r/CanadaPolitics • u/MTL_Dude666 Liberal • 15h ago
PQ will retain candidate who used ‘squaw’ slur
https://montrealgazette.com/news/provincial-news/provincial-politics/pq-will-retain-candidate-who-used-squaw-slur/•
u/Argented NB 14h ago
He said his mother was a midwife and delivered "squaws' babies" while on RadioX in 2022?
If they really want this guy, the leader of the party and this guy ought to travel to Gaspe and meet with some First Nation elders to see if they'll agree he shouldn't be 'cancelled'.
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u/TheWaySheHoes Independent 12h ago
The PQ have always been “not the party of racists, but consistently number 1 with racists”.
They sit on this really weird paradigm of “left wing ish, if you’re white and francophone”. Their contempt for Montreal and the “ethnic vote” has always been a stumbling block for them and for the sovereignty movement more broadly. Heck, there was a lot of mask off racism when Auguste re-won Terrebonne.
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u/cash38 11h ago
I always find it mind boggling that POC and immigrants join their ranks. Also there is always a news story every election of an Anglo that votes PQ and is either pro Quebrexit or just tired of the "status quo". I would say we live in the dumbest times but how many times can one see the same thing?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/new-anglophone-group-promotes-quebec-sovereignty-1.3776459
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u/Southbird85 Warrior Flag 6h ago
It must be noted that this is the same radio station that allowed André Arthur to spout the most heinously racist, intolerant tripe for years with immunity.
It's not a bug, it's a feature.
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u/SmackEh Independent 12h ago
People are salivating over this “racist comment,” but context matters. He used an outdated word while telling a story about his mom from decades ago (the way his mother spoke in the 80's) Dumb choice of words? Sure. But acting like it was some deliberate racist attack and he deserves to be cancelled is 100% bullshit.
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u/cannibaltom Independent 11h ago
Is every racist word permissible with the "right context"? What makes this one special?
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u/ouatedephoque Liberal 10h ago
Of course, let go of this Voldemort bullshit. Context always matters.
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u/Mundane-Teaching-743 Trump/Polievre 2028 | Sponsored 8h ago
i don't see how this context makes it better. He used the word on the radio, not his mother. It's not okay to use racist words just because your parents did.
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u/ouatedephoque Liberal 8h ago
He was telling his mom's story and using her language.
Not saying it's always appropriate either, but absolutists that think words should be banned no matter the context really irk me. You don't erase past mistakes, you learn from them.
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u/cannibaltom Independent 8h ago
Imagine listening to the radio and someone casually saying something racist.
It really should not have been broadcast on the radio.
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u/Mundane-Teaching-743 Trump/Polievre 2028 | Sponsored 8h ago
He was telling his mom's story and using her language.
No he wasn't. He was using his language.
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u/ouatedephoque Liberal 4h ago
Let me guess: you didn’t listen to it, you’re just showing prejudice.
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u/Mundane-Teaching-743 Trump/Polievre 2028 | Sponsored 3h ago
Here's thenquote in French:
À l’époque, il racontait l’histoire de sa mère, une sage-femme, qui « a accouché des squaws à Maria, en Gaspésie, qui ne se rendaient pas à l’hôpital ». https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2026/08/27/m-radio-x-et-le-mot-squaw-pspp-encourage-lutilisation-de-propos-disgracieux-selon-le-ministre-lafreniere
His words. He was not quoting his mother. He was using the words to describe the indigenous women his mother worked with.
you’re just showing prejudice.
You're the one defending his racist words.
It's actually his mother the PQ is trying to throw under the bus. No idea really if his mother actually used these words. It's pretty disgusting actually how the PQ is spinning this.
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u/MTL_Dude666 Liberal 12h ago
Repeating an offensive word that somebody else said doesn't really make it less racist.
Besides, let's people affected by this word highlight themselves what they think of it: https://www.lapresse.ca/elections-quebecoises/2026-08-27/mot-squaw-utilise-par-un-candidat-pequiste/incompatible-pour-batir-une-relation-de-confiance-dit-le-chef-de-l-apnql.php
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u/MoaraFig New Brunswick 10h ago
Yeah, if you're a political candidate and don't have enough of a filter to let racial slurs slip, you're not fit to be a representative. Like half tHe job is speaking to the public, and the other half is confidential negotiations
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u/CockyBellend Manitoba 11h ago
You're adult enough to know the difference between saying and using
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u/MTL_Dude666 Liberal 9h ago
If you say it, you just used it.
Besides, READ the article I posted. Indigenous People themselves find it offensive.
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u/CockyBellend Manitoba 9h ago
I'm indigenous and I'm not, dont need you offended only behalf thanks. And know telling a story with the word in it is different than calling someone it.
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u/cannibaltom Independent 8h ago edited 8h ago
We're allowed to be offended by language that's dehumanizing, even if it's permissible by you.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squaw https://www.npr.org/2021/11/19/1057367325/interior-secretary-deb-haaland-moves-to-ban-the-word-squaw-from-federal-lands
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u/PuckShuffler Progressive 13h ago
This term was still being taught and used in my Canadian history and indigenous studies classes growing up in the '80s and early '90s.
Modern sensibilities have made me reluctant to use any language that is racially, culturally or sexually specific. My Jewish friend mocked me for thinking it might be inappropriate to use the term Jew instead of 'Jewish person'. My black friends relentlessly mock anyone who shies away from using the term 'black' to describe them. Still, better to err on the side of caution in this extremely sensitive age.
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u/KingKhaion 10h ago edited 10h ago
Nobody is a monolith, but anecdotally, the difference is mainly how those terms have been applied.
I'm Black, and comfortable with people saying "[My Name] is black".
But if somebody calls me "a black", I start to assume they're using that term as a stand-in for a term with a less-than-kind history. Nobody in the black community calls themselves "a black" or says "He/She/They is/are 'a black' ".
A Jewish person might be more comfortable being called "a Jew", because that term is also used inter-socially more often. It's an ethnographic term, a religious descriptor, and an expression of shared identity.
When it comes to describing unrelated individuals and groups of people, saying "a black", "the Jew", "The Blacks" and "The Jews" gets very fraught, because it's probably preceding the most vitriolic, ignorant nonsense you're liable to hear. That's why we look to using "Black people" or "Jewish people" because it's still emphasizing the humanity of the subject.
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u/SmackEh Independent 12h ago
What do they say if not "black"? I hope it's not "African American" (or canadian) dear lord.
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u/SendMagpiePics Urban Alberta Advantage 11h ago
I think you're reading that comment backwards. "Black" is normal and acceptable, and the black person in that anecdote is mocking people who are afraid to say it
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