OTTAWA—Conservative leadership candidate Maxime Bernier says the best way to promote Canadian values is to provide new immigrants with economic opportunities to help them integrate into society—not screen them for unwelcome attitudes.
“I can tell you that new Canadians and people born in Canada agree with these values, so the best way to promote these Canadian values is to be sure to integrate new Canadians into our society, to offer them more opportunities and more freedom and that will help to promote these values,'' Bernier said at a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Sept. 7.
The Conservative Quebec MP was responding to an idea floated last week by leadership rival Kellie Leitch, whose campaign asked supporters in an email questionnaire whether the federal government should screen potential immigrants and refugees for what it called anti-Canadian values.
It generated a lot of reaction among political observers, including Conservatives, especially since Leitch had previously expressed regret for promoting a controversial Conservative election campaign promise last year to set up a tip line for so-called “barbaric cultural practices.”
