Mediaboss Marketing

WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.

The Liberal Party has given southwestern Ontario candidate Raj Saini the green light to seek re-election for his third term as an MP despite a series of allegations of inappropriate behaviour towardyoung female staffers that spanned his six years in office, CBC News has learned.

Seven sources with knowledge of the claimsdescribed four different caseswhere Sainiallegedly made unwanted sexual advances or inappropriate comments. Saini said he has never acted inappropriately toward staff.

A former senior staffer who filed a CanadianHuman Rights Commissioncomplaint against Saini last year alleging unwelcome advances and harassing behavioursaid it's upsetting the party is allowing Sainito campaign again underthe Liberal banner in Kitchener Centre.Thestaffer said her experience in Saini's office contributed to her mental distress, and she eventually tried to take her own life in his office in March 2020.

"That's pretty devastating to me, knowing what I have gone through and that I've raised concerns over the last more than year and a half," said the former senior staffer. "It's disturbing to me.... It's also concerning to me that it could continue to happen to other people."

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has maintained he has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to harassment in the workplace, and that he has led a feminist government. But his party also allowed MP Marwan Tabbarato run in the 2019 federal election despite a party investigation into allegations of sexual harassment made against him in the previous mandate. Tabbara later left caucus after police charged him with break and enter, assault and criminal harassment in an unrelated case last year. Tabbara's next court appearance is scheduled for tomorrow.

Candidates in the election had until Monday to officially register with Elections Canada. Saini submitted his nomination on Friday and posted a photo on Facebook.

The complaints against Saini date back to the Liberals'holiday party inDecember2015, whichmore than 2,000 people attended including Liberal MPs, staff and supporters at the Shaw Convention Centre in downtown Ottawa.

CBC News agreed not to name thesources with direct knowledge of the allegations because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the matteror were concerned about career reprisals.

Four female staffers reported to a senior Liberal staffer that Saini, along with his friend and mentee, Tabbara, were acting inappropriately with youngfemale staffers at the holiday party,including"touching" or being "handsy,"according to multiple sources.

That information was shared with a senior member of the government who brought the concerns to the Prime Minister's Officeand Justin Trudeau's chief of staff, Katie Telford, sources said. Both Tabbara and Saini remained in caucus.

The Liberal Party told CBC News in a statement "it has no record or knowledge of the matter." Tabbara's office declined to comment.

According to multiple sources, Saini later followed another junior Liberal staffer around at several functions and asked for her phone number.

In a third case, a female employeefelt so uneasy with Saini calling her to his Ottawa office late at night, in some cases around10 p.m., she brought an employee with her from another MP's office so she wasn't alone with him, according to another source. The Liberal Partyalso said it had no knowledge of this matter.

A fourth case involvedtheformer senior stafferwho wrote to Saini to say she was going to take her own life in his office by overdosing on pills in March 2020, according to a written complaint to the human rights commission. She saidSainialerted mental health services, and paramedics were sent to his office to attend to her. She was admittedto hospital.

"I remember being incredibly stressed out, feeling completely helpless," the former senior staffer said. "I felt like he had shown he could do pretty much anything he wanted to do to me. I felt like there was nowhere for me to turn."

On more than one occasion, she said, Saini put his hand on her thigh while they were in the car together and said the end destination of their drive was up to her.

When the staffer asked for help with an issue at the office, Saini said he would help her if she was good for two weeks and then he winked at her, she said.

She also claims hehad outbursts where he'd be yelling and pushher up against a wall by the shoulders.

"In January of 2020, the MP screamed at me to burn my campaign T-shirt because I had voted at a riding association meeting to hear a candidate from an opposition party speak on environmental matters," the former senior staffer wrote in her complaint to the human rights commission. "The MP gave me a 20-minute verbally abusive lecture about loyalty, while repeatedly slamming his hands on his desk.

"The MP regularly treats me as his servant, expecting me to receive his verbal abuse and aggressions while keeping quiet. Raj Saini's attitude towardswomen stems from the 1800s."

The source said the human rights commission said it doesn't have jurisdiction over members of Parliament so could not address her case, she said.

Saini saidhe has only been made aware of this one allegation at his office and provided the file to police.

