April 10, 2019 – In Montreal, the leader of the Green Party of Quebec demands the resignation of Denise Bombardier, columnist for the Journal de Montréal, because of the comments made in her April 9 post entitled « La haine dans les rues de Montréal » (Hate in the Streets of Montreal).
In the column in question, Ms. Bombardier maintains that the thousands of Quebecers who demonstrated against racism on April 7 had a « hatred of Quebecers », adding: « We are no longer here in diversity of opinion and in the expression of freedom of speech. Rather, we are in a declaration of war against the government elected according to the rules of the game. »
In reaction to this spectacular statement by Ms. Bombardier, the leader of the Greens is unequivocal: « Québécor is a mass media that conveys information to a large number of Quebecers. To condone the words of a columnist who uses the JDM platform to compare the peaceful mobilization of citizens, most of them from minorities, to a « declaration of war » that « targets the government » is unacceptable and dangerous from a societal point of view. With the power to influence comes responsibility, so I call on Québécor to assume its responsibilities and to remove Ms. Bombardier from her position. »
Earlier this week, Facebook banned six accounts associated with hate groups. « Quebecor has an important responsibility to follow Facebook’s initiative and put an end to the propagation and incitement of hatred against minorities on its platform, » said Alex Tyrrell, leader of the Green Party of Quebec. « Ms. Bombardier knows full well that what she is writing is false. She does so knowingly and repeatedly propagates hatred against minorities. »
Denise Bombardier has already been singled out several times for homophobic, transphobic, anti-feminist and Islamophobic comments. The Green Party of Quebec supports the secularism of institutions and the freedom of individuals. We are against Bill 21 and the suspension of our fundamental rights.
