Teachers who discourage youth should be 'killed, massacred,' Liberal minister says
Quebec Minister for Democratic Reform Rita de Santis apologizes and says she strongly condemns violence
Quebec's provincial minister for democratic reform says she should not have told a group of youth that teachers who discourage students should be "killed" and "massacred."
Rita De Santis was telling them about her experience as an 11 year-old immigrant student, recently arrived in Montreal from Italy.
She said her teacher told her, "dear, you're never going to succeed in life. You speak with an Italian accent. So forget it."
Then she told the high school students, "all people who speak to a child like she spoke to me should be killed, massacred, thrown away, I don't know where or I can't say."
The comments elicited giggles from the crowd.
She later apologized via Twitter, saying in French "this morning, my words went beyond my thoughts and I apologize, I strongly condemn violence in all its forms."
1/3 Ce matin, mes mots ont largement dépassé mes pensées et je m'en excuse, je condamne fermement la violence sous toutes ses formes
—@R_de_SantisShe also tweeted that as a minister, she should be setting a better example.
3/3 on ne devrait jamais empêcher les enfants de rêver, mais en tant que ministre, je dois donner l'exemple. Je regrette mes propos.
—@R_de_SantisAfter the event, the MNA for Bourassa-Sauvé said she's an "emotional person" but shouldn't have used such strong language.
However, she did not back away from the heart of her comments.
"I want us to encourage children. Never to tell them 'no.' And if it's no, that it comes with an explanation. That's simply why I reacted like that," she said.
It's not the first time de Santis has found herself in hot water over her choice of words.
In April she was criticized for describing the Quebec Liberal Party fundraising goal of $150,000 for cabinet ministers as "peanuts" compared to other countries.