Anti-Islam: Bloc leader caught up in controversy over his candidates | Elections Canada 2019

The day before, Mr. Blanchet had apologized on behalf of the party for old racist publications made or shared by four candidates, which were highlighted by The Journal de Montréal and the Globe and Mail.

The annoyance I felt when I saw that these people had shared deplorable and inappropriate content … I would have some non-secular words that I would use here, he said Friday at a press briefing in Lachute.

In the message sent the day before by the Bloc leader and in the almost identical one published by the candidates in question, none advance to condemn Islamophobia. Questioned on this subject, Mr. Blanchet agreed that the statements made in the past by his candidates "had in common to target more Islam, the Muslim community".

In their message, the candidates point out that The Montreal Newspaper considered their message as Islamophobic.

If he himself did not write the communiqué published Thursday, Yves-François Blanchet ensures that the intention was to write a statement that could represent "4 or even 5 different situations". The wording had to cover situations that are different from each other, he explained.

Defending the verification process put in place by the party during the recruitment of candidates, the Bloc leader argued that the party led in particular conversations [which] make it possible to verify with certainty that the values ​​of these people are consistent with those of the Bloc Québécois.

Yves-François Blanchet, visibly annoyed to be revived on this subject when he came to announce measures he intends to propose to strengthen the protection of personal information, repeated that he was unaware of all these statements before they be revealed to the public. If I had known, it would not have gone well, he added.

At some point, we arrive at a level of clarity that can not be exceeded. I think I was open, transparent and clear.

At a certain point, the Bloc leader, interrupting a reporter who asked his question, said: <q data-attributes = "{" lang ": {" value ":" fr "," label ":" French "}," value ": {" html ":" I'll tell you, what are we going to do: we will tell the voters that it is their judgment that will prevail. "," text ":" I'll tell you, what we will do: we will tell the voters that it is their judgment that will prevail . "}}" lang = "en">I will tell you what we are going to do: we will tell the voters that it is their judgment that will prevail.

Asked if he kept these candidates in the Bloc because the deadline for applications was exceeded, the Bloc leader said he was "insulted". To suggest that I compromise on what are notoriously non-negotiable and unavoidable values ​​for me, for electoral purposes, I do not receive this particularly enthusiasticallyhe replied.

Mr. Blanchet is not the only federal party leader who has had problems with candidates who have made comments deemed discriminatory. Since the beginning of the electoral campaign, about fifteen candidates, all parties, were pinned for old publications of racist, sexist, homophobic or anti-francophone nature on the social networks.

The Bloc wants tighten the screw to the banks

A little earlier, the Bloc leader announced that he intended to "tighten the screws to the banks" by introducing a bill to strengthen the protection of personal data.

The security of personal information is seriously underminedassured Mr. Blanchet, who proposes to draw inspiration from European regulations and to increase the fines imposed on banks so that they better protect their customers.

After the theft of personal data at Desjardins, which affected 2.9 million Quebeckers, Mr. Blanchet believes that the federal government must act to review the Lax and complacent law on banks and financial institutions, which does not force banks to disclose if they have been victims of data theft.

Mr. Blanchet suggests among other things to set up an anonymous whistleblower.