Liberals’ Rizqy accuses Conservative Leader Duhaime of channelling hate
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Liberal candidate Marwah Rizqy accused Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime of channelling hate. Duhaime countered that his party is “trying to transform … anger into something positive.”
Publishing date:
Sep 01, 2022 • 20 hours ago • 7 minute read • 25 Comments 
Marwah Rizqy, the Quebec Liberal candidate in St-Laurent, speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, August 31, 2022 in St-Agapit, Que. Rizqy received threats in the last few days. Photo by Jacques Boissinot /The Canadian Press Article content
Amid growing concerns about the security of candidates and staffers in the Quebec election campaign, Liberal candidate Marwah Rizqy, who was the target of death threats, said part of the blame for an increase in violent rhetoric could be traced to Conservative Party of Quebec Leader Éric Duhaime.
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Coalition Avenir Québec candidate Geneviève Guilbault, who is also public security minister, said she was threatened as well, particularly when COVID-19 restrictions were in place, and suggested Duhaime harnessed anger amid the pandemic to gain political clout.
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CAQ Leader François Legault, who has previously chided Duhaime for exploiting the pandemic for political gain, also on Thursday reacted to the rise in threats, urging all leaders to “not stir up anger.”
Duhaime, for his part, denied that he is the cause of any rise in intimidation against candidates, saying he is simply giving disenchanted Quebecers a voice.
“Back in June, someone said, ‘It’s time to bring their growing discontent into the National Assembly,’ ” Rizqy said during a campaign stop Thursday in Sherbrooke with Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade. “No, we don’t want the growing discontent in the National Assembly. We want people of stature, people who work hard, who have proposals.
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“And if your democratic legacy shows that you will channel hate and anger, that’s a very poor democratic legacy.”
Asked if she was referring to Duhaime, she said yes.
Rizqy told reporters Wednesday that a man had been arrested by police for uttering threats against her, including calling her local police station, giving them her street name and saying, “You will find her murdered body there.” Claude Delaney was charged with criminal harassment on Friday and released on the condition he not contact Rizqy.
The incumbent MNA for St-Laurent, who is eight months pregnant, said she received one day of police protection since the threats started two weeks ago, the most police were authorized by law to provide. She asked that MNAs facing threats be given increased police protection, and that all candidates be supplied with a “panic button” to be used to contact police if they feel threatened.
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This week, Enrico Ciccone, the incumbent Liberal MNA running for re-election in Marquette riding in Montreal, said his riding office was broken into and vandalized Tuesday night.
In June, Duhaime told reporters he was inviting Quebecers to bring their “voices of discontent” into the National Assembly on election day. With 59,000 members at the time in his party, he said the Conservatives are well positioned to make history and “make an entry” on Oct. 3.
“Our objective is to take all this growing discontent that was outside of the National Assembly, and bring it within the walls of the National Assembly,” Duhaime said at the time.
On Thursday, Guilbault confirmed she, too, has been threatened.
“We have the impression there is a kind of crescendo when you look at what people are saying about elected officials,” she told reporters at a Legault campaign stop.
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She said she feels safe herself because she has security around her at all times. All of Quebec’s senior cabinet ministers have personal bodyguards who double as drivers.
Guilbault said hateful messages have peaked during the pandemic — even between citizens themselves.
Without accusing Duhaime directly, she suggested he has played a part.
“Mr. Duhaime combined all these dissatisfied people,” Guilbault said. “He started his movement into politics in wake of all this (anger).
“I am careful to not say it is his fault, but (we) all have our way to doing politics. I remember during the pandemic, he did tweets about me which were false, but which cranked up the anger of people. He suggested I was not respecting the health rules, which was false.
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“But people then said, ‘We know darn well elected people do what they want. They make rules but don’t follow them.’ ”
While it would be too simplistic to say Duhaime alone is responsible for the climate, Guilbault said, all politicians need to act responsibly.
“I think we should all stay calm, stay respectful,” she said.
At a press conference in Montreal, Duhaime rejected the criticism, accusing Rizqy of “going too far” and suggesting opposing parties are trying to tar Conservatives because the party is on the rise.
Denying that he is fuelling hatred, he insisted that he is instead trying to channel “despair into hope.”
