Dump ‘hateful’ Tory MP Bernier: Liberal
Quebec MP tweets about “extreme multiculturalism”
OTTAWA — Liberal MP Arif Virani is urging Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer to remove Maxime Bernier from caucus after the defiant MP tweeted what Virani calls “hateful attacks.”
Virani, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of heritage posted Wednesday a letter addressed to Scheer on Twitter, urging Bernier’s removal and also criticizing the Tory leader for failing to condemn his caucus member’s behaviour.
“I urge you to remove Mr. Bernier from your caucus immediately, otherwise Canadians will be forced to conclude that you accept his backward views,” Virani wrote.
Virani called it “extremely troubling” that Scheer did not denounce Bernier’s “blatant attack on new Canadians” after a string of tweets Sunday in which Bernier criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for promoting “more diversity.”
Virani also accused Scheer of “standing silent” on an additional tweet from Bernier published Tuesday that referenced Liberal MP Iqra Khalid and a park in Winnipeg named after the founder of Pakistan.
Canada is being subjected to “extreme Liberal multiculturalism,” Bernier tweeted, contrasting the park dedication to the decision in Victoria to remove a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald from outside city hall.
“While a statue of our country’s founder is being removed in one city, a park was recently named after Pakistan’s founder in another, in the presence of M-103 Liberal MP sponsor.”
Khalid was the sponsor of M-103, a controversial motion in the House of Commons denouncing “Islamophobia,” which quickly became a lightning rod for Opposition MPs who argued the motion represented an attack on freedom of speech.
“Pakistan independence from India led to 1M deaths,” Bernier’s tweet continued.
Virani accused the Quebec MP of staging “unacceptable” attacks on new Canadians and called multiculturalism “the furthest thing from partisan.”
Virani also addressed Bernier’s comments Sunday when he said promoting too much diversity could have the effect of dividing Canada into “little tribes” that cause division and erode Canada’s identity.
“Newcomers have not threatened what it means to be Canadian. To the contrary, successive generations of immigrants have enriched what it means to be Canadian,” said Virani, noting that a number of Bernier’s caucus colleagues have pointed out that multiculturalism has been promoted by both Liberals and Conservatives.
Virani is not the first MP to call for Bernier’s removal from Scheer’s caucus.
A Conservative MP, speaking on condition anonymity last month, told The Canadian Press that he asked Scheer to kick Bernier from caucus after he posted in June a controversial chapter of his forthcoming book on his website — a book he had already agreed to postpone, “for the sake of maintaining harmony in our party.”
While Bernier had been relatively quiet in the weeks following his removal from the Conservative shadow cabinet, he made other eyebrow raising comments in a recent interview, declaring himself the only politician who genuinely wants free trade with the United States and slamming his own party for supporting supply management, which he called a “socialist” policy.