The staffer sent a series of text messages and emailsto Sainidemanding an apology or else she would sue, file an HR complaint or go public with her claims, according to a letter written by a House of Commons lawyer.Sainicontactedthe House of Commons' legal team and police, who warned the senior staffer, who was on sick leave after the suicide attempt, to stop contacting Saini.

Sainidenies the former staffer's allegations, and saidhe takes the health and safety of his staff "extremely seriously."

"After concerns were raised by the House of Commons regarding my personal safety and the safety of my staff ... the police, in this instance, took action to mediate the situation and ensure the safety of everyone involved,"Saini wrote in a statement to CBC News.

"Protecting my staff and ensuring they are respected is not something I take lightly."

He said he couldn't talk about specifics of the case due to privacy concerns.

Saini'scampaignlater released another statement on behalf ofunnamed"female and male staff"offering support forSaini.

CBC News spoke to the former staffer's past employer, a retired provincial politician, who said she was the ideal hire."The time she worked for me, she was a stellar employee," said the former Liberal politician. "She was responsible, always professional and someone I could count on."

The former senior staffer said she raised concerns about Saini with human resources,several LiberalMPs andLiberal Party staff, but says they they didn't make her case a priority.

She said she didn't trust that the process was impartial and wasn't comfortable with the options presented to her, which included mediation with Saini, she said.

Saini said that upon learning the staffer did not move forward with the formal complaint process, he "insisted an independent third party" review his office. CBC News has not been provided a copy of the review thatwas conducted by the House of Commons. The complainant said she was told she couldnot participate because she was on sick leave then was later dismissed.

"The outcome of that review, which was completed in June 2020, found that nothing arose regarding concerns of harassment in the office," Sainisaid.

In response to the CBC'squestions Monday, theLiberal Party referred to its"respectful workplace policy," which statesa complaint must be substantiated. If it is, the outcomes range from non-disciplinary measures such as additional training or an apology or mediation, or corrective or disciplinary measures such as a warning, reprimand, suspension or termination.

Sources said the Liberals conducted an internal survey in 2018 that flagged concerns about the number of people who experienced some form of harassment or pay inequalitybetween male and female workers. The survey also found issues with how the Liberals handled sexual harassment.

Multiple junior staffers wrote in the survey last year that the Prime Minister's Office should "fire" Brett Thalmann, who is listed as the PMO's executive director of planning, administration and people.

His role includes signing off on hirings across the PMO and the ministers' offices and workingclosely with Telford, according to the sources.

Chiefs of staff for Liberal MPs were asked to meet with their employeesinMay,where they heard that some junior employees did not trust the party's reporting system, said sources. Some staff saidthey were concerned the process wasn't confidential or impartial, multiple sources said. Some staff also raised concerns people were not being disciplined for their actions and that the system wasn't set up to help victims.

Thalmann, Telford and those tasked with human resources then spoke to staff about how the PMO deals with HR complaints on a case by case basis, and explained that there is a process outside of the office that looks into complaints, and a hotline available to staff. Many had not ever heard of the hotline, according to sources.

As he announced his party's mental healthpolicy in Ottawa on Tuesday,Trudeauwas asked why he's allowing Saini to run again and whetherhe believes his male candidate rather than female staffers.

"Mr. Saini has shared the processes," saidTrudeau. "There have been rigorous processes undertaken that he has shared the details of. We know that it is extremely important to take any allegation seriously, which we certainly have, and we always will because everyone deserves a safe workplace."

In a statement, the Liberals said thesurvey was sent to about 1,000 staff and they were "pleased to receive honest feedback about workplace culture on Parliament Hill."

"This feedback has shown a marked improvement in the percentage of staff who are aware of the policies, resources at their disposal, and how to report incidents," the statement says. "To protect people's privacy, the surveys were kept anonymous."

In response to feedback, the partysaid it put in place a series of training sessions and seminars about mental health and wellness, and increasedawareness of resources available through meetings, posters and emails. More staff were hired and a new human resources position was created.

The party also said it moved forward in 2017 to legislate protection for harassment and violence in federally regulated workplaces and included political offices. The party also has a training program to help ensure election campaigns are safe.

