Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer was under mounting pressure to denounce Maxime Bernier鈥檚 public statements and kick him out of caucus Wednesday after the maverick MP used his Twitter feed to renew a sustained attack on 鈥渆xtreme Liberal multiculturalism.鈥�
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh used the social media platform to say he鈥檚 been waiting for Scheer to 鈥渄o the responsible thing鈥� and denounce what he calls Bernier鈥檚 鈥渄ivisive鈥� words.
鈥淭o everyone that belongs to a diverse community 鈥� who鈥檚 been told you don鈥檛 belong 鈥� I鈥檝e been in your shoes, I get it,鈥� Singh wrote, saying he鈥檚 鈥渄eeply disappointed鈥� in Scheer.
鈥淗is refusal to denounce these divisive comments sends a dangerous message. Children of diverse backgrounds across Canada pick up on these messages. Right now, they need to hear that their country wants more of themselves, not less.鈥�
In a series of tweets posted Sunday, Bernier said promoting too much diversity could have the effect of dividing Canada into 鈥渓ittle tribes鈥� that cause division and erode Canada鈥檚 identity. On Tuesday, he seized on a decision to name a park in Winnipeg after the founder of Pakistan, comparing it to the decision to remove a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald from outside Victoria city hall.
鈥淲hile a statue of our country鈥檚 founder is being removed in one city, a park was recently named after Pakistan鈥檚 founder in another, in the presence of M-103 Liberal MP sponsor,鈥� he wrote 鈥� a reference to controversial Liberal MP Iqra Khalid.
Khalid was the sponsor of M-103, a motion in the House of Commons aimed at denouncing 鈥淚slamophobia鈥� that quickly became a lightning rod for Opposition MPs who saw the motion as a possible attack on freedom of speech.
Arif Virani, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of heritage, also called for Bernier鈥檚 ouster Wednesday 鈥� and called out Scheer for failing to condemn his caucus member鈥檚 behaviour.
鈥淚 urge you to remove Mr. Bernier from your caucus immediately, otherwise Canadians will be forced to conclude that you accept his backward views,鈥� Virani wrote.
鈥淣ewcomers have not threatened what it means to be Canadian. To the contrary, successive generations of immigrants have enriched what it means to be Canadian.鈥�
It鈥檚 far from the first time that someone has called for Bernier to be removed from caucus.
One Conservative MP, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, told The Canadian Press last month that he urged Scheer to kick him out after the Beauce MP posted a controversial chapter of his forthcoming book on his website, despite having promised not to promote it 鈥漟or the sake of maintaining harmony in our party.鈥�
Instead, Bernier 鈥� who narrowly lost to Scheer by a razor-thin margin in last year鈥檚 Conservative leadership race 鈥� was stripped of his role in the party鈥檚 shadow cabinet.
Bernier鈥檚 no stranger to speaking his mind. In a recent interview, he declared himself the only politician who genuinely supports having free trade with the United States, and slammed his own party for supporting Canada鈥檚 鈥渟ocialist鈥� supply management system.
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Janice Dickson, The Canadian Press
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