Mouvement Montreal candidate fired over controversial social media posts
A Mouvement Montreal candidate has been dropped from the party roster for posting several controversial images and statements to social media.
Mouvement Montreal leader Balarama Holness says he fired Marc-Andre Bahl on Friday. Bahl had been a member of Ralliement pour Montréal before the two parties merged.
Bahl, who had been the party's candidate for Rosemont – La Petite-Patrie, wrote to social media in one such post that "Islamophobia is not racism," above a screenshot which reads "all ideologies must be open to debate without fear of reprisal."
Above the caption, an image shows symbols associated with Christianity, Judaism, and Islam mixed with those related to Nazism and satanism.
An image posted to social media by former Mouvement Montreal candidate Marc-Andre Bahl reads "Islamophobia is not racism".
An image posted to social media by former Mouvement Montreal candidate Marc-Andre Bahl reads "Islamophobia is not racism."
In another post, Bahl encourages readers to watch "Hold up" -- a French film about the COVID-19 pandemic which has been criticized for spreading misleading information.
Holness told CTV News Friday that he had only become aware of the posts earlier that day, and that he "unequivocally" rejects the sentiments expressed by the candidate.
The party leader says he'll now vet the other candidates which entered the party by way of Ralliement pour Montréal.
Holness's opponent, Valerie Plante, took to social media Friday to criticize Bahl.
"The conspiratorial, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic remarks made by several candidates of Mouvement Montreal are not acceptable," wrote Plante, adding Holness and former Ralliement pour Montréal leader Marc-Antoine Desjardins "must show leadership and manage their caucus."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
What happens after we die? Most Canadians say an afterlife does exist, survey shows
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.