Trudeau Went Off On The Bloc Leader For Playing 'Dangerous Games Around Intolerance'

The PM was floored.
Senior Writer

After comments made earlier in the week, Justin Trudeau went off on the Bloc Québécois leader for playing what he said are "dangerous games around intolerance."

While speaking on January 15, he was asked about the insinuations Yves-François Blanchet made about Omar Alghabra, the federal government's new minister of transport.

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I was absolutely floored to see a federal party leader use insinuations and carefully coded questions. Justin Trudeau

Trudeau said that he was "absolutely floored" to see a leader of a federal party make insinuations and use "carefully coded questions."

He noted that it was especially shocking because it was a week after the U.S. Capitol riot, which showed what happens when leaders "play these dangerous games around intolerance and hate."

In a statement about the recent cabinet shuffle, Blanchet said he was raising questions, but not making accusations, about Alghabra's ties to a "political Islamic movement."

Trudeau said it's "ridiculous" for the Bloc leader to try and innocently say that he was just asking questions.

"That kind of political pandering to the worst elements and to fears and anxieties has no place in Canada," he said.

Alghabra told The Canadian Press that he was disappointed by what happened and the attempt to "create divisions."

  • Senior Writer

    Lisa Belmonte (she/her) is a Senior Writer with Narcity Media. After graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), she joined the Narcity team. Lisa covers news and notices from across the country from a Canada-wide perspective. Her early coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic earned Narcity its first-ever national journalism award nomination.

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