BLOC QUEBECOIS ANSWERS TO CIJA’S 4 QUESTIONS
If elected, what will you do to support our community and contribute to our security?
The Bloc Québécois is a party deeply committed to democratic values and institutions. At every opportunity and as often as necessary, we denounce all forms of hate speech and hate crimes in the strongest possible terms. Since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza, the Bloc Québécois has denounced violence and harassment against the Jewish population. We denounce federal funding to organizations accused of promoting antisemitism, and we denounce the fact that the Canadian government allows calls for the murder of Jews without the slightest consequence because of the Criminal Code's religious exception to hate speech.
If elected, what will you do to strengthen the legal framework and punish those who attack and threaten Jewish Canadians?
The Bloc Québécois, like the vast majority of Quebecers and Canadians, takes the principled position that religion should not be used as an excuse for hate speech that would normally be punished criminally. In the wake of Adil Charkaoui's antisemitic hate speech against the Jewish community, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet tabled Bill C-367, which would remove the exceptions set out in sections 319(3) b and 318(3.1) b of the Criminal Code, stipulating that no person shall be convicted of wilfully promoting hatred if he or she has in good faith formed an opinion on a religious subject or an opinion based on a religious text in which he or she believes. Religious discourse would not be restricted, but simply framed. The Bloc Québécois believes that the exemption in the Criminal Code that allows incitement to hatred under the guise of religious speech must be abolished in order to uphold the secular nature of the State and the equality and rights of all citizens. The Bloc Québécois will therefore table a bill to abolish the religious exemption in the Criminal Code authorizing hate speech under the guise of faith.
If elected, what will you do to strengthen trade, diplomatic and security ties with our ally Israel?
The current context is unfortunately not conducive to creating better ties with Israel: the composition of Benyamin Netanyahu's coalition government with the Israeli extreme right, the calls by certain ministers to commit war crimes, and the recurrent attacks on the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and NGOs working in Palestine mean that we believe that Canada must now take sanctions against Benyamin Netanyahu and his extreme right-wing ministers in order to put an end to calls to commit crimes against humanity. The Bloc Québécois reiterates its unreserved support for a two-state solution and recognizes that the terrorist group Hamas is making a lasting peace impossible to achieve, which is why the Bloc Québécois would support an international intervention force aimed at bringing peace to Gaza.
If elected, what will you do to guarantee our Jewish community a secure, prosperous and dynamic future in Canada?
The Jewish community is an integral part of Quebec society. Our independence project is democratic, inclusive and respectful of human rights and freedoms. Our political action is guided by humanist principles and a constant concern for the value, dignity and autonomy of individuals. The Bloc Québécois will continue to campaign so that the Jewish community can live in safety, free from harassment and targeted by hate speech or acts of violence. The Bloc Québécois supports the Quebec government's commitment to fighting antisemitism. On May 26, 2021, the members of Quebec's National Assembly unanimously denounced threats, violence and attacks against Jewish Quebecers. The National Assembly also reiterated the need to maintain a healthy, democratic debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and recalled that violence against anyone is intolerable at any time. The Bloc Québécois endorses these positions and is committed to expressing Quebec's interests and values on the federal political scene.
