Quebec Is Demanding An Apology For 'Hostile' Language Used Against It At The English Debate

Trudeau is also calling for an apology.

Senior Editor
Quebec Is Demanding An Apology For 'Hostile' Language Against It At The English Debate

A motion passed at the National Assembly Tuesday demands a formal apology from the Debate Broadcasting Group for what it calls "hostile" language targetting the Quebec nation at the English-language federal leaders' debate on September 9.

The motion, from Joël Arseneau, leader of the Parti Québécois in the National Assembly, passed with the support of the CAQ, Parti libéral du Québec (PLQ) and Québec Solidaire.

The apology demand comes after much of Quebec's political class condemned the framing of a question from debate moderator Shachi Kurl for Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet.

"You deny that Quebec has problems with racism yet you defend legislation such as Bills 96 and 21, which marginalize religious minorities, Anglophones, and Allophones," Kurl said.

"For those outside the province, please help them understand why your party [...] supports these discriminatory laws."

Blanchet later accused Kurl of calling Quebecers "racists." Quebec Premier François Legault called the question an "attack" on the Quebec nation.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau added his voice to the calls for an apology, saying the "premise of the question was unacceptable."

Thomas MacDonald
Senior Editor
Thomas is MTL Blog's Senior Editor. He lives in Saint-Henri and loves it so much that he named his cat after it. On weekdays, he's publishing stories, editing and helping to manage MTL Blog's team of amazing writers. His beats include the STM, provincial and municipal politics and Céline Dion. On weekends, you might run into him brunching at Greenspot, walking along the Lachine Canal or walking Henri the cat in Parc Sir-George-Étienne-Cartier.
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