Achi news desk-
A video circulating on social media platforms over the weekend showed Foreign Minister Melanie Jolly in a tense confrontation with a man on a Montreal street over the Israel-Hamas war.
The man who took the video urged Jolie to “lift the lid on the number of Palestinian refugees” Canada needs to welcome as she walked down Laurier Street in the Rama neighborhood on Friday.
A few seconds into the interaction, the minister is seen grabbing the man’s phone. “You can’t take my phone like that,” the man tells her, and then says, “Untie my coat.”
She then appears to try to calm things down, saying she is “dealing with the problem” but that she was trying to enjoy a leisurely walk before he confronted her.
“I agree with you,” she says when stressed about the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“You don’t have the right to take a leisurely walk in the city while allowing the deaths of Palestinians,” says the man, and she replies “Yes, I have the right.”
The video ends with Julie continuing to walk down the street.
In a statement to CTV News, the Secretary of State’s office said that Jolie “always welcomes conversations with her constituents, and with all Montrealers, about the issues that matter most to them. These conversations are most productive when approached with respect.”
The statement goes on to say that, “In this case, it is clear that this interaction began with the intention of scaring her for the purposes of a clip on social networks, not a constructive conversation.”
The Associated Press reported on Saturday that more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, most of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its death toll.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said more than a third of those killed were armed, but provided no evidence to support the claim. It also accuses Hamas of civilian casualties because the group operates in residential areas.
The United Nations and aid agencies said more than 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced since the war began on Oct. 7, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 taken hostage by Hamas, which Canada has designated a terrorist organization.
Last week, CTV News reported that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is reviewing a large volume of applications from citizens after the federal government announced in December that it would allow 1,000 Palestinians to flee to Canada on temporary visas.
“As of March 4, 2024, we have 986 applications received for processing, meaning applicants have used their unique reference code to submit a complete application,” the department said in a March 18 statement, adding that it was doing its best to be flexible in assessing the situation and had named People who transferred the early eligibility to the local authorities.
“As of March 11, 2024, 14 people who left Gaza on their own had applications for a temporary resident visa (TRV) in the process, were able to submit biometrics and complete their application, and were approved to come to Canada. The data is preliminary and subject to change,” it said.
With files from CTV News Atlantic and the Associated Press
