US Edition
Justin Trudeau refuses to apologise after accusing Jewish MP of standing 'with people who wave swastikas'
The Canadian prime minister was rebuked by the speaker of the House of Commons for his comments over the truck protests
Justin Trudeau has refused to apologise to a Jewish MP whom he accused of standing "with people who wave swastikas" during a heated exchange over his handling of Canada's trucker-led protests.
The Canadian prime minister was grilled by Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman over his crackdown on the protests against coronavirus restrictions which have crippled the country's border crossings and capital city.
Speaking in Canada's House of Commons, Ms Lantsman, who is Jewish, said Mr Trudeau was fanning the flames of "an unjustified national emergency" and asked: "when did the prime minister lose his way?"
In response, Mr Trudeau said: "Conservative Party members can stand with people who wave swastikas. They can stand with people who wave the Confederate flag.
"We will choose to stand with Canadians who deserve to be able to get to their jobs, to be able to get their lives back".
Conservative MPs erupted in anger at the comment.
The speaker of the House admonished Mr Trudeau for using "inflammatory" language in the chamber.
Convoys of trucks have occupied Ottawa and other Canadian cities in recent weeks in what began as a protest at the government's vaccine requirements for truck drivers crossing the US border.
The protests have morphed into a wider demonstration against coronavirus restrictions nationwide.
Other groups have since attached themselves to the movement, including some figures associated with the far-right and white nationalism.
A small number of Nazi symbols, including swastikas and the US Confederate flag, have been sighted among the protests.
These racist symbols have been condemned by MPs across the political spectrum.
Some Conservative MPs have supported the protester's anti-mandate cause.
The party's interim leader Candice Bergen has posed for pictures with some of the protesters.
But she has since called for an end to the blockades which she warned were harming the economy.
Ms Lantsman, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, called Mr Trudeau's comments "unbecoming" of a prime minister and demanded an apology.
"I think the Prime Minister should think long and hard about his own history before singling out a Jewish Member of Parliament and falsely accusing me of standing with a Swastika. What a disgraceful statement unbecoming of anyone in public office - he owes me an apology," she said.
Mr Trudeau dodged calls for him to apologise but defended his decision to invoke rarely used emergency powers to bring protests to an end.
"Illegal blockades and occupations are not peaceful protests," he said. "They have to stop."