(Toronto Star) Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra is rebuffing an attack from the Bloc Québécois that was condemned Thursday as racist and Islamophobic, stating the party’s questions about his religious views and political background represent “dangerous rhetoric” based on “unsubstantiated innuendo.”
Earlier in the day, Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet doubled down on a statement after this week’s cabinet shuffle, in which he took aim at the newly-appointed transport minister. Noting the Bloc leader “refuses” to make specific accusations against Alghabra, the statement said that Blanchet believes “questions arise over the proximity of the new transport minister with the Islamic political movement of which he was a leader for several years.”
Asked to explain the statement Thursday, the Bloc sent a second statement to the Star in which Blanchet defended his “legitimate questions” about Alghabra’s role as president of the Canadian Arab Federation before he was first elected as a Liberal MP 15 years ago.
