A skirmish over anti-Semitism between Pierre Poilievre and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly marked the October 7 question period, a sign that partisanship never takes a break, even on solemn days.
• Also read: Israel: the horror of October 7 haunts the relatives of a massacred family
• Also read: In Gaza, residents describe “a year of suffering” since October 7
To highlight last year’s attacks, the Conservative leader asked Ms. Joly to denounce chants and slogans heard during demonstrations across the country in the past year, such as those calling for war against Israel.
The minister named all the Canadian victims killed that day, and indicated that she had met their families here and there, denouncing anti-Semitism at the same time.
But Mr. Poilievre did not budge, accusing Ms. Joly in this English exchange of wanting to “please Hamas supporters in the Liberal Party” in order to help her chances of becoming its leader one day.
“Mr. President, if there is a day when we do not engage in politics so that people’s lives are destroyed or people are killed, it is today,” retorted Ms. Joly, who asked his counterpart to apologize for his insinuations.
At the end of the question period, the minister described Mr. Poilievre’s comments as “unacceptable” and accusing him of “emphasizing what divides us rather than what unites us. […] Clearly, this guy is not ready to be prime minister.”
Attacks unanimously denounced
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the entire federal political class on Monday marked the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel and denounced the increase in anti-Semitism in Canada that followed.
“We have seen attacks on synagogues and schools, people being taunted for wearing a Star of David or a yarmulke, blatant anti-Semitic slurs becoming commonplace, protesters praising terrorists as well as the denial of the horrible events of October 7,” decried Justin Trudeau in a written statement.
According to him, “Hamas has set the region on a path to war and violence.” He assured that his government would continue its efforts with its allies to establish a ceasefire.
Also in writing, Mr. Poilievre deplored the “grotesque anti-Semitism in the streets” and questioned the “weak leadership” of Justin Trudeau, whom he accused of “appeasing groups that do not respect the law.”
While recalling the seriousness of the “horrible terrorist attacks” of October 7, the NDP leader declared that the population of Gaza “do not deserve to suffer collective punishment.”
“Just as there is no justification for the brutal terrorist attacks of October 7, there is no justification for the high number of civilian casualties and indiscriminate attacks in Gaza,” Jagmeet Singh said.
For its part, the Bloc Québécois launched a call for diplomacy and pressed for negotiations with a view to a peaceful settlement of the conflict “so that the healing of the raw wounds of these people and the slow, difficult and uncertain construction of ‘peaceful cohabitation between a State of Israel and a Palestinian State, both as necessary and legitimate as the other.’
