Coalition Avenir Quebec Leader Francois Legault plays tennis with a candidate while campaigning, Saturday, September 15, 2018 in Quebec City.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
September 16, 2018 - 6:00 AM
MONTREAL - A Parti Quebecois candidate is refusing to explain controversial comments she made online about Montreal's Hasidic Jewish community several years ago.
Michelle Blanc said today she was drawing inspiration from former British prime minister Winston Churchill as she repeatedly answered "no comment" to a series of reporter questions.
Blanc has drawn criticism throughout the campaign for her controversial social media posts, including a 2007 blog post in which she said it would be easier if the Hasidic community disappeared from her view.
In 2011, she wrote on Twitter about having forgotten to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday — a post she later ascribed to "dark humour."
Parti Quebecois Leader Jean-Francois Lisee once again defended his candidate at a campaign event this morning, saying he's already explained the matter from every angle.
Lisee has previously defended Blanc's comments on the Jewish community by saying she has a right to free speech and a right to criticize religions.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2018