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    Jason Kenney Heckles Harjit Sajjan, Liberals Call Him A Racist For 'English' Translation Remark

    Darpan News Desk, 02 Feb, 2016 10:49 AM

      Conservative MP Jason Kenney sparked controversy in question period Monday with a heckle directed at Canada's defence minister that a Liberal MP later deemed "racist."

      Kenney, a former minister of defence, directed the heckle over his answer to a question about the Canadian mission in Syria. The Liberals said Kenney yelled he needed an “English to English” translation of the minister’s response in order to understand the government’s convoluted stance on the mission.

      Sajjan is Sikh and immigrated from India as a child, so many Liberals took Kenney’s words as barb related to the minister’s (very subtle) accent.

      After question period, government House leader Kevin Lamoureux rose in the House of Commons and called for Kenney to apologize for his "inappropriate comment."

      "I'm wondering if the member would do the proper thing and apologize or at the very least explain his comments," Lamoureux said. Kenney refused to apologize for his remarks, saying Sajjan's answer was "totally incoherent," prompting shouts of "shame" from Liberal MPs. Later, on Twitter, Liberal MP Raj Grewal called Kenney's remarks "unacceptable."

      Kenney, who previously served as minister for multiculturalism, tweeted Tuesday his comments had nothing to do with Sajjan’s linguistic skills but the lack of substance in his answers.

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