Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre condemned arsonists targetting churches across Canada and has pledged to allocate resources for a comprehensive investigation into the allegations of human remains at former residential school sites.
The announcement came during a press conference in West Vancouver on Monday, where Poilievre also accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of fostering division among Canadians and contributing to a rise in animosity towards religious groups, particularly Christians.
“There is no justification for burning down a church period. Regardless of the other information or justifications that people claim to use, there is never a justification to burn down a church,” said Poilievre.
The Conservative leader expressed his party’s support for stronger criminal sanctions against arsonists and called for increased security infrastructure around places of worship to prevent attacks on religious institutions.
Poilievre argued that after eight years of Trudeau’s leadership, the country has witnessed a surge in violence against religious communities. He attributed this rise to Trudeau’s divisive policies, accusing Trudeau of employing a “catch and release” system that has failed to curb such crimes.
“Unfortunately, these crimes against religious communities have raged out of control after eight years of Justin Trudeau,” said Poilievre.
“We have more violence directed against religious groups, including Christians than we have ever seen in Canadian history. This is the result of Justin Trudeau he is not worth the cost, he is not worth the crime.”
The Conservative leader’s comments were prompted by a question about the ongoing attacks against churches in Canada. As reported by True North, a total of 96 churches have been either set on fire or vandalized since 2021, with 44 incidents classified as arsons and 52 as acts of vandalism specifically targeting Christian institutions.
“We should provide the resources to allow for full investigation into the potential remains that at residential schools, Canadians deserve to know the truth,” said Poilievre.
“And conservatives will always stand in favour of historical accuracy. None of this changes the fact that the residential schools were an appalling abuse of power by the state and by the church at the time.”
