“Surprised” by the question asked to Yves-François Blanchet at the opening of the debate in English on Thursday evening, Justin Trudeau deplored “the kind of amalgam” which was there and qualified as unacceptable and insulting the words of the ‘facilitator.
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“First of all, I must admit that when the question was asked about Bill 21 last night, I was very surprised by the kind of amalgam that was put in there, and I found that absolutely unacceptable and insulting, as a Quebecker, ”he said at a press briefing on Friday morning.
“Quebecers are not racists. I understand that there are people who disagree with Bill 21, I am one, and I understand that there is still a lot of work to do across the country to fight against systemic discrimination. But to paint a whole nation with this brush, no. Me, it does not pass, ”he said.
Recall that the host Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid research foundation and polling house, got off to a strong start by asking the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, to justify “to people outside Quebec” the existence of these “discriminatory” laws, before interrupting it more than once in its response.
The subject came back more than once during the debate and gave way to a spat on the expression of systemic racism between Mr. Blanchet and the leader of the Greens, Annamie Paul, who invited the Bloc leader to s ‘Educate’ on the subject.
Furious after the debate, Mr. Blanchet noted that no other leader had protested against the “boilers of insults” which he said were thrown “in the face of Quebecers”.
Asked about his silence, Mr. Trudeau reiterated that he was “surprised” by the question and that the format of the debate had not left him room to put his two cents in.
“The moderator was interrupting Mr. Blanchet while he was answering. I wasn’t going to add my voice to the cacophony, but the reality is, I was a bit stunned. It was unacceptable to me, ”he said on Friday morning.
“Proud Quebecer”, the Liberal leader said he “agreed” with the leader of the Bloc on the question of openness, which “drew conclusions that are inaccurate and insulting to Quebeckers.
“We meet on that,” said Justin Trudeau, before pointing out that “Mr. Blanchet seeks to create divisions and contrasts and chicane between Quebecers and other Canadians ”.
“You deny that Quebec has problems with racism, but you defend laws like Law 96 and 21 which marginalize religious minorities, anglophones and allophones. Quebec is recognized as a distinct society, but for those who are outside the province, please help them understand why your party also supports these discriminatory laws, ”Ms. Kurl offered to the Bloc leader in very early evening.
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