Minister demands apology after Poilievre accuses her of pandering to 'Hamas supporters'
Tensions flared in question period as MPs marked the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks
Tensions flared on Parliament Hill Monday as MPs marked the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks — and as Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly demanded an apology from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre after he accused her of pandering "to Hamas supporters."
The tense exchange began early in question period when Poilievre rose to denounce what he called "genocidal chants from hateful mobs," and called on the government to do the same.
Both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters have taken to the streets across the country in the year since the Hamas attack on Israel and that country's subsequent military action in the Gaza Strip. Police have opened investigations into alleged hate speech following some rallies and charges have been laid in some cases.
Joly initially responded to Poilievre's question by reading a prepared statement which listed the names of the Canadian victims of the Oct. 7 attack. She promised to stand with Jewish Canadians.
Poilievre rose again and insisted the government denounce antisemitic chants. Justice Minister Arif Virani then rose and said the government stands against hatred targeting Jewish Canadians.
After a few questions from other opposition parties, Poilievre again rose and accused Joly specifically of refusing to condemn antisemitic chants and being interested only in replacing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party.
"She continues to pander to Hamas supporters in the Liberal Party as part of her leadership campaign rather than doing her job," Poilievre said. (The House of Commons official transcript later quoted Poilievre as saying, "She continues to pander to Hamas supporters and the Liberal Party.")
Joly responded by accusing Poilievre of politicizing the solemn anniversary.
"If there is a day where we don't do politics about peoples' lives being taken or people being killed, it is today," Joly said, adding that all MPs oppose antisemitism. She called on Poilievre to apologize.
Poilievre retorted by accusing the government of dividing Canadians and not being strong enough on fighting antisemitism.
After question period, House Speaker Greg Fergus said Poilievre's comments about "pandering to Hamas" were unparliamentary and asked the Conservative leader to withdraw the comment.
"As I've said before, there are ways to make our points without resorting to these types of comments," Fergus said, noting that other MPs have been asked to withdraw similar remarks in the past.
In March, Liberal MP Yvan Baker was asked to retract a comment he made when he accused the Conservatives of having a "pro-Putin wing," in reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Baker has yet to withdraw those comments and hasn't been recognized by the Speaker in the House of Commons since.
A spokesperson for Poilievre later said that Fergus was "showing his partisan bias and trying to censor questions of his party."
"The foreign minister refused to condemn revolting anti-Jewish slogans chanted by pro-Hamas mobs on Canadian streets. She also refuses to defend Israel's right to retaliate against terrorists and tyrants that attack the Jewish State. She is doing this to further her leadership ambitions at the expense of Canada's foreign policy," Sebastian Skamski, Poilievre's director of media relations, said in an email.
After question period, Joly again accused Poilievre of politicizing the anniversary of the attack. She told reporters she had spoken to a number of the Canadian victims' families earlier in the day.
"That's what you do when you hold a position of power in these difficult times. You support people, you show moral leadership. You don't frickin' gaslight people," Joly said.
"[Poilievre] was trying to play petty politics on the backs of victims and so that's why not only should he apologize for what he did, but clearly the guy's unfit to become prime minister."
Following question period, MPs observed a moment of silence in the House to mark the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack. The House also passed a unanimous motion, put forward by Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman, condemning the attack and expressing support for the victims and their families.
Around 1,200 people were killed during Hamas's attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and around 250 were taken hostage. Since then, at least 41,500 people have been killed in Israel's ongoing air and ground military offensive, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
It's believed about 100 hostages remain in Gaza.
About 90 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced from their homes and at least 680 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank.
On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces said 728 of its soldiers have died in Gaza in the past year.
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With files from Reuters