People’s Party of Canada (PPC) leader Maxime Bernier, along with PPC candidates and supporters, attended the party’s first national conference in Gatineau, Quebec on Sunday. A little background: the PPC was launched in September of last year after Bernier resigned from Canada’s official opposition Conservative Party. Bernier is also a former cabinet minister with the Conservatives. His new PPC has managed in less than a year to form electoral district associations in all of Canada’s 338 ridings.

His split inevitably divides the right in the country on key issues affecting the conservative base. In his resignation speech, Bernier stated:

“I’ve come to realize this party is too intellectually and morally corrupt to be reformed…I am now convinced that what we will get if Andrew Scheer becomes prime minister is just a more moderate version of the disastrous Trudeau government.”

Bernier has been disqualified from upcoming official election debates scheduled on October 7 and October 10, on the grounds that his new party did not meet certain criteria established by the federal government:

Any party wishing to participate had to meet two of three conditions, which include having one sitting MP elected under the party banner, as well as candidates running in 90 per cent of the 338 federal ridings in the Oct. 21 election.

Although “the PPC plans to run a full slate,” the problem is that Bernier was elected as a Conservative. Still, he argues that to be excluded from the debates means “excluding the only political party leader who has anything different to say.” He is correct in this, specifically on the important matters of multiculturalism, immigration, the freedom of speech and the constitution. Bernier stands out as unique among his counterparts of the Liberal Party (Justin Trudeau), the New Democratic Party (Jagmeet Singh), and the Conservative Party (Andrew Scheer). Benjamin Dichter, a founding member of the group LGBTory.ca, the Rainbow Conservatives of Canada, who ran for the Conservative party in downtown Toronto in 2015, exemplified a cohesion that undergirds support for the PPC when he “pumped up the crowd” at the national conference by stating that “Canada is heading in the wrong direction when it comes to how it is dealing with Islamic extremism.” He continued: “Canada is ill and suffering, and it is suffering from the stench of cultural relativism and political Islam.” Dichter switched his support from the Conservative party to the PPC.

When reporters asked Bernier whether he agreed with Dichter’s assessment, he replied that he was “glad Dichter was raising the question,” and that “it connects to his policy on immigration, which would require everyone wishing to immigrate to Canada to undergo an in-person interview about whether their views align with Canadian ‘societal norms.'”

It is important to note here that whether one agrees or disagrees with Dichter that Canada has a problem with “cultural relativism” and “political Islam” — the latter of which Jihad Watch has covered quite extensively HERE, and also about its disastrous “anti-Islamophobia” Motion M-103 HERE — debate about these issues has been all but shut down in Canada. Any thinking individual with respect for Canada as a free society and its long tradition of freedom of speech should realize that issues of Islamic supremacism, the global jihad, open-door immigration, and multiculturalism are and need to be addressed in open dialogue and debate for the good of the whole people, in pursuit of a united Canada. So Bernier answered well in stating the importance of having this discussion.

The word “dialogue” in Canada has been hijacked by charlatans and manipulators of identity politics, along with Islamic supremacists. Together they have had a great impact upon those leaders who are inclined to political correctness and pandering to special interest groups. Sitting around a table and socializing with ethnic and religious groups does not constitute dialogue. It is an insult to the real meaning of diversity. Real dialogue requires open, intelligent debate and diversity of opinion; it includes all faiths, views and races, not just one faith and set of beliefs, Islam.

In reference to whether or not Bernier will be allowed to participate in the pre-election debates, he proclaimed that “it won’t be a real debate if I’m not there.” He hopes that the head of the Leaders’ Debates Commission will change his mind and allow him to participate. A petition has now been launched, calling on the commission to include him.

Beyond politicking and partisanship, a much bigger issue is at play: democratic values. Even the Toronto Star published an article defending Bernier’s right to be included in the debates. The article “Maxime Bernier should be allowed to participate in the leaders’ election debates” argues that “rules for participation are too restrictive, and the process of eligibility isn’t completely democratic.” Given the void in leadership that Canada has experienced under the Trudeau government, which has an Islamic supremacist entryist problem and a propensity for corruption, not to mention plans to “massively ramp up” refugee intake and roll out the welcome mat for Islamic State jihadists and their families, never before has it been more urgent for Canadians to be informed and weigh evidence before casting their ballot on October 21. After all, what’s to hide?

“Bernier Claims ‘Islamist Extremists’ Have Infiltrated Canadian Politics,” by Althia Raj, Huffington Post, August 19, 2019: