QUEBEC CITY – As the anniversary of last year’s mosque shooting outside Québec City approaches, the Parti Québécois has succeeded in proving that they are “not even a little bit racist” by opposing even the discussion of the existence of Islamophobia in the province. Parti Québécois leader Jean-François Lisée has declared that “the best way to mark the anniversary of the 2017 mosque shooting is to say to all Québécois people that the idea of Islamophobia is a bit of a downer, so let’s just change the subject and not talk about it.” He further added that when it comes to racism in general, “we don’t need to talk about it because there’s nothing to talk about, and I think I’ve proven my point.”
The leader of fellow provincial opposition party Coalition Avenir Québec, François Legault, agrees with Lisée, adding “if there’s one thing people already know about the province of Québec, it’s that there has never been such a thing as Islamophobia here.”
Both the Parti Québécois and the provincial Liberals have come under fire over the past several years for various attempts at legislating religious clothing, particularly face coverings worn by Muslim women. When questioned about if this was an example of institutionalized Islamophobia, Lisée pointed out that “you’re the one who keeps bringing up racism, so maybe YOU’RE the real racist? Now can we please talk about anything else, like, I don’t know, hockey.”
Representatives for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, which proposed a day of action against Islamophobia, stated at a press conference “Look we’re not trying to say that every single person in Québec is racist or anything even close to that, just please can we talk about the struggles we’re facing for even one day?” while Lisée and Legault stood nearby with their fingers plugged in their ears, loudly repeating the words “I CAN’T HEAR YOU LA LA LA”
Premier Philippe Couillard has said that he is open to the idea of possibly discussing the issue of Islamophobia, but also that, “it’s an election year, so don’t hold your breath.”
