The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) is calling on a Quebec politician to step down after his “contemptuous and disgraceful” remarks during a city council meeting.
The demand comes after Coalition Avenir Québec MNA Pierre Dufour, who represents the Abitibi-Est riding, spoke when the issue of homelessness came up during city council last week in Val-d’Or, about 530 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
Dufour claimed Val-d’Or’s administration inherited a “pile of s–t,” in part due to bombshell allegations in 2015 that police officers with the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) allegedly sexually and physically assaulted Indigenous women in the community.
Dufour went on to claim the Radio-Canada investigation by flagship program Enquête — which first shed light on the alleged abuse at the hands of provincial police in the community — was “full of lies.” The investigation helped prompt a Quebec inquiry that examined relations between Indigenous communities and the provincial government.