‘All the power to Jagmeet Singh’: Canadians defend NDP Leader who called Bloc MP ‘racist’

Canadians have taken to Twitter to defend NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, after he was asked to leave the House of Commons for choosing not to apologize to a Bloc Quebecois MP, who he called “a racist.”

Singh directed the words at Bloc member Alain Therrien on Wednesday, after the House of Commons failed to receive unanimous consent to pass a New Democrat motion on Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) discrimination.

The NDP leader had asked the House of Commons to recognize that systematic racism exists in the RCMP. Singh also asked all parties to join him in calling for a review of the force’s budget, while ensuring the federal police force is held accountable, since “several Indigenous people have died at the hands of the RCMP in recent months.”

It was unclear who in the Commons decided against the move, but Bloc MP Claude DeBellefeuille spoke out in Therrien’s defence, saying Singh’s words were unacceptable. Singh then doubled-down on his comments, and also refused to apologize after being asked to by the Speaker, which resulted in his dismissal.

“It’s true, I called him a racist, and I believe that’s so,” Singh said.

The RCMP has come under increased scrutiny in the past few weeks, especially after the release of a dashcam video showing Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam being punched and choked by officers.

Story continues

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki initially didn’t want to admit that systematic racism existed in the police force, but she corrected herself late last week.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged that systematic racism exists in Canada, including in the RCMP, but not all leaders nationwide have come to the same conclusion.

Following his dismissal from the House of Commons, Singh spoke about what happened between himself and Therrien, which caused him to react in the manner that he did.

Singh said the Speaker was about to move forward with the motion, until hearing a Therrien repeatedly say “no.” When the two MPs made contact, Singh said “that MP” proceeded to “brush his hand, dismiss it.”

“In that moment I got angry, but I am sad now, because why can’t we act?” said Singh at a press conference shortly after, while trying to hold back his emotions. “Why can’t we do something to save peoples’ lives? We can do something, and why would someone say no to that?”

Amid Canadians standing up for Singh, others also took to Twitter to condemn his word choice and his recent actions.