The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, cannot believe that the Canadian Ambassador Bob Rae could get away so easily after shouting in the face of the world the discriminatory nature of the Secularism Act of the Quebec state.
“An ambassador to nothing less than the United Nations who insults 20% of the population he is supposed to represent is immediately unworthy of the post he occupies,” he said on Wednesday, prompting applause from Bloc members in the Wellington Building conference room.
In his view, the Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, must “at least” appear before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development for having publicly denounced the “discriminatory” nature, according to him, of Bill 21. , which was adopted by the National Assembly in June 2019. “And I do not see how [M. Rae] could have a return ticket to New York afterwards, ”continued Mr. Blanchet.
Bob Rae deplored the exclusion of Fatemeh Anvari, a teacher wearing the hijab, from a class in an elementary school of the Western Quebec School Board. “This clearly goes against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” wrote the former Ontario premier (1990-1995) and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada (2011-2013) on Twitter last sunday.
Mr. Rae – described as an “official representative of the Government of Canada” by Twitter – also shared on Monday a tweet from Oakville – North – Burlington MP, Pam Damoff, urging everyone to support Fatemeh Anvari whose assignment to another position not subject to the ban on wearing religious symbols provided for in the Quebec State Secularism Act is fueling Islamophobia.
Two days before the parliamentary break, the Bloc leader calls for the designation of an individual “respectful of a certain number of people who are still Canadian citizens. [— les Québécois appuyant la loi 21 —] and who understands the meaning of the word diplomacy ”at the head of the Permanent Representation of Canada to the United Nations in New York.
Yves-François Blanchet is convinced that the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, will sound the charge against Bill 21 the day after the Quebec general election, on October 3. “I am convinced that Mr. Trudeau has a virulent itch at the idea of rushing into the heap, but not being crazy, he said to himself: we will wait. We are not going to give an even stronger mandate to Quebec nationalists, “he told the press, before adding:” We are not deluding ourselves, more or less skillfully, more or less. subtle, Mr. Trudeau essentially announced for 2023 a war against the law 21. “
Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus reminded the Ambassador of his duty of reserve. “It is a decision of the Government of Quebec and we do not have to interfere in it. […] He may have exceeded the reservations that an ambassador should have, ”he said in a press briefing.
With Boris Proulx