"We continue to work to ensure the Hill is a respectful and positive work environment for everyone," the party's statement says.

Conservative candidate Michelle Rempel Garner was critical of the Liberals' saying that women sufferwhen powerful men are allowed to cover up misconduct.

"Justin Trudeau's past actions show that he will not act on allegations of sexual misconduct in both the Liberal Party of Canada and the federal government. He has a pattern of covering up or looking the other way on these kinds of allegations," she said. "To the women in this story, rest assured we will continue to fight for better."

NDP candidate Lindsay Mathyssen said her heart goes out to women that have the courage to come forward and share their stories.

"Sadly, there is a clear pattern with Justin Trudeau. All of his talk about feminism isn't reflected in his actions," she said.

"From his mistreatment of women in his cabinet, to his mishandling of sexual assault cases in the military, and his lack of action around sexual misconduct allegations against his candidates, he has consistently failed to stand up for women."

If you're experiencing suicidal thoughts or having a mental health crisis, help is available.For an emergency or crisis situation, call 911.

If you are thinking of suicide or know someone who is, help is available nationwide by calling theCanada Suicide Prevention Servicetoll-free at 1-833-456-4566, 24 hours a day, or texting 45645.(The text service is available from 4 p.m. to midnight Eastern time).

You can also text CONNECT to 686868 and get immediate support from a crisis responder through the Crisis Text Line, powered by Kids Help Phone.

More here:
Liberal candidate allowed to run for re-election despite past claims of inappropriate behaviour - CBC.ca

Liberal candidate and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the aim of green economy measures is to align the Canadian economy with broader shifts happening around the world.

Stephen MacGillivray/The Canadian Press

The Liberals are putting a distinctly green lens on their plans for job creation and economic growth, with promises to accelerate the transition toward a low-carbon economy if the party forms government after the Sept. 20 election.

The party platform, published Wednesday, promises a range of new green economy measures, including a 30-per-cent tax credit for clean technology investments and $2-billion to retrain oil and gas workers. It also pledges new strategies for clean-energy home renovations, aimed at kickstarting a vibrant retrofit economy.

Other pillars of the partys economic vision include its child-care program, aimed at bringing women into the work force, and increased investments in science and innovation including a $2-billion promise to establish a Canada Advanced Research Projects Agency modelled on the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. But the core of the partys economic growth agenda is built squarely around low-carbon initiatives.

Story continues below advertisement

At a news conference in Toronto, Liberal candidate and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the aim of the plan is to align the Canadian economy with broader shifts happening around the world.

The green transition is a reality in the global economy. As Canadians, the only choice we have now is, do you want to be ahead of the curve? Do we want to build a green economy so we can continue to sell things to other people? Or do we want to fall behind? And that is no choice at all, Ms. Freeland said.

The rush to net zero could hit the economy as hard as the 1973-74 oil crisis

How harnessing oceans can help Canada in reaching its climate goals

The Liberal Party is not alone in focusing on a low-carbon economy. All the major parties are promising support for the zero-emission vehicle industry, including investments in manufacturing and charging infrastructure. The Liberals say they would require 50 per cent of all new car sales to be zero-emissions by 2030, while the Conservatives would require 30 per cent by 2030.

Both the Liberals and the Conservatives are vowing to use government dollars to spur the creation of battery supply chains based on Canadian minerals. The Liberals are promising to build on their partys critical mineral strategy by doubling the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for mining companies exploring for metals used in batteries and other clean technology.

The parties differ on some environmental questions, such as carbon taxes and subsidies for electric vehicles. However, a cross-party consensus appears to have emerged around the use of industrial policy targeted government spending on private companies to push forward low-carbon initiatives.

This is happening against a backdrop of major spending in the U.S. and Europe, where governments are using COVID-19 recovery funding to kickstart clean technology industries and build out electric vehicle supply chains. The focus on the electric vehicle industry, in particular, is aimed at ensuring Canadian automakers remain an integral part of the North American vehicle supply chain, which is undergoing momentous transition.

What they are putting forward are what our major trading partners, like the United States and the U.K. and the EU, have already committed to, Merran Smith, executive director of Clean Energy Canada, said of the Liberal platform.

