Justin Trudeau accuses conservatives of standing with ‘people who wave swastikas’

On Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau garnered serious backlash in the Canadian House of Commons as he accused a Jewish Conservative Party member of supporting “people who wave swastikas.”

Trudeau made the comment during the daily questioning period in the lower chamber of the Canadian Parliament. Trudeau previously faced criticism from Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, who made history as the first Jewish woman elected to her party last October.

She recited two quotes from the prime minister, one where he blasted the Freedom Convoy protesters who have continued their anti-COVID mandate demonstrations in Ottawa and along other various border crossings.

“If Canadians are going to trust their government, their government needs to trust Canadians,” she read, repeating words Trudeau said from 2015.

Landsman additionally brought up how Trudeau labeled the convoy protesters “very often misogynistic, racist, women-haters, science-deniers, the fringe.” She added, “Same prime minister, six years later as he fans the flames of an unjustified national emergency. When did the prime minister lose his way?”

Lantsman’s question elicited applause from members of her own party. But the applause turned to shouts once Trudeau, who is a member of the Liberal Party, responded: “Conservative Party members can stand with people who wave swastikas, they can stand with people who wave the Confederate flag.”

He continued, “We will choose to stand with Canadians who deserve to be able to get to their jobs, to be ablet o get their lives back. These illegal protests need to stop, and they will.” 

Dane Lloyd, conservative MP, slammed Trudeau over the comments and demanded an apology from the prime minister. “Mr. Speaker, I’ve never seen such shameful and dishonorable remarks coming from this prime minister,” he said. “There are members of this Conservative caucus who are the descendants of victims of the Holocaust.”

Lantsman later addressed what the prime minister said. “I am a strong Jewish woman and a member of this House and a descendant of Holocaust survivors and…it’s never been singled out, and I’ve never been made to feel less.”