Conservative former Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier has slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arguing that his “cult of diversity” is dividing Canadians into “little tribes.”
Bernier, a member of parliament from the French-speaking province of Quebec who came in second in the Canadian Conservative party’s leadership race last year, blasted the Canadian Prime Minister on Twitter saying, “Trudeau’s extreme multiculturalism and cult of diversity will divide us into little tribes that have less and less in common, apart from their dependence on government in Ottawa,” CBC reports.
“These tribes become political clienteles to be bought with taxpayers $ and special privileges,” he added.
1/ Trudeau keeps pushing his “diversity is our strength” slogan. Yes, Canada is a huge and diverse country. This diversity is part of us and should be celebrated. But where do we draw the line?
Diversity is what makes Canada strong: Trudeau https://t.co/dZmCffRBFY
— Maxime Bernier (@MaximeBernier) August 13, 2018
“Having people live among us who reject basic Western values such as freedom, equality, tolerance and openness doesn’t make us strong. People who refuse to integrate into our society and want to live apart in their ghetto don’t make our society strong,” he noted.
Bernier’s comments were met with criticism both from leftists in Canada but also from other conservatives with Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer’s communications director Brock Harrison saying, “Canada has been built by people from all over the world coming here to enjoy the freedom, prosperity and equality that our country offers. Conservatives will continue to recognize and celebrate the contributions made to Canada from people from diverse backgrounds that have enriched our history and our society.”
Conservative Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Michelle Rempel commented on Bernier’s tweets saying, “From a political perspective, it’s equally easy to say ‘diversity is our strength, #welcometocanada’ as it is to infer Canada’s pluralism has failed, if neither claim is backed up by data or policy.”
Rempel has been a fierce critic of Prime Minister Trudeau’s handling of the recent migrant crisis which has seen thousands of illegal migrants cross from the United States into Canada, primarily across the Quebec border.
Justin Trudeau Approval Rating Now Below President Trump as Right Wing Parties Surge In Canada https://t.co/KT9620X9md
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 20, 2018
Bernier has also taken issue with the recent move by the Victoria city council to remove a statue of Canada’s first Prime Minister John A. Macdonald saying in a tweet Tuesday, “Canada under extreme Liberal multiculturalism: While a statue of our country’s founder is being removed in one city, a park was recently named after Pakistan’s founder in another, in the presence of M103 Liberal MP sponsor.”
“Pakistan independence from India led to 1M deaths,” he added.
M103, also known as the “Islamophobia motion” saw Liberal Party Muslim MP Iqra Khalid propose the Canadian government, “condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination.” The motion was passed in the House of Commons in March of last year.
Mr Bernier, a free market proponent, has also been known for his staunch opposition to Canada’s supply management system which artificially limits the supply of dairy, eggs and chicken in order to stabilise the price of the products.
Supply management is supported by Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer and Bernier’s vocal opposition to the system ended up costing him his shadow cabinet post earlier this year when he released a chapter of a book on the topic. Previously Bernier had promised not to release the book.
Bernier later claimed that his opposition to the supply management system led to his dismissal from the shadow cabinet.
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com
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