A Quebec labor leader who made anti-Semitic remarks at a pro Arab gathering here last week was denounced by a Federal minister as “a cheap agitator who represents only himself.” Marc Lalonde, the Minister of Health and Welfare, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Michel Chartrand, president of the Montreal branch of the National Trade Union, has “lost his credibility because of his anti-Semitic utterances.”
Lalonde said that Chartrand’s extremist views have estranged him from his own trade union associates. He suggested that the press ignore Chartrand’s remarks since the union official craves publicity, whether good or bad, Lelonde, a close friend of Premier Rierre Elliott Trudeau, was here to address a United Jewish Appeal dinner.
Chartrand, a speaker at the conference of Canadian Arab Societies held here last week, denounced Israel and claimed that Quebec Jews were a privileged minority. “We do not want them to pollute anymore the atmosphere of the country,” he said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
