Quebec MP Sana Hassainia has quit the NDP to sit as an independent in protest to her party’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza.
The Verchères Les Patriotes Montérégie MP, first elected in May 2011, wrote on her blog that she had been considering the decision for several months and singled out the first NDP press released which said that, “Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorist attacks by Hamas,” as she described.
She blasted the party for starting as a blatantly “pro-Israel party” to one which “wants to save little Palestinians by having them taken care of in Canada.”
Hassainia said that she came to Canada from Tunisia in order to find freedom of thought and expression. "I feel that a party leader should be loved, like Jack Layton was, and not feared," she wrote, in a clear dig against NDP leader Thomas Mulcair.
She also accused Mulcair of punishing her for supporting his rival Brian Topp in the last leadership race in 2012.
Hassainia noted that she was taken off the party’s committee on the Status of Women and placed into the backbenches.
NDP sources say Hassainia has never before voiced concern over Mulcair's position on Israel and is simply looking for an excuse to cover the fact that she rarely shows up for work.
Hassainia had been preparing to announce that she would not seek re-election.
In a draft of that announcement, prepared earlier this month and obtained by The Canadian Press, Hassainia says she wants to spend more time with her young family but will remain an active and proud member of the NDP.
Mulcair has walked a fine line on the conflict in Gaza, supporting Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas missile attacks while simultaneously pushing the federal government to help Palestinian children injured by Israeli missiles.
-With a file from The Canadian Press
