SURREY, B.C. — People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier began a speech in Surrey, B.C., with protesters yelling "PPC, shut it down!" outside a hotel ballroom where he was speaking.
Security officers barred a door before about a dozen protesters dispersed, some with signs in support of immigrants and refugees.
Much of Bernier’s speech at a Surrey Board of Trade event focused on his proposed immigration policies, which he said require a "discussion" in Canada.
He said he wants especially to discuss immigration issues with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, at two leaders' debates next month.
Bernier said he’s against "mass immigration" but is not anti-immigrant and believes Canada should accept "real refugees," not those trying to enter Quebec and other parts of the country without crossing official borders.
He says he’d like a fence erected in a part of Quebec where thousands of refugees have entered, with RCMP officers guarding it.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2019.
The Canadian Press