Story continues below advertisement

If we are not in line with their level of ambition, were going to find that our products are going to have challenges, because those countries are looking for low-carbon products like low-carbon steel, low-carbon cement, low-carbon metals and minerals and theyre talking about border carbon tariff adjustments.

A major piece of the Liberal Partys green industrial policy is the net-zero accelerator, an $8-billion fund announced last year and greatly expanded in the April budget. The fund is designed to distribute money to companies for them to use in reducing their emissions, or to invest in clean energy technologies. So far, the scope of the fund has not been clearly defined. Possible recipients could range from aluminum manufacturers trying to reduce their carbon footprints, to auto manufacturers building electric vehicle plants.

The Conservatives are promising to invest $1-billion in each of three sectors: the small nuclear reactor industry, the electric vehicle industry and the hydrogen industry. The NDP, meanwhile, is promising a range of initiatives, including a Canadian Climate Bank, which it says will help boost investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and low carbon technology across the country.

Michael Bernstein, executive director of Clean Prosperity, a non-profit focused on market-based climate solutions, applauded the Liberal platforms focus on green initiatives.

Its incredibly ambitious, and links climate policy directly to the economic strategy, Mr. Bernstein said. The one thing that I was surprised there wasnt a little more detail on was the building sector, where there could be some of the most obvious near-term and dispersed benefits.

The Liberals proposed $2-billion Futures Fund is aimed at retraining workers in oil-producing provinces who could lose their jobs in the oil and gas industry over the coming years.

Story continues below advertisement

The party is also promising to spend $205-million a year on a new Clean Jobs Training Centre aimed at helping tradespeople gain skills relevant to the zero-carbon economy.

The Liberals say they will set new five-year emissions-reduction targets for the oil and gas industry, aimed at hitting net-zero by 2050. The plan relies on carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology. The government was already developing a new CCUS production tax credit to take effect sometime in 2022.

The Conservative Party has promised a tax credit of its own, as part of a $5-billion CCUS package. Both parties have presented CCUS as a way to reduce emissions, while simultaneously creating new jobs developing that technology and helping the Canadian resource sector remain internationally competitive.

Alongside direct spending promises, the Liberals said they would move toward mandatory climate-related financial disclosures for public companies. Developing standardized disclosure rules is seen as an important step in the process of reallocating capital toward low-carbon industries although financial disclosure decisions lie largely with provincial and territorial securities regulators.

The Liberals have also made a new commitment to develop a net-zero emissions electricity system by 2035, which their platform promises will create green jobs alongside its environmental benefits.

That promise is similar to a commitment by U.S. President Joe Biden. Canada comes at it with a considerable head start, because the countrys electrical grids are currently far less reliant on fossil fuels than American ones. Maintaining that advantage which could be helpful in attracting manufacturers and other companies committed to lowering their own carbon footprints will likely require adding considerable new clean-power generation to meet rising demand caused by the electrification of transportation, buildings and industry.

Story continues below advertisement

Toward that end, the Liberals are promising unspecified new investment tax credits for renewable energy and battery storage. They are also promising the creation of what they call a Pan-Canadian Grid Council to engage the provinces, which have primary jurisdiction over electricity policy.

Your time is valuable. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. Sign up today.

See the article here:
Liberals planning green economy measures, with focus on jobs - The Globe and Mail

I like the advice provided by comedian Jay Leno on the issue of taxes: Worried about an IRS audit? Avoid whats called a red flag. Thats something the IRS always looks for. For example, say you have some money left in your bank account after paying taxes. Thats a red flag.

Our version of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the Canada Revenue Agency, will have another red flag to look for on the tax returns of Canadians if the Liberals make good on a promise made this week in their election platform. The party announced that it will impose a 15-per-cent minimum tax on the highest income earners those earning more than $216,511 in 2021. Evidently, the aim is to eliminate the ability to artificially pay no tax through excessive use of deductions and credits according to the proposal.

This 15 per cent would be a federal tax, of course, so the actual rate of tax paid by these folks would be higher after adding provincial or territorial taxes.

