Yesterday Leslyn Lewis, Dean Allison and Colin Carrie had a lengthy meeting with far-right European Parliament member Christine Anderson, shortly before she went on to pose for photos with Neo-Nazi group Diagalon. Does this “look bad”? Sure. Is it “clear evidence that the Conservative Party has members who subscribe to dangerous islamophobic, anti-semitic beliefs like those repeatedly expressed by Anderson”? Not so fast. Here are 5 perfectly innocent reasons why the Conservative MPs may have taken the meeting.
1. They tripped and fell
Everyone trips sometimes. Maybe they were just walking by the meeting when that loveable klutz Allison slipped on a banana peel, knocking Lewis and Carrie into the room where Anderson happened to be. At that point it would have been rude not to at least say hi!
2. They wanted to ask her about train infrastructure
Canada is in dire need of high-speed rail, and if there is one thing people with Anderson’s political viewpoint are good at it’s making the trains run on time.
3. They simply didn’t know who she was or what she believes
The MPs have already released a statement saying they didn’t know she held these extreme views. Does it make a ton of sense for them to meet with someone without having a member of their staff do a quick google? Does that seem logical given that Anderson gained a lot of fame in Conservative media circles after her anti-Trudeau speech in the European Parliament? Who’s to say? Certainly not us, a member of the unbiased, centrist media.
4. They agreed with her opinions, but only the anti-Muslim stuff, not the anti-Semitic stuff
That’d be cool then right?
5. They were trying to convince her to abandon her racist ideology, and embrace diversity, multiculturalism and inclusivity
Sure they probably didn’t accomplish that right away, but the longest journey starts with a single step! So if you think about it, maybe it’s these Conservative MPs who are the real heroes after all.
