Conservative minister James Moore revealed a distinctly Scrooge-worthy side recently when he answered a question about child poverty with the now infamous words "Is it my job to feed my neighbour's child? I don't think so."
He may as well have finished off with, "Are there no workhouses?" Politically, Moore obviously needs to spend more time in Politics 101, in which slamming hungry children at Christmas is likely not recommended.
Moore has since apologized, but not before trying the Rob Ford-certified method of denial, followed by blaming the reporter who quoted him.
On a deeper level, Moore's comments reflect the view that people should be responsible for themselves.
In an ideal world, we would all have the means - financially and socially - to attend to our own problems.
That is not, however, the world we live in. Instead, our reality includes underemployment, layoffs, singleparent families, mental and physical disabilities and stagnating welfare rates. Traditionally we help our "neighbour's child" through our income redistribution provided by our taxes, of which the federal government takes the lion's share. Moore's party, however, has a poor record of prioritizing collective wellbeing.
"Am I my brother's keeper?" Moore essentially mused.
The correct answer, of course, is yes. Just ask the churches and service groups collecting toys and money for Christmas hampers, the volunteers who run food banks, the teachers and parent committees making sure their neighbour's kids don't go hungry.
They understand profoundly that we are responsible for each other - even if the federal minister does not.
