Conservative MP Maxime Bernier: Ethnic and Sexual Diversity is ‘Destroying’ Canada
Failed Conservative leadership candidate under fire for ‘racist diatribe’ that echoes ‘white supremacist talking points’
August 13, 2018
On the anniversary of last year’s deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Conservative MP Maxime Bernier claimed diversity is going to “destroy” Canada.
Bernier, who narrowly lost the Conservative leadership to Andrew Scheer in 2017, fired off a bizarre series of pre-planned tweets in both of Canada’s official languages Sunday night attacking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for promoting “diversity” at this weekend’s Taste of the Danforth food festival in Toronto.
The festival, held only a few weeks following a tragic shooting carried out by a man with a history of mental illness, took on special meaning this year, with a focus on community and solidarity.
In a speech, the Prime Minister said the multicultural festival and the diversity of the neighbourhood’s residents are a good example of Canada’s “strength” as a nation – a sentiment echoed at the event by both Toronto Mayor John Tory and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
Bernier, however, had a different opinion.
“Trudeau keeps pushing his ‘diversity is our strength’ slogan,” Bernier tweeted.
“Diversity will not be our strength, it will destroy what has made us such a great country.”
That’s not all.
Here are a few other kernels of bigoted wisdom from Bernier’s wild Twitter diatribe Sunday night:
• Bernier claimed diversity causes “distrust, social conflict and potentially violence.”
• Despite being “repressed in the past,” Bernier argued “ethnic, religious, linguistic, sexual and other minorities” now have “the most freedom to express their identity” – though he later added they need to stop being “different” and conform to orthodox conservative “cultural traditions.”
• “Why should we promote ever more diversity?” the Conservative MP asked. “If anything and everything is Canadian, does being Canadian mean something?”
• Without providing any evidence, Bernier launched into a thinly-veiled attack on immigrants, complaining that those who “refuse to integrate into our society” and “live apart in their ghetto” are weakening Canadian society.
Bernier’s comments ignited a firestorm of criticism on social media, with prominent observers poking holes in the logic of his “racist diatribe” and questioning why he made these kinds of remarks on the one year anniversary of Charlottesville’s deadly white nationalist rally.
http://pressprogress.ca/conservative-mp-maxime-bernier-ethnic-and-sexual-diversity-is-destroying-canada/
Failed Conservative leadership candidate under fire for ‘racist diatribe’ that echoes ‘white supremacist talking points’
August 13, 2018
On the anniversary of last year’s deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Conservative MP Maxime Bernier claimed diversity is going to “destroy” Canada.
Bernier, who narrowly lost the Conservative leadership to Andrew Scheer in 2017, fired off a bizarre series of pre-planned tweets in both of Canada’s official languages Sunday night attacking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for promoting “diversity” at this weekend’s Taste of the Danforth food festival in Toronto.
The festival, held only a few weeks following a tragic shooting carried out by a man with a history of mental illness, took on special meaning this year, with a focus on community and solidarity.
In a speech, the Prime Minister said the multicultural festival and the diversity of the neighbourhood’s residents are a good example of Canada’s “strength” as a nation – a sentiment echoed at the event by both Toronto Mayor John Tory and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
Bernier, however, had a different opinion.
“Trudeau keeps pushing his ‘diversity is our strength’ slogan,” Bernier tweeted.
“Diversity will not be our strength, it will destroy what has made us such a great country.”
That’s not all.
Here are a few other kernels of bigoted wisdom from Bernier’s wild Twitter diatribe Sunday night:
• Bernier claimed diversity causes “distrust, social conflict and potentially violence.”
• Despite being “repressed in the past,” Bernier argued “ethnic, religious, linguistic, sexual and other minorities” now have “the most freedom to express their identity” – though he later added they need to stop being “different” and conform to orthodox conservative “cultural traditions.”
• “Why should we promote ever more diversity?” the Conservative MP asked. “If anything and everything is Canadian, does being Canadian mean something?”
• Without providing any evidence, Bernier launched into a thinly-veiled attack on immigrants, complaining that those who “refuse to integrate into our society” and “live apart in their ghetto” are weakening Canadian society.
Bernier’s comments ignited a firestorm of criticism on social media, with prominent observers poking holes in the logic of his “racist diatribe” and questioning why he made these kinds of remarks on the one year anniversary of Charlottesville’s deadly white nationalist rally.
http://pressprogress.ca/conservative-mp-maxime-bernier-ethnic-and-sexual-diversity-is-destroying-canada/
