Minister Barbour’s performance reflects on all of us

Dear Editor:

I read Ivan Morgan’s opinion column on (Tourism and Culture Minister) Andrea Barbour. In short, he has the politics of the situation probably close to correct: a Liberal insider caught a Conservative politician on video at an unfavourable moment and posted it online. It’s an easy cheap shot to make.

However, the equally candid reality is that our province has long been the butt of simpleton jokes and mockery. Those “Newfie jokes” cast us as uneducated and inarticulate. Ms. Barbour literally lived up to the stereotype.

And so, having a cabinet minister fumble the ball so clearly and terribly on the international stage is anything but inconsequential. They are our representatives; they must be held to a higher standard. When the minister of arts and culture – arguably a minister whose portfolio includes responsibilities for public performance and language – can’t handle her own native language for the commemoration of one of the most prominent and culturally significant events in our history, it reinforces the stereotypes.

Yes, the social media post was a cheap shot. But it was also a legitimate reminder that our ministers’ professionalism and conduct reflects us as province. I do not think it means Ms. Barbour should resign because of it, but we also shouldn’t just ignore it either, or cast the expectation of having articulate representatives as “shameful” or unreasonable.

Matthew Milner

Mount Pearl