“When a party is going up, the other parties usually attack you. That’s basic in politics, unfortunately, and I think you’re seeing the same polls that we’re looking at,” he said.
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Duhaime said Quebecers are fortunate to live in a democracy and “we need to make sure that we preserve that.”
“The way in a democracy to promote your ideas is not to threaten anyone or to attack your opponents,” he said. “It’s to vote (and) help candidates and organize and volunteer.”
He added that “it’s not one party that has the monopoly of (being targeted) by violence. Our own volunteers, two of them, got (threatened) by someone with a knife.”
A reporter asked Duhaime if he is trying to capitalize on anger over COVID-19 restrictions.
“Look, there are people who are mad and sad because those people have suffered tremendously over the last few years,” he responded.
“They were the victims of some measures, and people lost their jobs, saw their kids dropping out of school, (experienced) mental health problems — all sorts of things happened in Quebec.”
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Duhaime said people felt that they were “forgotten” and that their “voice was not heard at the National Assembly, and that developed a sentiment that was not good.”
“We’re trying to change that and make it positive,” he said. “Make sure that those people are bringing their message to the National Assembly and feel (like) they live in a democracy and their voice is heard.”
He said the Conservatives are “trying to transform … anger into something positive and democratic.”
Duhaime said he’s the only leader of a major political party without SQ protection, adding he will leave it up to the provincial police force to decide whether that should change.
He noted that he has worked in Iraq amid warfare and knows what it’s like to be scared.
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“I don’t want to be frightened” as a politician in Quebec, he added.
Duhaime said he hopes the situation doesn’t deteriorate to the point where candidates are so protected by security that they are “isolated.”
“I want to be me among the people,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sylvain Lévesque, the CAQ MNA for Chauveau — the riding in which Duhaime is running — confirmed on Twitter that he has filed a complaint with police after one of his campaign posters was doctored online.
“I filed a complaint with police this morning,” Lévesque wrote. “This kind of publication is unacceptable. We can be against ideas, but violence and intimidation are never tolerated. Despite this, nothing will stop me from going to meet the citizens of Chauveau.”
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Je suis allé porter plainte au poste de police ce matin. Ce genre de publication est inacceptable.On peut être contre des idées, mais la violence et l’intimidation ne seront jamais tolérées. Malgré ça, rien ne m’empêchera d’aller à la rencontre des citoyens de #Chauveau! pic.twitter.com/DOqMyxwX77
— Sylvain Lévesque, candidat de la CAQ Chauveau (@SLevesquedepute) September 1, 2022 Advertisement 11
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Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante on Thursday called the threats against elected officials and candidates unacceptable.
In 2019, Plante said she was the target of sexist and violent threats after she spoke out about Bill 21, the law passed by the Legault government that banned people in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols such as turbans, hijabs and kippahs.
During a campaign event, Legault called for all political parties to do their best to not stir up anger among voters.
“Unfortunately, we are seeing this more and more often,” he said in reference to threats against politicians. “Yes, lots of it is on social media, but there are real threats as well and this is not acceptable.
“I have asked the Sûreté du Québec to make themselves available for all candidates who feel threatened. I think it’s important for the SQ to actively supervise.”
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Legault went further, calling on everyone to do their part.
“I think we all have a responsibility to not stir up any anger,” he said. “I am thinking of candidates and leaders, and even the population in general. This is not the kind of society we want, to see such threats. It seems to me this is not the Quebec we love.
“I ask everyone in Quebec to be cautious and not stir up anger in our comments, or having warrior-like language. Yes we are adversaries, yes we debate ideas, but it has to remain an exchange about ideas.”
Asked if he was singling out any one leader, Legault said no. He said he was calling on “everyone to be careful.”
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Legault said he is very satisfied with the work of police on the campaign trail to date.
“I feel safe,” he said. “I would like this to be the case for everyone.”
As many as 12 SQ officers are following the CAQ campaign caravans, with local police providing backup in specific cities.
Anglade said she had not received threats “that I know of.”
She said all elected officials and candidates have a responsibility “to calm things down and to send the message that we want to have a campaign where they are not going to be harassed, not be threatened.”
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