FORMER federal minister Herb Dhaliwal on Wednesday condemned the Globe and Mail’s ‘vicious attack’ on federal minister Harjit Sajjan regarding his role as Minister of National Defence during the evacuation of Afghanistan in 2021.

Here is Dhaliwal’s full statement:

“It is regrettable, and more, that the Globe and Mail newspaper has chosen this week to unleash so vicious an attack on Harjit Sajjan regarding his role as Canada’s Minister of National Defence during the evacuation of Afghanistan in 2021. Minister Sajjan’s impressive credentials, including service to our country with distinction as a peace officer, as a military commander and now as a Cabinet Member (currently Minister for Emergency Preparedness), are unassailable. For this reason, together with how he actually did acquit himself overall regarding Afghanistan, I believe very strongly that the censure by the Globe & Mail editorial board is totally unjustifiable.

“Sometimes the Globe & Mail gets it wrong. Dead wrong. Like its jingoism in March 2003 urging Canada to go to war by joining the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which Prime Minister Jean Chretien rejected. Today it pains me to point out how wrong the Globe & Mail is about Minister Harjit Sajjan. Its recent editorial criticizing his involvement in the mission to rescue vulnerable families, including many women and children (who happen, like Sajjan, to be Sikh) from Afghanistan, must be called out for its blatant inaccuracy. The finger it pointed at Mr. Sajjan regarding efforts – under Government policy overseen by Immigration, Citizenship & Refugees Canada – to rescue Sikhs and Hindus, whom that federal department working in partnership with a Canadian NGO ruled eligible for evacuation, is based on a shoddy interpretation of the facts. The part he played was consistent with – indeed, it was defined by – the tragic humanitarian effort to which Canada was pledged.

“Mr. Sajjan did not direct the Canadian Forces to prioritize Sikhs above others. As he has underscored in response to your [Globe and Mail’s] spurious charge, he had a duty and obligation to Canadians and those with strong ties to Canada. Furthermore, he had a responsibility to protect the vulnerable such as journalists, MPs, persecuted religious groups and other minorities.

“In light of the above, I want to turn the finger-pointing back at the Globe & Mail’s editors, so comfortably seated in their downtown Toronto boardroom, to ask: is there a certain racial differentiation implicit in the reportage leading to the Globe & Mail’s editorial condemnation of Mr. Sajjan, in the singling out of a hard-working public servant who was faced with uncomfortable choices and challenging circumstances in a warzone? I think so…and it is reprehensible.”