Bloc MP for Nunavik says sorry for racist gaffe

POSTMEDIA NEWS

The Bloc’s so-far smooth run through Quebec ran into a bump April 1 when the party was forced to apologize for a candidate’s comments about his NDP opponent, a prominent Quebec Cree.

In a statement from the Bloc Québécois’ Montreal headquarters, MP Yvon Lévesque apologized directly to Romeo Saganash, “as well as to all aboriginals of Quebec.”

“My words were totally inappropriate and I retract them,” Lévesque wrote.

The MP got into hot water when he said some voters would not support Saganash in Abitibi-James Bay-Nunavik-Eeyou, because he is Cree.

Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe said he called his MP early Friday morning.

“He made a mistake,” Duceppe told reporters.

Asked if Lévesque should resign as the Bloc candidate, Duceppe replied: “I think he apologized.”

Lévesque had said he knows Saganash well. “He is a good candidate for the NDP, but the NDP is a bad party for Romeo,” the Bloc candidate had said, explaining that the NDP will not win the election, while the Bloc could form the official opposition in the May 2 election.

Lévesque’s statement Friday said he hopes his “unfortunate declaration will not harm the important advances of aboriginal communities that the Bloc Québécois has fought for, for years.”