Quebec Minister Charged with Anti-jewish Remark During House Debate

Charges and counter-charges exploded in the Quebec provincial legislature after a Union National member made remarks about the Jewish origin of an opposition member, who had been a cabinet minister in the previous government.

Montreal Liberal Yves Michaud sparked an hour-long debate by attacking allegedly anti-Semitic remarks made in the House by Tourism Minister Gabriel Loubier against Claude Wagner who was Minister of Justice in the former (Liberal) government.

The day before, Wagner had been complaining about a slowdown in the government’s fight against organized crime. As he was quoting a newspaper headline that read “Mafia black hand clutches for Canada,” Loubier shouted: “How do you say that in Yiddish?” Wagner is half Jewish and his father became a Roman Catholic upon marrying a French-Canadian. Michaud said he wanted an apology from Loubier or he would be forced to conclude that the government “feeds dangerously on xenophobia and racism.” Loubier denied that his remarks carried any anti-Jewish intent.

The debate on the slowdown in the justice department also gave rise to other remarks such as one from an anonymous Union Nationale backbencher. As Wagner read the names of a few persons now before the courts, a voice shouted: “These are all Jews, French-Canadian Jews.” This is not the first time the Union Nationale has been in hot water over alleged anti-Semitism. Premier Daniel Johnson sparked widespread protests for his comments after the June, 1966 elections. He repeatedly pointed out that if the Union Nationale had received a minority of the overall vote in Quebec, it had received a majority from French-Canadian ridings. He added that the English and the Jews had voted against him.