The elected officials of Quebec solidaire will boycott Quebecor’s web radio, Qub Radio, to denounce the “hateful and degrading” comments of columnist Gilles Proulx, who claimed that “we should finish them off once and for all, these thick ones”. They demand an apology and a public retraction.
“I ask Gilles Proulx, Richard Martineau and Qub radio for a full retraction and a public apology. As long as these apologies have not been made, no member of Québec solidaire will participate in Qub radio broadcasts. We are also examining the legal remedies available to us,” the party’s parliamentary leader, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, denounced Thursday in a press release.
“We are human beings, we have families. There are limits,” he added.
The party criticizes Gilles Proulx for remarks made on March 10 on the Richard Martineau show. “The deputies of Quebec solidaire are described as ‘bastards’ and ‘smutty’ by the columnist, in addition to being called ‘gangrene’, ‘liars’ and accused of engaging in ‘putassery’ “,” Mr. Nadeau-Dubois lamented.
And in another column now removed from the web, still with Richard Martineau, the MP points out that “Mr. Proulx goes even further. “After talking about me at length, he exclaims, ‘We should finish them off once and for all, those thick ones. ” “, he added.
Mr. Nadeau Dubois believes that “it is normal and healthy for columnists to severely criticize elected officials and their ideas”, but that “here, we are dealing with violent, hateful and degrading remarks towards elected officials of the National Assembly of Quebec, on the airwaves of a major media”. He also attacked Mr. Martineau, who “never intervened” to correct these remarks.
“We can’t tolerate that and Qub radio shouldn’t have tolerated that,” he said.
Mr. Nadeau-Dubois makes a link between these remarks and the “hostile and even sometimes violent climate on social networks”. “During the last election campaign, threats to elected officials or candidates exploded. A record number of arrests have been made by law enforcement,” he wrote.
“In this context, we all have a responsibility. The vast majority of columnists do their job with respect, but if hateful, violent and degrading remarks are tolerated on its airwaves, Qub radio is responsible. Gilles Proulx’s comments are not only dangerous for the social climate, they also endanger the safety of the elected officials of Québec solidaire, “he denounced.
On social media, the exit of Québec solidaire received the support of elected officials from other political parties.
Liberal Marwah Rizqy said she ran into Mr. Nadeau-Dubois during the day and “rarely saw him so shaken, and for good reason.” “He played me the clip where you hear a columnist say, ‘we should finish them off once and for all, those thick guys.’ This incitement to violence is completely unacceptable,” she said.
The defeated CAQ candidate in Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, Victor Pelletier, congratulated Mr. Nadeau-Dubois for speaking out to denounce these “disgusting and out of place” remarks.
