PPC leader pushing back against accusations of racism and xenophobia

The People's Party of Canada (PPC) have faced a number of accusations of racism and xenophobia within their ranks, but their leader is pushing back against that characterization.

Leader of the PPC, Maxime Bernier, says his party speaks to all Canadians not just a few. However, he says Canada needs to have a difficult conversation over the country's immigration policies.

“We are speaking about immigration, we are speaking about fewer immigrants and our immigration system must be there to fulfill our economic needs in this country and I think some people don't want a discussion on that,” he tells Kitchener Today with Brian Bourke on 570 NEWS. 

His party was scheduled to hold an interview and Q & A in Guelph before it was cancelled by the venue, Guelph Youth Music Centre, under threat of protest.

“We're in a free country and the People's Party, we believe in people and freedom and individual responsibility and it's too bad that these people don't want to have any discussion,” he says.

The group behind a proposed protest are the Revolutionary Communist Party of Guelph. They circulated posters through social media calling the party “racist goons” and said they would be holding a “rally against racism, against misogyny, against transphobia, against fascism!” The poster featured an picture of a knife stabbing a bleeding swastika. An online petition against the PPC meeting was also making the rounds.

This also lead to a PPC event in Cambridge at Blackwing Coffee Bar to be cancelled, due to safety concerns.

“We are speaking about subjects that are supposed to be taboo in this country, we are speaking about the, you know, equalization money to be less generous to other provinces, for that formula to be fair for everybody,” Bernier said before the conversation turned to his immigration policy.

“We want fewer immigrants and we're the only party who has a position on that. All the other ones like Andrew Scheer, the Liberals, the Conservatives, the NDP, it's always more and more and more. We want to be sure that these people will be able to integrate our society, to be part of our society, to have a job in our society, that's why we need to review our immigration policy.”

He outlined the need for stronger border control and called those crossing the border “not real refugees,” saying many of them will end up being deported while costing the government money in processing fees. Bernier says someone crossing the border from the State of New York would not be in any real danger compared to refugees waiting in camps.

He also called for greater focus on bringing in economic immigrants that could benefit Canada's economy.

“I think that we must be able to have this discussion in Canada without having the word racist when we have a discussion like that.”

Bernier then went on to explain that immigrants should participate in, what he defines as, “Western values.”

“It is the Western civilization value. Equality before the law, equality between men and women, tolerance, respect for each other, but also individual freedom, personal responsibility, free markets, free enterprise.”

He maintains the party is, and will always be, accepting saying “we have candidates from different backgrounds, from different ethnicities and I'm very proud of that.”

“This country has been built by immigrants coming from different countries. Francophone, Anglophone, First-Nation and after that immigrants from Europe, immigrants from Africa, from Asia, and all these people came here because they wanted to have a free life and that's why and we want. I want our country to be like that in 25 years, that's why we need to have this debate.”

A new event hosted by the People's Party of Canada will be held locally today at a secret location.

570 NEWS was given the address and will have a reporter attending.