As the provincial election continues in the mostly French-speaking province of Quebec, another candidate for the Parti Quebecois has come under fire. The PQ advocates for the separation of Quebec from Canada to become an independent state and has recently promoted its “charter of secularism” which would ban wearing of religious symbols, such as the Jewish kippah, or Muslim head scarf, for those in employed in the public sector.
Louise Mailloux recently angered Jewish groups in Montreal for her view that the Jewish practice of circumcision was equivalent to “rape” along with an allegation that the price of kosher goods is inflated to help finance Jewish political interests abroad.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) said the disproved theory was first espoused by the Ku Klux Klan before being picked up by neo-Nazi groups.
Although the comments were made in 2011 and 2012 before becoming a PQ candidate, Mailloux had said in French to the newspaper La Presse just last week (March 13) that she “absolutely” stood by her comments.
Her apology came in a press release by the Parti Quebecois on Saturday afternoon.
Following the release of the apology, the CIJA issued its own release “Far from retracting or denying her support for an undeniably anti-semitic conspiracy theory of the ‘kosher tax,’ Ms. Mailloux is saying she was misunderstood”. The CIJA added, “We again insist that the Parti Québécois assume its responsibilities and categorically disavow the conspiracy theory promoted by its candidate.”
PQ leader Pauline Marois has refused to condemn Mailloux’s past remarks, saying only that the candidate now adheres to her party’s proposed secular charter and the PQ’s political platform, which respects religious diversity.
Earlier in this campaign, another PQ candidate, withdrew from the race after posting a picture on his Facebook page showing a woman holding up her middle finger with the caption “F—k Islam”
Before withdrawing, Jean Carriere defended his post to Radio-Canada journalists saying it was meant as a pro-feminist image.
La Presse interview with PQ candidate Louise Mailloux (in French)
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