A Parti Québécois candidate recanted on Tuesday after having made criticism of Islam in the past, while another deleted a tweet from last November in which she wondered “why do visible minorities resist so much when do they get arrested? “.
Posted at 10:54 p.m.
In Facebook posts unearthed on Tuesday by The dutythe party’s candidate in the Laval riding of Sainte-Rose, Lyne Jubinville, harshly criticized Islam and immigration.
“Why are hijabs increasingly invading our public landscape? “, could we read among the publications consulted by the daily and which dated from 2011 and 2016. “Islam, it is not us”, indicated another.
The leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, reacted during the day by saying that he would keep the candidate on his team since she had “improved” in a message, also posted on Facebook.
“I completely recognize the right of new Quebecers and of all Quebecers to believe in God and to go to the places of worship of their choice according to their religion. Although I am very critical of the effect of religions on women’s rights, I recognize that everyone in Quebec is entitled to their beliefs and therefore has the right to practice their religion,” read the message posted. line by Lyne Jubinville.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says he “accepts” that certain things are said to the Parti Québécois, including “that from a feminist perspective, we criticize religions”. But, “there is a line to be drawn,” he added.
“We cannot say to new Quebecers: here in Quebec we are atheists, and you cannot believe in God and go to your temple”, he estimated, specifying that the words of his candidate “were going too far “.
Another candidate withdraws a tweet
A few hours later, it was the turn of the party candidate in the riding of La Pinière, on the South Shore of Montreal, to be confronted with an old publication that resurfaced on social networks.
“Why do visible minorities resist so much when they are arrested? I would like to get an answer from someone who is part of it. Thanks ! “, wrote Suzanne Gagnon last November, on Twitter, below an article by The Press about the muscular arrest by the police of young black men leaving a bar in Quebec.
Quickly, the publication was removed from the social network.
The Parti Québécois indicated that its leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, had contacted the candidate “in order to have an explanation about her tweet”.
“She admits to having expressed herself badly and regrets it. When we read [l’ensemble de l’échange]we see that she recognizes the existence of racial profiling and is concerned about the injuries inflicted on minorities during arrests, ”explained the spokesperson for Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, Laura Chouinard Thuly.
The chief therefore asked her to withdraw the publication, “which she did not to maintain the confusion”, she adds. “The Parti Québécois reiterates its full commitment to fight against racial profiling and discrimination,” concluded the spokesperson.