WATCH: Justin Trudeau Takes Painfully Long 22-Second Pause When Asked About Trump’s Handling of Protests
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took an extremely long pause when asked about the use of tear gas on protesters outside of the White House on Monday, who were allegedly driven off so President Donald Trump could take a photo outside of St. John’s Episcopal Church.
CBC News reporter Laura McQuillan took to Instagram to share Trudeau’s response to a question from CBC’s Tom Parry, who asked, “you’ve been reluctant to comment on the words and actions of the U.S. president, but we do have Donald Trump now calling for military action against protesters. We saw protesters tear gassed yesterday to make way for a presidential photo op. I’d like to ask you what you think about that, and if you don’t want to comment, what message to do you think you’re sending?”
WATCH: A very, very long silence from PM Justin Trudeau in response to a question from CBC’s Tom Parry about the use of tear gas on protesters outside the WH last night for Trump’s photo op: pic.twitter.com/kLTeq1lNFX
— Laura McQuillan (@mcquillanator) June 2, 2020
Trudeau took a 22-second pause before answering Parry’s question:
“We all watch in horror and consternation what’s going on in the United States. It is a time to pull people together, but it is a time to listen. It is a time to learn what injustices continue despite progress over years and decades, but it is a time for us as Canadians to recognize that we too have our challenges. That black Canadians and racialized Canadians face discrimination as a lived reality every single day.”
He then went on to address the systemic racism in Canada, admitting that the country’s systems treat Canadians of color differently than others.
“We need to see that, not just as a government, and take action,” he added. “But we need to see that as Canadians. We need to be allies in the fight against discrimination. We need to listen, we need to learn, and we need to work harder to fix.”
The prime minister pledged that the Canadian government would continue to work to better the country for black Canadians, reiterating that he understands they live a different reality than white Canadians.
Watch above.
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