Maxime Bernier raised serious questions that most Canadians want answered. Iqra Khalid twice gave an award to a man who spread vile anti-Semitism. Yet – even though she’s in Bernier’s party – Senator Ataullahjan only criticized him on Twitter, while staying silent on Khalid.
After Maxime Bernier pointed out that Unity, rather than an endless focus on the empty slogan ‘diversity is strength,’ is the true path towards making our country stronger, and questioned the naming of a park in Winnipeg, he was criticized by much of the political class.
Included in the list of critics was Conservative Senator Salma Ataullahjan. Here’s what she said on Twitter:
“.
@MaximeBernier As a caucus colleague and a proud Pakistani-Canadian parliamentarian, I’m incredibly disappointed with this tweet. This kind of rhetoric creates division. Is that your aim? If so, what is your end game with this sort of identity politics?#Pakistan#Canada“
. @MaximeBernier As a caucus colleague and a proud Pakistani-Canadian parliamentarian, I'm incredibly disappointed with this tweet. This kind of rhetoric creates division. Is that your aim? If so, what is your end game with this sort of identity politics? #Pakistan #Canada https://t.co/i9t3E5jOpE
— Salma Ataullahjan (@SenatorSalma) August 15, 2018
Not long after, Liberal MP Iqra Khalid faced controversy after giving an award to to Amin El Maoued – the public relations chief of Palestine House. El Maoued had been linked to vile anti-Semitic rhetoric, and Palestine House had previously lost government funding for a ‘pattern of connections to extremism’ according to the Harper government.
Khalid claimed she was unaware of El Maoued’s views and rescinded the award under pressure. But then it emerged that, not only had she given him another award previously, she had called him her “brother,” and her “rock.”
So, we have a government MP who seems to have a close relationship with someone accused of spreading anti-Semitic hatred, giving awards to him on behalf of the Canadian Federal Government.
You would think that every politician – especially a Conservative Senator – would be heavily criticizing Khalid and demanding that Justin Trudeau remove her from the Liberal Caucus immediately.
And yet, Senator Ataullahjan didn’t criticize Khalid on Twitter. She didn’t even mention a thing about it.
It’s quite odd that she would attack her fellow party-member Bernier, while failing to say anything about Iqra Khalid. It raises serious doubts about her credibility and her priorities.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – Twitter
