QUB radio columnist Gilles Proulx went too far, calling Quebec Solidaire (QS) lawmakers “bastards” and “gangrene” and then demanding “to finish them off once and for all,” protests Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. The supporting co-speaker calls for a public apology.
In Statement released on his social media on Thursday, Mr Nadeau-Dubois strongly denounced the “hateful, violent and degrading” comments made in two separate columns by the Quebecor web radio staffer. “Until this apology is made, no member of Québec solidaire will participate in QUB radio broadcasts. We are also examining the legal remedies available to us,” the MP wrote.
QS’s criticism relates to the content of two columns on Richard Martineau’s broadcast of March 10 and 21. In the first, Mr Proulx confirms that, out of solidarity, the elected officials were involved in “Puasserie” during the partial electoral campaign in Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne by distributing leaflets in monolingual English language.
“This gangrene is gaining ground,” he says.
In a second sequence deleted from QUB Radio’s website, Mr. Proulx goes further: Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois is “hypocritical” for wearing a fleur de lis pin on his jacket “sovereign, he said, […] removed the word “Quebec” from its billboards during the campaign. “The English are really right when they say we should take care of them once and for all,” he says.
Late Thursday afternoon, the columnist defended himself on Twitter, and accused the supporting co-speaker of quoting him out of context. “I wasn’t talking about him or his party when I said, ‘the English are right, we should finish them off, those fat fellows’. I was ironic about us Quebecers continuing to vote for them despite all the hypocrisy of certain politicians,” he wrote.
Gilles Proulx also added that some of the terms he uses in his columns are justified in “a free and democratic society”.
“Incitement to Violence”
Liberal MP Marwah Rizqy, who was threatened during last year’s general election campaign, denounced “incitement to violence” on Thursday […] totally unacceptable”. “An attack on elected officials is an attack on all elected officials,” she said from the Blue Room, her voice choking with emotion. ” This is unacceptable. […] We are not disembodied from life, we have families. »
In a tweet published on Thursday, Prime Minister François Legault also “strongly condemned” the language used by Gilles Proulx. “This hatred has no place. Everyone deserves respect,” he tweeted.
Mr Nadeau-Dubois asked Mr Proulx to show “responsibility”. “Threats against elected officials or candidates exploded during the last election campaign. Police have made a record number of arrests. […] Gilles Proulx’s statements are not only dangerous for the social climate, they also endanger the safety of Québec solidaire’s elected officials,” he explained.
After a series of threats during the first week of the campaign last year, François Legault asked the Sûreté du Québec to be present “for any candidates who feel threatened”. “We cannot accept this kind of threat in our society,” he argued.
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