Story continues below advertisement

Home-based businesses can save you taxes if you do it right

Now, nobody is suggesting that high-income Canadians should complain about a 15-per-cent federal tax rate and theyre not. The reality is, almost all high-income Canadians are paying significantly more than this in taxes annually even after claiming the most in tax deductions and credits available. I mentioned recently that the Fraser Institute has calculated that the top 20 per cent of income earners in Canada pay 63.2 per cent of all personal income taxes and the bottom 20 per cent of income-earning families pay 1 per cent of those taxes. High-income earners are already paying their fair share.

There are several problems with the proposed minimum tax announced Wednesday. Let me share the key issues.

Our tax law already penalizes those who might take advantage of excessive deductions and credits to reduce taxes below an acceptable threshold. This is done by way of the alternative minimum tax (AMT). The most common situations that give rise to the AMT are reporting capital gains on your tax return, claiming losses resulting from capital cost allowance on rental properties, limited partnership losses, carrying charges (such as interest expenses), stock option deductions, losses from resource properties (such as flow-through shares), and federal dividend tax credits, among other things. Guess what? The list captures all the key types of situations that high-income Canadians may experience in their tax filings that give rise to lower effective tax rates for them. The AMT can effectively be returned to the individual later in the form of a tax credit but only once their taxable income is high enough.

The highest-income Canadians have most of their wealth stored in three types of assets: real estate, private businesses and marketable securities. These assets often afford favourable tax treatment in the form of capital gains tax rates when the assets are sold, the lifetime capital gain exemption (LCGE) to shelter gains on private company shares, and enhanced tax savings when investments are donated to charity. These are some of the largest tax preferences utilized by these high-income Canadians, and these tax preferences are there to provide incentives to Canadians to start businesses, provide housing and donate to charity all very good things. These are the same tax preferences that the Liberals are offended by and are going to penalize by applying the 15-per-cent minimum tax.

The Liberals have estimated that the additional tax revenue to be raised from this minimum tax is $1.7-billion over five years an average of $340-million a year. The Liberal platform estimates federal deficits continuing for the foreseeable future with no timeline for erasing the deficit. And that deficit will be as high as $156.9-billion this year. The deficits will be $14-billion higher per year, on average, than the pre-election forecast made by the Parliamentary Budget Officer in August. Adding $340-million to the coffers through this proposed minimum tax will do virtually nothing to reduce the deficit or shrink the federal debt. What it may do is potentially change the behaviour of high-income earners when it comes to their investment decisions and gifts to charity. The whole thing is a bad idea.

Look, were in the middle of an election campaign. All parties want to appeal to voters by announcing what they stand for I get it. But when it comes to taxation, policies have to make sense particularly coming out of a pandemic that has fundamentally changed the financial lives of so many Canadians and has left our country in a mountain of debt.

Tim Cestnick, FCPA, FCA, CPA(IL), CFP, TEP, is an author, and co-founder and CEO of Our Family Office Inc. He can be reached at tim@ourfamilyoffice.ca.

Visit link:
Three problems the Liberals' proposed tax on highest income earners will cause - The Globe and Mail

Breadcrumb Trail Links

Author of the article:

Publishing date:

By Deb Schulte, Special to Postmedia Network

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

The pandemic tragically highlighted serious and long-standing challenges in Canadas long-term care sector. Canadians are rightly concerned about the level of care and protection provided for their loved ones. Now is not the time for half measures; its time for real change.

The Conservative plan for long-term care will squander this opportunity to provide needed help for seniors.

Better care for those living in long-term care starts with improved conditions for workers. Although the Conservatives propose to double the Canada Workers Benefit, it wont help most personal support workers whose incomes are above $32,244, the average for most nurse aides and orderlies. It wont incentivize people to start careers as personal support workers.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

In effect, the Conservative plan fails to address instability in a sector dominated by women, over a third of whom are immigrants.

While the Conservatives say that they want to invite the provinces to work with us to develop a set of best practices for long-term care, this duplicates work already underway by experts at the Health Standards Organization (HSO) and CSA Group.

When Conservative Leader Erin OToole was asked about funding for long-term care, he pointed to his promise to increase the Canada Health Transfer. But the Canada Health Transfer is a general fund that can be used for any health-care initiative, such as clearing backlogs.

