The premier of Quebec is calling Don Cherry a “clown” after he was fired by Sportsnet for urging people to wear a poppy on Remembrance Day.
Premier Francois Legault seems to have taken issue with Cherry’s past criticisms of francophones.
“He’s a bit of a clown. Effectively, I’ve often seen him whining against francophones. Now he’s doing it against immigrants. I think at some point he’ll say anything. I think he shocks people just to get a reaction,” said Legault who praised the channel’s decision to let Cherry go.
Since Cherry was fired, over 50,000 Canadians have voiced their support for Cherry by declaring they stand with longtime hockey icon in the True North petition.
While the mainstream media effectively declared Cherry as “toxic” and “anti-immigrant,” there has been little outrage over Quebec’s decision to impose a values test on new immigrants to the province.
The “democratic values and Quebec values” test will require immigrants to answer questions in-line with Quebecois values and the province’s state-mandated secularism law Bill 21.
“I think it’s important if somebody wants to come and live in Quebec to know that, for example, women are equal to men in Quebec,” said Legault.
Bill 21, which bans public sector workers from wearing religious coverings or symbols, is being challenged in the Quebec Superior Court for violating constitutional rights including religious freedom.
Eric Mendelsohn, one of the lawyers involved in the court challenge, called the law an “odious form of discrimination.”
Regardless, Legault suggested that it is Cherry who is racist and anti-immigrant for his comments urging Canadians to wear the poppy.
