MONTREAL — Amid heavy criticism across party lines, an opposition member of the provincial legislature did not back down Friday from comments that his fellow lawmakers say painted them as racist.
Haroun Bouazzi of Québec solidaire has been criticized this week for a speech delivered recently before Fondation Club Avenir, a community group that works with immigrants.
“God knows I see this in the national assembly every day, the construction of this other, this other who is North African, who is Muslim, who is Black, who is Indigenous, and whose culture, by definition, would be dangerous or inferior,” Bouazzi told the crowd.
Other political parties said Bouazzi's remarks equated to labelling members of the national assembly as racist, and there have been calls for him to be sanctioned.
The controversy showed no signs of dying down on Friday as Bouazzi appeared on Radio-Canada's morning radio show. He remained unapologetic and said he had never called anyone racist.
But he singled out members of the governing Coalition Avenir Québec and opposition Parti Québécois, who he said blamed immigration for social ills.
He used as examples Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant and Health Minister Christian Dubé, who he said resorted to blaming "others" when it came to problems with youth protection and surgery wait times, respectively. He also criticized PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who he argued had said a third sovereignty referendum was necessary to ensure that Quebecers don't disappear.
In reaction to the latest comments, Dubé said he never said surgical waiting lists were the fault of immigrants. "I never made any such statement. It is completely unacceptable to suggest otherwise," Dubé wrote on X. "Mr. Bouazzi is looking for culprits for the regrettable remarks he made, he must retract them."
Carmant called on Québec solidaire leaders to act. "I will never accept being accused of stirring up racism," Carmant wrote on X. "I am a proud Quebecer of Haitian origin."
Government house leader Simon Jolin-Barrette said Friday that not only did Bouazzi refuse to apologize, he "gratuitously attacked" several colleagues. And PQ house leader Pascal Bérubé called on Québec solidaire to act against Bouazzi, noting the integrity of the national assembly was at stake.
The co-spokespersons of Bouazzi's left-leaning party said they spoke to Bouazzi on Thursday.
"We expressed to him that his remarks were frankly clumsy and exaggerated," said co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal. "No elected member of Québec solidaire thinks that Quebec (legislature members) are racist."
In his own post on social media, Bouazzi explained on Thursday that he was trying to express his concern over the daily discourse at the national assembly, which he said seems to point fingers at immigrants and newcomers as the source of many of Quebec's problems.
"Let's be clear: I never said that the people elected to the national assembly were racist," Bouazzi wrote. "I regret that colleagues interpreted it that way."
He added: "What I expressed was my concern about the daily speeches that point the finger at immigrants as the source of a huge part of the problems in Quebec. That was the meaning of my remarks."
Bouazzi drew applause during his speech this month to the Fondation Club Avenir, which helps North African immigrants integrate into Quebec society. But on Thursday, the foundation condemned Bouazzi's comments, adding that it was an "apolitical" organization and any politician coming to speak must focus on "cohesive and inclusive speeches."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.
-- With files from Patrice Bergeron and Thomas Laberge in Quebec City.
Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press