The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre, calls on the authorities to expel from the country any foreigner who participated in the heist surrounding a demonstration last Friday in Montreal.
“People who are not permanent residents or citizens, who have broken the laws, should be expelled from Canada permanently,” he said at the microphone of host Mario Dumont, on the LCN network.
The leader of the official opposition was shocked by videos showing anti-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) protesters breaking windows, burning cars and committing other misdeeds three days earlier. He promises “tough laws to put in prison those who break people’s property” as well as increased border protection “to prevent this type of violent person from entering Canada.”
Pierre Poilievre attacked the Prime Minister’s leadership on this issue over the weekend in a video montage in which we see Justin Trudeau having fun with his daughter Ella-Grace during a concert by the artist Taylor Swift, in Toronto. “He has time to dance and take selfies, but he is too busy to condemn the violent takeover of our streets by Hamas,” he posted on the social network X on Saturday morning.
When the Conservative leader had the opportunity to further substantiate his thinking, in response to questions from Mario Dumont, on Monday, he blamed the Trudeau government for having “encouraged this extremism”, and held it responsible for “extreme immigration”. of control”. In his dream vision of Canada, people “leave their foreign problems at the door.”
“My wife came as a refugee [du Venezuela]it did not import the problems of South America,” he illustrated.
It’s already the law
In fact, the law already provides that visitors to Canada, foreign students or temporary workers lose their status in Canada as soon as they receive a criminal conviction, recalls Patrice Brunet, lawyer and member of the board of directors of the Association québécoise immigration lawyers.
“The laws are already in place and the system works very well,” said the managing partner at Patrice Brunet Avocats.
Even permanent residents could lose this status if found guilty of a serious offense. Canada also expels people whose asylum applications are refused.
“I hope that [le chef conservateur] don’t try to score political points by sugar-coating immigration, because that’s the wrong approach,” he adds.
The Montreal Police Service (SPVM) is not disclosing the status in Canada of the three people it arrested on the sidelines of Friday’s demonstration, organized by the Convergence of Anti-Capitalist Struggles and the organization Divest for Palestine. This is confidential personal information.
Police arrested a 22-year-old woman on Friday for assaulting a peace officer and obstructing police work. Two men aged 22 and 28 were arrested for obstructing the work of police officers. They were all released on a promise to appear. The SPVM promises to make other arrests following investigations.
The mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, mentioned Monday that these people are “thugs known to the police” who use “professional” methods to disrupt peaceful demonstrations.
Accused multiculturalism
The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, who also condemned the acts of violence in Montreal in a message which notably attacked the position of special representative of Canada responsible for the fight against Islamophobia, occupied by Amira Elghawaby.
“Canadian multiculturalism in itself is an open door to people who say, not only are we going to go to Canada, but we are going to bring conflicts there and a way of managing conflicts that does not correspond to what the people of Quebec and Canada want,” explained Mr. Blanchet during a press scrum.
On the other hand, he added that “the rule of law applies” in matters of expulsion. “There is a legal process. You don’t take someone who just threw a rock at a window, put their butt on a plane, and tell them “go somewhere else”. It doesn’t work like that. We’re not yet on the other side of the border. »
In response to Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus who accused him of “bringing criminals into Canada” and “letting representatives of Hamas destroy our cities”, the Minister of Public Security, Dominic LeBlanc, issued a warning to the rioters on Friday. “You are not claiming a peaceful cause, you are criminals and you will face Canadian justice. »
The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, for his part denounced “anti-Semitism, hatred, discrimination or violence” during a speech in Montreal on Monday morning. “We expect that all those responsible will be prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law. »
A review of Pierre Poilievre’s positions carried out by Duty during his 18 years as an MP before becoming leader shows that he has already condemned the presence of criminals among those admitted to the country, but while taking a positive view of welcoming “a record number of new Canadians.” For example, he said he was “for immigration” during the debate of aspiring party leaders in May 2022, without contesting the Liberal government’s reception target.
With Sandrine Vieira
