TORONTO 鈥� Canada鈥檚 minister of national defence has a message for Don Cherry: Take a history class.
Harjit Sajjan said Monday that the comments about immigrants and poppies that led to the hockey commentator鈥檚 firing are 鈥渁 reminder to all of us that there鈥檚 a lot more education that we need to do.鈥�
鈥淚 think our fallen would be disappointed to hear comments like this,鈥� he added.
Cherry was fired by Sportsnet on Monday, two days after he claimed on a national broadcast that immigrants do not wear poppies.
鈥淵ou people 鈥� that come here, whatever it is, you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that.鈥�
Speaking on CTV鈥檚 Power Play, Sajjan said that the popular commentator鈥檚 remarks were 鈥渆xtremely disappointing鈥� and suggested that the online outrage they provoked was justified.
鈥淚 think Canadians have reacted in a fair way,鈥� he said.
鈥淗ow can we now, as a government, as communities, teach people about the tremendous sacrifices that have been made by all, so that comments like this are not made? Because if anybody knew the history, these comments, I think, wouldn鈥檛 be made.鈥�
Sajjan was the latest in a series of military and political leaders to criticize Cherry鈥檚 remarks.
Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay called the comments 鈥渢otally inappropriate,鈥� while defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance said that 鈥渘obody should be shamed into wearing a poppy.鈥�
Sajjan, who was born in India and moved to Canada at the age of five, spent time in the Canadian Armed Forces including serving in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in Afghanistan.
The defence minister said he attended two Remembrance Day ceremonies on Monday where he saw 鈥淐anadians of all backgrounds鈥� taking part, and wanted to make sure that diversity was highlighted.
He likened that experience to when he was attempting to recruit more people from visible minority groups into the military. He said many new recruits told him that they were enlisting as a way of repaying the country that had taken them in.
鈥淭he ones that joined, I would ask them 鈥榃hy鈥檇 you join?鈥� 鈥� and a countless number of people would say, 鈥業t is my way of saying thank you,鈥欌�� he said.
With files from The Canadian Press
