The push to boot candidates accused of Islamophobia raises questions

08/22/2019

On Friday, the Green Party fired their candidate in the Quebec riding of Lévis-Lotbinière after he was labelled an 'Islamophobe' because he dared to criticize a mosque leader.

Before Saint-Hilaire was punished by the Green Party for criticizing an Islamic cleric, Salim Mansur's nomination as a candidate was disallowed because he too was judged too critical of Islamic issues, despite him being a Muslim.

And just three days after Saint-Hilaire's vilification, another Conservative Party candidate, Ghada Melek, came in the cross hairs. In 2018, the Egyptian Coptic Christian community activist had advocated against the presence of advertisements on Mississauga city buses promoting the hijab by invoking Christianity and Christian symbolism.