Fallout from the Kellie Leitch Presentation in Brampton

First, before I continue to far, I will be writing about the events that took place in Toronto, Brampton, and Calgary on April first, though in the meantime we direct our readers to the CBC which covered the event in Toronto.

So, it's been a rather eventful week in Canadian politics.

• Video shows Kellie Leitch at meeting with controversial critics of Islam
• Kellie Leitch didn't know anti-Islamic group was part of Brampton event, campaign manager says
• Kellie Leitch Campaign Says It Rejects Anti-Muslim Group Now Promoting Her

ARC broke the story that Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate was courting a group in Brampton that included Ron Banerjee and Rise Canada. I'll talk more about Banerjee and Rise Canada in a moment, though I would be remiss if I didn't note that Ron must be feeling at least some heat in that he deleted both the video from YouTube and the article promoting Leitch on the Rise Canada website:

Good thing I saved a copy I guess.

But the reality is that there were other items in the video that I should also have focused on:

The fella behind Banerjee is someone who may be named Dave (trying to definitively confirm this and will change this article accordingly based on what is learned). Dave was newsworthy a few days before the Leitch presentation because he was this guy:

A Toronto-area school board says it “cannot continue” to engage with the public on the subject of religious accommodation, following a board meeting that devolved into what a spokesperson described as “clear hate speech” and included someone ripping up the Quran.
....
One man ripped up a copy of the Quran and threw its pages towards the front of the room, and another person walked on the pages. They remained scattered all over the floor for the remainder of the meeting.

Because nothing says rational discussion and freedom like tearing up a religious text.

The other figure we should have noted was Kevin "Poodle" Johnston, a fringe candidate for mayor of Mississauga and YouTube host of the"Freedom Report" which while claiming to be, "Canada's best and most honest news outlet" actually almost exclusively pedals anti-Muslim rhetoric and conspiracy theories. In the video Banerjee states that they raised $250.00 for Johnston's effort to have the building of a mosque shut down.

And more recently, Johnston has offered $1000.00 for video "proof" that Muslim prayers in Peel Board schools constitute hate speech:

The nearly 3½-minute video was posted to YouTube on March 29 by Kevin J. Johnston of the online publication Freedom Report, which bills itself as "Canada's best and most honest news outlet." Johnston previously faced off against Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie in an attempt to stop the development of the Meadowvale Islamic Centre. 

To receive the cash, Johnston explains, the video must identify the student by face and name and be submitted within 24 hours of being filmed. The video must contain hate speech, which he says will be found through a team of translators, and the rights for the video must be turned over to Johnston. If the submission fits the criteria, he promises to let the recipient wear a mask while receiving his or her reward.

So to be clear, Johnston is encouraging the recording and identification of minor children in the hopes that his own, "team of translators" (even though prayers are conducted in English; I'm guessing hat inferring they are in Arabic makes it sound much more scary) which I assume might be this august organization.

And Johnston doesn't seem to see this as a potential problem? That of course is a rhetorical question.

Well, one person who certainly doesn't have a problem with this scheme is one Arthur Smitherman:

I don't think he likes me very much.

But... Uhm.... wait a moment....

More recently, basement operated Hate Tanks like the Anti-Racist collective, have gathered sway with the disinformation apparatus and have started HATE FILLED attacks against those that oppose FREE SPEECH.

Are you sure that's what you were trying to say Arthur? Or is it simply a Freudian slip? In any case, Ms. Sargent also has a bit of a tell in that she already "knows the truth" and is sure that video evidence will prove it to be so.... and if there is no evidence then it simple proves how sneaky those Muslims are!

Yep, Smitherman and his merry band sure are clever:

Right. For future reference I'll keep in mind that sarcasm will fly straight over their heads unhindered.

Smitherman is also upset by the poor treatment of Ms. Leitch by this lil' blog:

I'll be writing about the Brampton even that took place today on another occassion.

Getting back to the Leitch story, Stewart Bell wrote probably the best article about Leitch's bad week, and not only because he was the only member of the msm to give this blog the credit for uncovering the story. This part was especially entertaining:

The Anti-Racist Canada blog, which first reported on Leitch’s attendance at the event, called Rise Canada a hate group and highlighted anti-Muslim posts on its Twitter account, including one that called Islam a “rape culture.” 

Another Rise Canada Twitter post, dated Dec. 18, said, “Muslims are rotten from the time they drop from the womb. Hope the Syrian Army slaughters all the kids first.” A recent Tweet read, “Eradicate Islam from the planet.” 

Asked if the group stood by those Tweets, Jennifer Bushmill of Rise Canada said it did not. She said several people with access to the Twitter account had posted “unauthorized Tweets,” which she called a “rookie mistake.”

Rookie mistake?

First, Banerjee runs and has always run the Rise Canada twitter account. Second, a "rookie mistake" would mean that one, perhaps two, shall we say indiscreet tweets are published followed by immediately deleting them and issuing an apology. A rookie mistake does not extend back months and years. When that happens, these's aren't so much rookie mistakes as they are what one would expect as a feature:

So, yeah. Not a rookie mistake.

This writer is however curious. Will Banerjee continue to support Leitch or, now that she has publicly spurned him, will he react the same way he does when other women have done the same?