Former Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe says NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is playing “cheap politics” with his criticism that the separatist party’s leader in the House of Commons is a “racist” for not supporting Singh’s motion condemning systemic racism in the RCMP.
In an interview with The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson, Duceppe said Singh was wrong to call Bloc Quebecois House Leader Alain Therrien racist for denying unanimous consent to the motion, which called on members of the House of Commons to recognize systemic racism in the police force.
The motion Singh proposed also called for a review of the RCMP budget and a review of the use of force by its members, along with a review of the law governing the national force.
It required unanimous consent from all members in order to move forward to debate, but Therrien denied that consent. Singh then called him a racist and refused to apologize, leading to his ejection from the House of Commons for using unparliamentary language.
“I don’t understand at all Jagmeet Singh calling Therrien a racist. In Quebec, it’s not supported at all but the NDP is largely absent in Quebec,” said Duceppe when asked about the matter.
“The only thing he wanted to do was get more support in the rest of Canada,” he continued.
“I think that was cheap politics from Jagmeet Singh. It won’t help him in Quebec, and neither Trudeau by the way.”
Global News reached out to Singh’s team asking whether he wanted to respond to Duceppe’s comments so his voice could be included at the time of publication.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended Singh last week, saying it’s not the place for white members of Parliament to question the only racialized leader of a federal party on what he thinks is racism.
“In regards to what Mr. Singh said, it is not for me to criticize any Canadian, particularly the only racialized leader in the House of Commons, for making other people uncomfortable by calling them out for not recognizing systemic discrimination,” Trudeau said.
“It remains problematic that the Bloc Québécois refuses to recognize systemic racism in the RCMP and this country.”
Their concern, he said, was that Singh’s motion declared the existence of systemic racism in the RCMP before that committee could even begin that work.
Singh was visibly emotional in a press conference arranged quickly following his ejection from the House of Commons last week.
“I was angry at the moment and I stand by it,” he said of his comment. “In that moment, I saw the face of racism.”
Duceppe said he wasn’t sure whether Singh was faking his emotions.
“I don’t know if it was genuine or not but it was plain stupid,” he said.
He also said while there is systemic racism in Quebec, that also exists in the rest of Canada and no one else should tell Quebeckers the best way to move forward.
“There is systematic racism in Quebec but we certainly don’t have to take lessons from the rest of Canada,” Duceppe continued.
The death of George Floyd, a Black 46-year-old American man, in Minnesota on May 25 galvanized global protests against systemic racism, including major scrutiny of police violence against racialized people.
Floyd died during an arrest after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Solidarity protests quickly spread across Canada and have become a much broader protest and national dialogue about the harmful impacts of systemic racism on Black and Indigenous people in Canada.
The RCMP, in particular, has come under fire for accusations of excessive force in multiple encounters with Indigenous people.
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said last week she was “struggling” with the definition of systemic racism and how it applied to the force, but was forced to state clearly in a subsequent public statement following backlash that it does in fact exist in the RCMP.
In a separate interview on The West Block, Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal, who is the only Indigenous member of cabinet, said he understands the frustrations so many are feeling right now.
He said there are no easy answers for the government on how best to tackle systemic racism in Canada, but that it needs to do more than is happening now.
“The frustration is, it’s not a new issue. The frustration is, there’s not a simple solution,” he said, while pointing out that reports like those from the Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls provides a “roadmap.”
“We need to go back to those reports and make sure those calls to action are implemented. That’s something our government is doing but we need to put added vigor into that exercise.”
Vandal said part of the difficulty in moving forward will be changing people’s minds, saying that, “the actual foundation of racism is people’s attitudes, people’s values, the way people think, and that’s harder to change.”
And while he said working together to find solutions is critical, Vandal added that not acknowledging racism will only hurt the efforts to find a way forward.
“I think if you refuse to acknowledge that systemic racism exists, you certainly do not have an open mind to address this issue,” he said.
“I think by refusing to acknowledge that systemic racism exists, you are exhibiting racist behavior.”
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
