TORONTO -- Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet hopes Jagmeet Singh will apologize after the NDP leader accused a Bloc MP of being a racist in the House of Commons.
Singh was expelled from the House of Commons on Wednesday, for calling Bloc MP Alain Therrien a âracistâ after the the Bloc Quebecois House Leader blocked an NDP motion calling out systemic racism in the RCMP.
âI hope that the leader of the NDP will apologize sincerely and if not, I hope the president of the House of Commons will be quite severe because if the only penalty is not being allowed into the room for one day and not being to speak for one day, everybody will feel entitled to do the same and trade insults and accusations on the floor,â Ottawa Thursday morning
Earlier on Thursday, Singh defended his comments and said he was prepared to face any penalty as a result.
âI believe in what I said,â he told Âéśš´ŤĂ˝ Channel.
The NDP leader also said he hadnât spoken privately with Therrien after he made the accusation, but heâs not opposed to the idea. However, he said heâs more concerned with seeing systemic change.
âI want to see some systemic change,â he said. âI donât really care to appease one person's feelings. I want to bring in changes to the police so that I don't see another Indigenous person be brutally beaten. I want to bring in changes to the federal policing so that people who are, need a wellness check, aren't then killed afterwards. I want to see that.â
Singh sought the unanimous consent of the House of Commons to pass a motion that would recognize the existence of systemic racism within the RCMP and to call on the government to review the police forceâs budget and the federal law that governs them, examine their use of force, and increase spending on mental health and addiction support outside of the police.
While it appeared that all of the parties supported the motion at first, there was an audible ânoâ from the area in the Commons where the Bloc Quebecois caucus sit.
Later on Wednesday, Singh told reporters that he was angry, not only that Therrien denied the motion, but that he also appeared to make a dismissive hand gesture during the exchange.
âIt was this brazen act of one MP to not just say no, but to say no loudly and to kind of gesture like this,â Singh said as he imitated someone brushing something away with their hand.
âAlmost like this is meaningless and in that gesture, I saw exactly what has happened for so long. People see racism as not a big deal, see systemic racism and the killing of Indigenous people as not a big deal, see Black people being the subject of violence and being killed as not a big deal, and in the moment I saw the face of racism.â
Blanchet, however, said gestures are open to interpretation and that ânobody seems to rememberâ the one that offended Singh.
âIf somebody doesnât see anything explicit, who is entitled to say, âOh, he moved his hand in such a way and this means this or that?ââ he asked.
The Bloc Quebecois leader said the only thing the party did was say ânoâ to the motion because they want a committee to analyze the issue of systemic racism in the RCMP and come to its own conclusions.
âTherrien is anything but a racist person,â Blanchet said. âMe, or our team, or MPs, are anything but racist people. We simply said that, because committee was to be called to analyze this very issue, the Parliament was not supposed to dictate the conclusions of this committee. This is the only reason why we said we donât want to approve this motion. Thatâs it.â
When asked about Singhâs remark on Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he found it âdisappointingâ that the Bloc Quebecois refuse to accept that systemic discrimination and racism exists in every part of the country and its institutions.
âThe first step is recognizing that there is a problem so that we can address it and it is unfortunate that they continue to resist recognizing the lived reality of millions of Canadians who are Indigenous or racialized,â the PM said during his remarks from Rideau Cottage.
Trudeau wouldnât comment directly on whether he thought the Bloc Quebecoisâ refusal to approve the motion was racist, but he said they will have to explain why they refuse to recognize systemic racism.
The prime minister added that Singh should be allowed to raise such issues, even if it makes people uncomfortable.
âI think itâs important that we recognize when the only racialized leader in the House of Commons makes a statement like that, that it comes from a place that, yes, will make people uncomfortable, but needs to be dealt with as we move forward as a country,â he said.
Former NDP leader and Âéśš´ŤĂ˝ political analyst Tom Mulcair, on the other hand, said he thinks that Singh should apologize for calling Therrien a racist based on the exchange that happened in the Commons on Wednesday.
âIf youâre using racism because you donât like somebodyâs hand gestures, you have no other information about that personâs core beliefs, theyâve never said or done anything that anybody would identify as being racist, itâs not that youâre making them uncomfortable, youâre using a very serious term and you better have something to back it up,â he said.
