Poilievre condemns 'vile' views of German politician seen lunching with Conservative MPs
CBC
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is attempting to distance his party from a far-right German politician whose views have been condemned as hateful and racist, and who was photographed lunching with three Conservative MPs earlier this week.
Christine Anderson, a member of the European Parliament with Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, is on a cross-Canada tour that ends tonight in Montreal.
On Tuesday, photos emerged online showing Anderson with a group that included three Conservative MPs — Niagara West MP Dean Allison, Oshawa MP Colin Carrie and Haldimand–Norfolk MP Leslyn Lewis — at a restaurant.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, which describes itself as an advocate for Jewish federations across Canada, condemned the gathering, tweeting Thursday that it had raised the issue with the Conservative Party of Canada.
On Friday, Sebastian Skamski, director of media relations for the Opposition leader's office, issued a statement attributed to Poilievre:
"Christine Anderson's views are vile and have no place in our politics. The MPs were not aware of this visiting Member of the European Parliament's opinions, and they regret meeting with her," says the statement.
"Frankly, it would be better if Anderson never visited Canada in the first place. She and her racist, hateful views are not welcome here."
Poilievre's office issued a separate statement attributed to the three MPs who were photographed with Anderson.
"It is, of course, not uncommon for members of Parliament to meet with visiting elected officials from other countries. During a visit, we recently met with an elected representative of the European Parliament while she was in Canada," says the statement.
"We were not aware of the views or associations of her and her political party. We do not share or endorse her views and strongly condemn any views that are racist or hateful."
CBC News has contacted the offices of all three MPs for further comment but they have not yet responded. Carrie tweeted about the meeting on Friday.
"I profoundly regret attending a meeting without having sought the input of my staff and without having undertaken a fulsome vetting of the individuals or organizations with whom I was meeting – which is my usual practice. I, alone, own this mistake. I will do better," he wrote in his tweet.
In a video posted online by a Western Standard journalist on Feb. 19, Anderson is asked for her opinion of Poilievre. She replies that she's spoken to the Conservative leader "a couple of times."
"He seems to be a decent guy," she continues. "We need people that actually do think and go back to what democracy's all about and what elected representatives should do."
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