Muslim cemetery in Saint-Apollinaire: the members of The Pack are involved in “a personal capacity”

PHOTO DIDIER DEBUSSCHÈRE

VAT New

Wednesday, 19 July 2017 12:04

UPDATE
Wednesday, 19 July 2017 12:09

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The Pack does not deny that some members have been involved in the camp which opposed the presence of a muslim cemetery in Saint-Apollinaire.

• READ ALSO: muslim Cemetery in Saint-Apollinaire: Labeaume advises The Pack to keep quiet

The spokesperson of The Pack does not deny that some members have been involved in the camp which opposed the presence of a muslim cemetery in Saint-Apollinaire, but ensures that The Pack “as a group” is no longer in melee to the file since April.

“Some members of The Pack have been involved in a personal capacity, but we as a group not because we did not have the same concerns as the committee of citizens then, we decided, at their request also, not to get involved”, ensures the spokesperson of The Pack, Sylvain Brouillette.

Saint-Apollinaire has rejected, Sunday evening, the project of a muslim cemetery. Out of the 49 citizens called to decide, 19 opposed the project of the funerary complex Harmonia, and the islamic cultural Centre of Québec (CCIQ), while 16 were supported.

He explains that The Pack has decided to withdraw from the project in the month of April last because of the democratic process used.

“I saw it coming several complications at the level of the democratic process and I talked about it with my colleagues of The Pack and we had decided that there was perhaps appropriate to intervene at this moment to help citizens to go to a referendum because it seemed to be going towards it”, he explains.

Result

The spokesperson of The Pack said he was very satisfied with the outcome of the referendum on Sunday.

“I think it is a beautiful exercise of democracy because it is sure that we would have preferred that this is the village that is called to vote, but (…) we are very satisfied with the turnout because we had a rate of 75%”.

“Outright defamation”

Sylvain Brouillette agrees in the words of the mayor of Québec, Régis Labeaume, who has advised Tuesday to small groups like a Pack to keep quiet.

“It is extremely toxic. It is in the extreme right-hand tale of the fears and who creates species of militias,” said mayor Labeaume in the margins of the congress of the Network of cities francophones and francophiles of America.

“Extremely toxic it is his opinion, but when he speaks of the militia there I think he exaggerates, and he should be careful what he says because the mayor Labeaume is when even a person who has a lot of influence in the public opinion and if he really had consulted with his police service as he claims to have done it not that we met them and explained to them our mission and our purpose,” says Dr. Brouillette.

“This is downright slander”, he adds.

It provides in conclusion that The Pack is not at the origin of the suspicious package received by the islamic cultural Centre of Québec (CCIQ) on Friday.