Conservative MP Richard Martel drew strong criticism on Tuesday from Bloc and New Democrat elected officials, who believe he should apologize for refusing to help Salvadoran nationals living in his riding and, above all, for having defined them as “illegal refugees”.
Bloc Québécois Mario Simard criticizes Mr. Martel for his remarks, reported by Radio-Canada, which are intended as an explanation for the fact that he did not offer his support to these newcomers — when they were threatened with deportation — since they arrived in the country irregularly, crossing Roxham Road, in Montérégie.
“There are people who have made requests that are unusual, but there is no such thing as an illegal refugee. […] I think Richard [Martel] should apologize, […] because what he said without knowing the file and without knowing everything that the different statutes imply can have negative consequences on these people,” said Mr. Simard in an interview with The Canadian Press.
The latter recounted having successfully made representations to the Minister of Immigration, Sean Fraser, asking him to intervene in order to prevent the expulsion of Salvadoran nationals. He stressed that he was able to count on the collaboration of the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau in this specific case.
‘No way to treat people’
The deputy leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Alexandre Boulerice, considers that the words and actions of Mr. Martel are “disgusting”.
“Frankly, I think it’s a pretty inhumane way to treat people,” he said in an interview.
In addition to demanding an apology from the Conservative MP, Mr. Boulerice would like his party leader, Pierre Poilievre, to give “directives, very clear instructions that he does not accept this kind of speech”.
“If he is honest with the fact that he wants to be open to immigrants and immigration, well, he is giving a clear message to his whole caucus that this is not a way to treat people, ”said the man who is also the MP for the Montreal riding of Rosemont – La Petite-Patrie.
A Tory spokesperson had not, as of this writing, responded to a request for comment from Mr. Poilievre’s office. Interview requests from The Canadian Press with Mr. Martel as well as with Pierre Paul-Hus, political lieutenant of Quebec for the official opposition, had also been left unanswered.
Nevertheless, a written statement from Mr. Paul-Hus was provided. “Our MPs help people from all walks of life and support Canadians who have been left behind by the Trudeau government while defending a fair and compassionate immigration system,” he said.
The elected Conservative took the opportunity to criticize the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau on the immigration file.
“The Conservative Party believes that Canada is an open, inclusive and diverse country, but also a country that protects its borders, respects the rule of law and promotes security,” he said. Instead of creating a massive backlog and years of delays like the Liberals did, we are going to fix the mismanagement and make sure the process for regular immigrants is seamless so they can join our communities and enrich our country. »