Justin Trudeau rips Conservatives over Tory MPs’ meeting with known extremist
Christine Anderson #ChristineAnderson
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ripped into Conservative parliamentarians Friday after a viral photo of Tory MPs dining with a known extremist drew widespread condemnation.
“The Conservative Party of Canada owes some explanations to Canadians,” he told reporters during his visit to Toronto.
On Friday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre denounced the meeting between three Tory MPs and Christine Anderson, a controversial Member of European Parliament from the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AFD) party.
In statements provided to the Star, Poilievre and the MPs who met with Anderson said they weren’t aware of the views or associations of her and her political party.
Photos of the meeting between Anderson and Conservative MPs Colin Carrie, Leslyn Lewis and Dean Allison earlier in the week were circulated online, apparently taken in a restaurant during Anderson’s Canadian tour in support of the “Freedom Convoy” protests.
“Christine Anderson’s views are vile and have no place in our politics,” Poilievre said in his statement. “The MPs were not aware of this visiting member of the European Parliament’s opinions, and they regret meeting with her.
“Frankly, it would be better if Anderson never visited Canada in the first place. She and her racist, hateful views are not welcome here.”
Allison, Carrie and Lewis also replied in a joint statement that it is “not uncommon” for MPs to meet with visiting officials from other countries.
“We were not aware of the views or associations of her and her political party,” they said. “We do not share or endorse her views and strongly condemn any views that are racist or hateful.”
Trudeau took aim at the incident, saying, “We’ve seen consistently a pattern from Conservative politicians … Conservative parliamentarians associating themselves with folks responsible for a particularly vile level of rhetoric and hatred. And their answer is all the same — ‘Oh, we didn’t know.’” The PM added that “Canadians need to stop being treated like fools.”
The photo immediately drew condemnation from groups including Canada’s Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). In a tweet Thursday, the organization said the AFD party is known for its “Islamophobic and anti-immigrant views,” and that they’ve raised the issue directly with the Conservative party.
Later Friday, CIJA said they appreciated Poilievre’s “clear rejection” of Anderson and her party’s views.
“As we have stressed with previous incidents of this nature, it is imperative that Members of Marliament do their due diligence when agreeing to formal meetings,” they said.
Anderson is a member of European Parliament representing the right-wing AFD or Alternative für Deutschland party. She joined AFD in 2013, served as a parliamentary group leader for the party from 2013 to 2016 and was elected to European Parliament in 2019.
Anderson, known for her anti-vaccine, anti-refugee and anti-immigration views, made waves in the European Parliament last year after claiming Islam was at fault for the loss of women’s rights in Afghanistan: “Call the devil by its name and stop using apologetic terms to downplay the true nature of the most despicable and horrific ideology women suffer from worldwide,” she said at the time.
Anderson’s influence also extends to Canada, where she’s found support from the “Freedom Convoy” movement after voicing her support for the protests with YouTube videos and her appearances on the Conservative website Rebel News.
“It is simply not enough for just a handful of politicians to stand up and raise their voices against this whole COVID madness, this is not enough,” she told Rebel’s Ezra Levant at the time. “We need the people taking to the streets.”
Anderson also made headlines in Canada after rebuking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his speech to the European Parliament last year.
“Mr. Trudeau, you are a disgrace for any democracy,” she said. “Please spare us your presence.”
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