The only way for the government of Canada to make permanent changes in this sector is by working cooperatively with provinces and territories, who have the constitutional jurisdiction to regulate long-term care. That requires finding common ground backed by significant, targeted federal investments.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

The Liberals have a strong record of working cooperatively with their provincial and territorial partners and have a new $9 billion plan that will deliver better care for Canadians in long-term care.

It starts by improving working conditions and raising wages for personal support workers. They are the heroes on the frontlines taking care of our loved ones.

Too many have precarious jobs in multiple homes and do not earn enough to get by on. This drives turnover and increases infections as workers spread outbreaks between homes.

A re-elected Liberal government will work with provinces and territories to ensure personal support workers receive a wage of at least $25 an hour. To address the workforce shortage, we will invest $500 million to train up to 50,000 new personal support workers.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Over the last 20 months, weve seen how standards without enforcement fail to protect workers and residents. So we will work with our partners to introduce a Safe Long-term Care Act that ensures standards of care are upheld across the country. It will be informed by the work of the HSO and CSA.

During the pandemic, we saw the virus spread through multi-bed rooms and outdated ventilation systems.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

A re-elected Liberal government would invest a further $3 billion to provide major renovations in long-term care homes and improve the quality and number of beds.

All this adds to the almost $5 billion we have invested since the pandemic started for infection prevention and wage increases for low-income essential workers.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Finally, seniors want to stay in their own homes as long as possible as they age. The Canadian Institutes of Health Informationreportsthat as many as one in nine seniors in long-term care could have been cared for at home with the proper supports.

Liberals have a plan to help more seniors age at home.

We will double the Home Accessibility Tax Credit, providing an additional $1,500 for renovations to make seniors homes more accessible. We will create a new Multigenerational Home Renovation tax credit to help families add a secondary suite to their home so a family member can live with them. And the new Age Well at Home initiative will fund practical supports that connect low-income and vulnerable seniors with help for tasks they are no longer able to manage.

In 2022 we are renegotiating homecare agreements with provinces and territories to improve access to homecare and transitions to long-term care or palliative care.

Everyone living in long-term care deserves safe, dignified and quality care. Only the Liberals offer an ambitious, achievable plan to get there.

Deb Schulte is the federal Liberal candidate for King-Vaughan and the Minister of Seniors.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Toronto SUN, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of The Toronto Sun Headline News will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notificationsyou will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Continue reading here:
SCHULTE: Liberal plan hits the target for real change in long-term care - Toronto Sun

Luca Disbrow / Daily Nexus

Over the past year, Ive watched a variety of terms go from tiny propositions to subjects of huge discourse that are regularly utilized by everyday people and mass corporations alike.

You are likely familiar with some of these terms folx, womxn, Latinx, houseless, BIPOC and many more. They clog up our Instagram feeds, fill up Twitter threads and even pop up in official emails from our university.

An email from UC Santa Barbara Career Services via Handshake on Feb. 21, 2021.

A new language has been formed, one created and used with the belief that it constructs a more understanding, safe and welcoming environment for the people it claims to serve. However, this language has a plethora of issues, beginning with one that we see on social media almost every day: It has perhaps inadvertently created a sect of people who see this terminology as the ultimate factor in determining whether or not the people, organizations, companies and governments in their lives are woke.

More often than not, the people who use this terminology are those who identify as liberals or whose views fall into the realm of liberalism, and once they have this language, they use it as a litmus test to determine whether those around them are serious about social causes.

This is a real shame, exemplified in terms like BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). Attempts at explaining BIPOC to my Japanese relatives ends with them simply blinking at me in confusion. My aunties were raised in an era where they were described as colored or Oriental. Theyve barely begun to grasp the new label of POC (People of Color). But would you look these 60-year-old women in the eyes and tell them they are wrong for not understanding and immediately applying the term BIPOC? Language evolves so quickly that it is a mistake to shun people simply because they fail to use a fleeting term, especially those with valuable insight to share, like my aunties, whose lived experiences in post-WWII America have shaped my understanding of racism.

Additionally, many of the people who belong to these minority groups are entirely averse to this language.

