Small Peaceful Protest Greets PPC Leader Maxime Bernier
When Maxime Bernier leader of the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) spoke earlier today in Moose Jaw it was not without a dose of controversy as a group of about 15 protestors expressed their views against what they saw as his message.
The peaceful protest, which only had a couple of people debating their opposing views, was for the most part uneventful with protestors not chanting or insulting speech attendees but simply standing with their signs of protest.
Protestors silently stand outside the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre in advance of Maxime Bernier’s speech - MJ Independent photo
Lori Deets was one of the protestors.
“Why am I out here? Because we stand against hate. I stand here today as a representative of Our Home On Native Land (OHONL). And we stand with our allies and I believe Maxime spews hate, says nothing but hate and it is disgusting. And I just want to be here to say hey there is a lot of people It is unacceptable and people need to call him out on that. And if you sit silently that’s complacency and that is not where we need to be in society today.
Lori Deets also serves as president of the Wakamow Aboriginal Community Association but said she was not in front of the Cultural Centre in that role but was there as a member of OHONL.
Asked to give examples of the hate she attributed to the PPC leader she replied “Islamaphobia, transphobia you know any of that stuff.”
“Saying anybody, putting them in any sort of lesser privilege is in my opinion is hate,” she said.
Asked for examples of the alleged hate expressed by Bernier she said she did not have her phone with her but there were examples of it from social media.
“They are from his Twitter page and all that stuff. The stuff he is responsible for…I don’t allow people to express hate on my (social media) pages.”
Asked what she hoped to accomplish by being part of the protest she said it was to raise awareness
“I’m here standing (against) hate. That is what I am doing.”
Asked if she was responsible for putting the pictures on the sidewalk in front of the Cultural Centre Deets said yes and when asked further if they would be removed her response was no.
“No, because they are beautiful and people need to know this stuff. People need to know this stuff. This is our home our country. We are taking our country back.”
It needs to be noted three of the same posters were applied with the same glue on PPC candidate’s High Street West campaign office as well.
Humberto Davalos was one of the people outside the Cultural Centre who held up a sign in opposition to Bernier.
Davalos said he was initially coming as an individual opposed to Bernier’s views. Views the sign he held labelled the PPC leader as transphobic, Islamaphobic, xenophobic and homophobic.
Humberto Davalos holding up his sign expressing his views about Maxime Bernier - MJ Independent photo
“I am here because I am battling hate and I see Maxime Bernier as representing hate in this country. Against immigrants like myself. Against Muslims and against Indigenous people,” he said.
Davalos provided evidence of the hate in a Facebook posting
“I just showed you a Facebook post of one of his supporters and it is what his supporters espouse. I just showed you a post by one of his supporters telling me to go back home and that him and Maxime would help me to go back to my Motherland.
Asked if the views might be the supporter’s and not the PPC leader’s views Davalos said it was a supporter who sent the post which included a photograph of the supporter posing with Maxime Bernier.
“Maxime uses much nicer language to get across the same message.”
Asked if being in front of the Cultural Centre protesting would help send a message he said
“We are peaceful. We are here being peaceful, we are battling hate and it won’t hurt. People need to see what this Party stands for.”
Asked if there plans to barge in and interrupt the Bernier event Davalos said he had no such plans but was simply outside peacefully and quietly expressing his views.
“I don’t intend to lay my hands upon anyone…I have been tracking this Party for a hell of a long time. Once I found out about this event I had plans to come,” he said.
As a precaution there were four uniformed private security guards at the political rally. On social media at least one individual, who opposes Bernier’s views, wrote about attending and randomly punching people in the groin area.
“I can go back to the time when he was in the Progressive Conservative Party, no, I am not going to call them the Progressive Conservative Party that is the old Party. But since they formed this Party particularly when it comes to immigration, being an immigrant myself I came here at (age) nine and in regards to Islamaphobia he uses coded language very well and he knows how to get his message across to a certain segment of society without saying things that would probably get him put in jail for hate speech.”
Asked for examples Davalos gave the examples “extreme multiculturalism is not the way to build this country”, “I agree we need more temporary foreign workers who are working the fields picking fruits” and come up with message after message like that.”
Following speaking to MJ Independent Davalos and a PPC supporter got into a political discussion - the likely highlight of the protest - which did not disturb any of the people waiting to get inside the venue.
Humberto Davalos (left) holds a political discussion with a PPC supporter during the protest against Maxime Bernier’s visit - MJ Independent photo
Following his speech Maxime Bernier agreed to answer questions about the protest outside the event.
Bernier said allegations he was not what the protestors were attempting to label him but despite not liking what they were saying supported their right to say it.
“I don’t respond as you saw you know I don’t have time to waste with that. It is not true and I did not do anything with them and they have the right to their own opinion but Canadians know me, they know what I did before. They know what I believe. I believe in individual freedom, personal responsibility, respect and fairness. I believe that these people have the right to say what they want to say. I don’t like it. It is not true but we are in a free society and they have the right to insult me. I don’t like it but they have the right,” Bernier said in response to a question by MJ Independent about what the protestors were labelling him as outside the venue.
Asked a further question by MJ Independent if the allegations of protestors that he and the PPC were just “rich white guys” coming to town to tell people what to do Bernier replied it was untrue but the PPC was actually all about giving more power to local people.
“Absolutely not. You know better than me what is good for you. So I am not there to tell you. I want you to be able to do what you want to do in your own life,” he said, adding “I want the government out of the way, not in your way.”
People’s Party Of Canada leader Maxime Bernier (second from the left) poses with supporters following the political rally - MJ Independent photo
Bernier expanded his answer into the area of freedoms the Government was trying to take away from individuals during the COVID - 19 pandemic.
“With these vaccine passports and draconian measures that they imposed on us during that COVID crisis and now it is the vaccine passport. We will live in a society of as I said ‘show me your papers’ everywhere. And you know Trudeau is lying to Canadians when he said people who have decided not to have the vaccine are bad Canadians and dangerous. No that is not true. Everybody, that is based on science, I can tell you right now everybody can spread the virus. Everybody is in the same boat and we must unite everybody under the umbrella of freedom.”
Regarding concerns raised the PPC was against First Nations Bernier said that was likewise untrue but there was actually a soon to be released platform to renew the relationship with First Nations by eliminating the racist Indian Act.
“We have a policy to abolish the Indian Act it’s a racist act. Also we want to build a relationship based on respect, based upon property rights…you will know more because in a week I will be in Edmonton we have four of our candidates that are First Nation and we will present our policy First Nations. So we have a lot of support. So I am very happy because these people (First Nations) must be able to participate in our society…right now we are putting them in the corner with this racist act, the Indian Act, so we will abolish that.”
Asked by MJ Independent for his opinion about the recent discoveries of a mass grave at a British Columbia residential school and unmarked graves at Saskatchewan residential schools Bernier said it was time to build a better future for First Nations and Canada.
“This country, like other countries, did things that we are not proud of today. But we did what we had to do and now we must turn the page and that is what I want to do with the First Nations. Build for a better future. I am looking forward, I am looking for the future so that is why it is a little bit bizarre that we are the only political party at the national level that has a policy for First Nations after what happened. So for us it is not about virtual signaling. It is about fact. It is about real policy that will help them and help our country.”