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OTTAWA - The Liberals and NDP are condemning a move by the Tories to end government hiring practices that block some people from applying for jobs based on race.

Treasury Board president Stockwell Day says no Canadian should be blocked from getting a job based on their ethnicity, but the Liberals say the Tories are just trying to meddle with the public service.

Earlier this week, QMI Agency published a story about an Ottawa area woman who was shocked to learn she was barred from applying for a job because she is white. The job with Citizenship and Immigration Canada was only open to aboriginal Canadians. The Harper government says it supports affirmative action but not blocking people from applying for jobs based on their ethnic background.

"While we support diversity in the public service, we want to ensure that no Canadian is barred from opportunities in the public service based on race or ethnicity," Day said in a statement.

“They don't understand why having a representative public service is important,” said Ignatieff spokesman Michael O’Shaugnessy. “But most important, they are trying to change the channel. They are throwing some red meat at their most right-wing supporters.” The NDP’s Pat Martin blasted the move as a sop to “the fundamentalist, neo-conservative, right wing.” Once informed there are jobs that are only offered to certain races, Martin said that was wrong but later changed his mind again.

“Sometimes the pendulum has to swing too far in the other direction,” said Martin, who says aboriginals and visible minorities need extra help in getting jobs with the federal government.