Canada’s Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for the rescission of Amira Elghawaby’s appointment as special envoy to counter Islamophobia in Canada over her “anti-Quebec” statements against the “Jewish people” and against “police”. Other politicians are following suit.
Posted 10:04am Updated 12:44pm
In a social media post on Saturday morning, Mr Poilievre claimed that “Justin Trudeau has once again insulted Quebecers, Jews and police officers. He did this by appointing someone to a very important position in government who had made anti-Quebec statements. »
In a video lasting just over a minute and a half, the Conservative leader does not name Ms Elghawaby directly, but directly calls for her nomination to be withdrawn.
Bear in mind that this week’s appointment of Ms Elghawaby is controversial. This former journalist specifically denounced Quebecers’ Islamophobia in a column published in the Ottawa Citizen on July 11, 2019.
On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invited her to “clear her thinking.”
“She slammed Quebec with those remarks,” repeats Mr. Poilievre in his publication. She made comments against the Jewish people and the Israeli people. And finally she insulted the police. It is not by appointing such a person to a position that we will be able to unite the country. »
Other politicians also commented on the subject on Saturday morning.
Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet launched on Twitter: “We don’t ‘remove’ words – she said them – at best we admit to having been vile”. He asserted that this appointment was made knowingly. “I don’t believe for a moment that @JustinTrudeau put her in such a sensitive position without checking her posts. Let’s go ! »
A vision shared by Martin Champoux, spokesman for secularism for the Bloc Québécois. “If he wants to build bridges, why appoint one to dig ditches? ‘ he wrote on Twitter.
The leader of the Quebec Conservative Party, Éric Duhaime, was also active on social media. “However, in terms of discrimination, amalgamation and intolerance, Ms Elghawaby is not a role model,” he tweeted. These anti-Quebec comments are totally unacceptable. A hurtful and unfounded generalization. »
With the collaboration of Mylène Crête, La Presse