Quebec Solidaire condemned the “toxic atmosphere” surrounding the election of Haroun Bouzzi in Maurice-Richard, the party’s first breakthrough in the riding. A barely elected, major interest party has indeed become the target of hateful comments online.
Posted at 11:14 am
“The weak Haroun Bouzzi has earned his place in the National Assembly. Hate and Islamophobia have no place in Quebec. I call on us collectively as elected officials and citizens to condemn this toxic atmosphere and warmly welcome our new colleague,” Solidarity co-representative Manon Massey said in a tweet early Friday.
She responded to several hateful comments published online against solidarity. Internet users have confirmed that he embodies the “Islamist lobby in Quebec Solidaire” or that the formation has become an “Islamo-leftist party”. Others also criticized the newly elected official for “advocating Sharia” or making “radical pro-Islam comments”.
An activist and former co-president and co-founder of the Association of Muslims and Arabs for Secularism in Quebec (AMAL), Mr. Bouazzi, in recent years communities have denounced the stigmatization of Muslims.
On Twitter, re-elected CAQ member Benoît Charette of Deux-Montagnes, the outgoing minister for the fight against racism, also considered comments of this nature “very sad”. “I wish my new colleague Haroon Bouzzi a very warm welcome to the National Assembly. “It will be a pleasure to work with him on various issues,” he said.
On the way to a first term
Haron Bouzzi was previously Assistant Vice President of Enterprise and Solutions Architecture at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). In an interview with Press In late September, he said Maurice-Richard had a “sense of urgency to try new things.”
There is one issue on everyone’s lips this year in this constituency: the renovation and expansion of the Sophie-Barat school, whose condition is no doubt deteriorating. A portion of the main building was condemned in 2020 due to the risk of collapse, forcing many students to take lessons in another building.
The secondary school is in such poor condition that a recent visit by CNESST found that immediate corrective action is needed to address the asbestos and mold exposure issues.
“There has been more than a decade of appalling neglect,” Mr. Bouzzi said in an interview. Governments will rot this gem. We are going to ensure the accountability of the people responsible for rectifying the situation. »
It is the first time Quebec Solidaire has won a seat in Maurice-Richard, and outgoing MP Marie Montpetit, who was expelled from the Liberal caucus in the wake of harassment allegations, has announced she will not run again. In this riding, which is often a barometer, we have traditionally exchanged Liberal and PQ MPs over time.
