Elected officials condemn comments by MP Haroun Bouazzi, of Québec solidaire

Québec solidaire (QS) rebuffs its MP Haroun Bouazzi after the publication of an extract from his speech at the Club Avenir Foundation gala, which led to condemnations from all the other parties.

The two co-spokespeople of QSGabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Ruba Ghazal, called the member for Maurice-Richard to order, who for his part believes he had been misunderstood.

God knows that I see this in the National Assembly every day, the construction of this other, of this other who is North African, who is Muslim, who is black, who is indigenous, and of his culture which, by definition, would be dangerous or inferiordeclared the member for Maurice-Richard (Montreal), before being applauded by the crowd.

On the X network, Ms. Ghazal indicated that she and Mr. Nadeau-Dubois had a good discussion with Mr. Bouazzi Thursday morning.

We told him his remarks were clumsy and exaggeratedshe wrote.

No Quebec Solidaire MP thinks that Quebec MPs are racist.

This mea-culpa is not enough, in the opinion of the PQ leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.

The Parti Québécois has often been targeted by Mr. Bouazzi, who has already accused it of racism, recalled the sovereignist leader.

There are dozens of them [de déclarations] and it’s far from being an anecdotelamented Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon.

When Québec solidaire decided to make him its candidate and a member of the National Assembly, he knew very well what Mr. Bouazzi’s views were on Quebec, on our institutions and our political parties, so Québec solidaire has a responsibility to correct the situation more clearly than to have a conversation with Haroun Bouazzisaid Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon in a press scrum in Montreal, inviting Maurice-Richard voters to remember the escapades of their MP in the elections in two years.

For his part, former solidarity MP Amir Khadir took a position in favor of Mr. Bouazzi in a text published on Facebook on Thursday.

No offense to our right-thinking friends who howl with the wolves against Haroun, he is unfortunately right: this “double standard” is deeply rooted in a racism that does not speak its name! he wrote.

In the process, Mr. Khadir slammed Prime Minister François Legault for blocking a motion condemning Israel.

François Legault and his government are blocking a motion to condemn the genocide perpetrated by Israel with the complicity of the Trudeau government which continues to sell it weapons. Why, you ask? I’ll tell you like I think it: for our Prime Minister, the lives of the Palestinians, the thousands of massacred children, have little value. So little that it’s not even worth a convictionhe insisted.

Misunderstood, says Haroun Bouazzi

For his part, Mr. Bouazzi has not apologized: he rather claims to have been misunderstood.

I never said that the people elected to the National Assembly were racist, he assured. I regret that colleagues interpreted it that way.

Rather, he claims to have expressed his concern about the daily speeches which point the finger at immigrants as the source of a huge part of the problems in Quebec.

You know very well what you said when referring to your daily life in the Assemblyresponded PQ MP Pascal Bérubé.

These accusations are serious. Your denial too.

Parliamentarians from other political parties also condemned Mr. Bouazzi’s statements via the X network.

By making such radical remarks, MP Haroun Bouazzi knows very well what he is doing: he is dividingwrote the parliamentary leader of the government and Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette. Rather, an elected official has the responsibility to unite.

For her part, liberal MP Marwah Rizqy recalled in a long message that she herself was of Moroccan origin and that she had never been made to feel dangerous or lower in the National Assembly.

Accusations of racism against the National Assembly and its parliamentarians are very serious and require the greatest seriousness. They must be supported by facts, otherwise they bring immense discredit to the Institution of institutions. Explanations are necessary.

The Regulations of the National Assembly provide thata Member who has the floor cannot use foul or disrespectful language towards the Assemblybut its scope extends to the precincts of parliament.

Ms. Rizqy added that she hesitated before speaking, but that it is important that every Quebecer, regardless of their ethnic origin or religion, knows that it is possible in Quebec to aspire to the highest positions.

His colleague, MP Monsef Derraji, for his part wrote: The main thing is to feel at home. If we recognize ourselves as Quebecois, that is how we will be seen.

The comparison that ignited the powder

In his speech, Mr. Bouazzi also drew a parallel between two recent controversies to illustrate his argument on the profiling of North African and Muslim minorities.

He made particular reference to the Bedford public school in Montreal, where an investigation determined that a clique of teachers of North African origin engaged in proselytism and had established a toxic climate.

He said he had heard comments about incompetent teachers and all the talk that comes with entryism, the invasion of this culture and the danger that surrounds it.

And by way of comparison, he mentioned the scandal at the Cité-des-Prairies rehabilitation center in Montreal, where around ten educators had sexual relations with young criminals, including several minors, according to an internal investigation.

Do you know what culture they are from or what their religion is? he asked the audience.

Me neither, but what I can tell you is that they are neither North Africans nor Muslims, because otherwise, we would be sure to know what religion or origin they are.he said to the applause of the crowd.

The Canadian Press attempted to obtain a reaction from the Club Avenir Foundation, but the organization did not respond to our request.

This foundation describes itself as a non-profit organization which works for the integration of North African communities into the host society.