For example, the term womxn was proposed with the intention of including trans and genderqueer women. However, trans women are quick to point out that adding the x to women simply further alienates them by denying that they are true women after all. Rather than calling them by their deserved title, women, the term womxn relegates trans women to being a sort of woman-tangent, never a true woman.

Language evolves so quickly that it is a mistake to shun people simply because they fail to use a fleeting term, especially those with valuable insight to share, like my aunties, whose lived experiences in post-WWII America have shaped my understanding of racism.

And perhaps the most glaring problem with terminology like this is that the effort to stand up for trans women, people of color, homeless people, etc., often ends at this utilization of inclusive language.

Rather than taking a further step to fight injustice within laws and community spaces or to support local organizations that fight these problems, people seem to think that using this language is enough that they can stop there and then it puts them beyond racism, beyond sexism, beyond cancellation. Surely someone so woke as to refer to homeless people as their houseless neighbors could never do any wrong.

One prime example of this is a recent comment from President Joe Biden (which was, in my opinion, a deeply telling moment as far as Bidens understanding of human rights goes). In a July press conference discussing the importance of adults getting vaccinated, Biden was quoted as saying, Its awful hard, as well, to get Latinx vaccinated as well. Why? Theyre worried that theyll be vaccinated and deported.

Is there anything that sums up misguided American politics more than those few sentences? Those phrases utterly stereotype and demean an entire group of people in mere seconds.

But one cannot deny that Biden really thought he did something. He took his inclusion of woke terminology to mean that he was above racism that everyone would accept his statement as truth, or at least as harmless, because he had done the unthinkable! The brave Biden had integrated the internet-speak term Latinx into a real press conference, broadcasting it to millions of American households that would now be exposed to a new idea.

He did not even realize that he really has no right to use this terminology. As Biden has little experience within the Latin American community and no real background in social advocacy, this usage of the term does not feel earnest in the slightest. And, when used in tandem with overt prejudice, his words take a condescending tone. Whether intentional or not, Biden has now seemingly weaponized a term whose original purpose was to uplift and empower.

Thats the very problem with this language.

Because he utilized a fun little woke term, Biden felt no pressure to amend his statements or confront his racist way of explaining vaccination issues in the United States. He believed that he had provided an excellent answer to questions about U.S. vaccination statistics. He didnt think about examining how these communities statistically have less access to vaccines or mentioning how misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine is rampant throughout the U.S.

No, he instead blamed it on a racist and inflammatory thought that the famously faulty Biden brain machine cooked up (amongst many other great ideas, like voting in favor of using force in Iraq in 2002, relentlessly bombing Syria in February of 2021 and authorizing the notorious 1994 crime bill that perpetuated mass incarceration).

Finally, its worth noting that these terms often originated in small communities who had extremely specific purposes for them. Unfortunately, these definitions have been significantly altered over time, largely due to the spreading of misinformation on the internet. For example, a 2020 article from Shape defined the term folx as being used to specifically display inclusion of gender-queer, transgender and agender folks.

However, back in 2014, the term folx was mainly utilized by grassroots organizations to designate People organizing and theorizing in queer, trans, and other people of color. This term has gone from highlighting community organization to being thrown around as a replacement for the already-genderless term folks in an effort to highlight ones wokeness.

The danger with this vocabulary is not merely that it needlessly excludes those who do not utilize it or that it excuses people from internal examination it is that it robs the communities it claims to protect of language that was special to them. In making it mainstream, the internet has corrupted its meaning.

This terminology is dangerous. It excuses people from examining their own possibly racist internal biases. It creates infighting within the left as people disagree about the value and usage of this new vocabulary. And much of its mainstream use is only a shallow imitation of its original purpose.

Rather than falling into the trap of obsessing over the language of liberalism, the left needs to come together and focus on what has always been the most important thing: improving the quality of life for people around us with strong action. Settling for words alone is, frankly, dangerous.

Syd Haupt couldnt care less about the term BIPOC and seriously thinks everyones efforts would be better put towards donating to J-TOWN Action and Solidarity.

A version of this article appeared on p. 20 of the Aug. 26, 2021 print edition of theDaily Nexus.

Original post:
The Language of Liberalism - Daily Nexus