nothing wrong with difference — actually difference is healthy — except that people try to use it to dehumanize the other or exploit the other.”
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