A tepid apology from Louise Mailloux, Parti Quebecois candidate for Gouin, has left at least one Jewish group unimpressed, as it issued a statement Sunday refusing her apology.
"We once again urge the Parti Quebecois and the premier of Quebec, Pauline Marois, to assume their responsibilities and to disavow categorically, like the federal government did in 1997, the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory peddled by the candidate" said Luciano G. Del Negro, vice president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
Prior to the campaign, Mailloux claimed that the sale of kosher food is a way for rabbis to fund religious wars. She also described circumcisions and baptisms as a form of rape because the child is not able to choose his religion.
Pauline Marois had said that the candidate is free to express her point of view as long as it did not contradict party policy.
Gouin voters chose PQ candidates between 1976 and 2012 but then opted for the Quebec Solidaire candidate Francois David by an almost 5,000 vote margin over the PQ’s Nicolas Girard.
About four of five residents of the riding are francophones, while most of the rest are described as allophones.
