Conservative MP Chungsen Leung tells Iranian-Canadians to go back to their country

Chongsen Leung is not only a Conservative MP for the riding of Willowdale, but also appointed by the Harper Conservatives as the Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism. This video is from a meeting in Toronto with constituents on Jan 24, 2015.
Context: He was asked why his government has implemented a policy to specifically discriminate against Iranian-Canadians for VISA applications. After raving incoherently about Israel for a while (which was unrelated to the question), he launched into this rant.
The entire 1.5 hour encounter has been posted online and can be found on KZbin.

[@lucyaalmeida3859]

we need to get this racists out of office, please everyone do SOMETHING to inform Canadians that the CONS are ruining this once greta country

[@poyani]

He won by less than 1000 votes last time and his riding is heavily populated by Iranian-Canadians.

[@satomiwa]

I'm no lover of the Conservative Party, but these clips are taken out of context. A woman was asking why it's easier for Chinese people to get VISAs to come to Canada than it is for Iranians. Leung made the point about Iran's human rights record, and one of the questioners made the point about China having its own human rights issues. Leung then explained that Tibet and Falun Gong etc were internal issues, whereas Iran was pursuing a WMD program and threatening to "wipe Israel" (off the map). Basically explaining why the Canadian government treats the Iranian government differently than it treats the Chinese government, and why it closed the Iranian Embassy, etc. She then pursued her line of questioning by not disputing anything he said about the Iranian government, but wondering why the Iranian people were being punished for the actions of its government, which is why they're trying to get out of Iran in the first place. That was one conversation. But then it got sidetracked into a second conversation when someone said it's the same thing people said about Iraq, and it turned out to be a lie, and then went on to say that Iran never said they would use their nuclear weapons, and never even admitted that they had nuclear weapons, to which Leung replied, "that's not what the UN says", which someone disputed with something about not having the correct quote on that. And that's when Leung said (because it seemed like the person was defending the Iranian government), "let me ask you then, if you like Iran so much, then why do you come to Canada? Why are you here? What are you fleeing from?". He didn't tell them to "go back home" or "back where you came from". But he also never answered the original question. Also the subtitles are wrong. He didn't say he was speaking for "our" Canadians. He said "all" Canadians.

[@poyani]

He said repeatedly "you are free to leave" (implying that they should). I would summarize the entire proceeding as follows: Someone asked Leung why it is that Iranians are discriminated against in VISA applications. First he said it was because the Iranian government shut down their embassy in Ottawa (which is false; Ottawa shut it down). Then he started rambling incoherently about Israel (which was not related to the question). Then he started rambling incoherently about Iran's nuclear program (which was, again, not related at all to the question). Then he said it was because of Iran's human rights record (which baffled the audience because he essentially said that he denies Iranian refugees an escape because the government oppresses them so badly). Then he said he didn't care because the government didn't have to give anybody a VISA (which in his mind justifies putting racial quotas on VISAs) And finally, he lost his shit and told the audience things like "if you like Iran so much, then why do you come to Canada?" and "you are free to leave". --------------------------- And he absolutely did say "I am speaking to 'our' Canadians".

[@poyani]

And when a participant brought up the fact that his government discriminates against Iranians his classic response was "I do not apologize for it; I do not apologize for it; I do not apologize for it"

[@poyani]

And one more thing, the audience repeatedly brought up the fact that he had told them to go back. If his comment about "why did you come here" was not intended to say they did not belong to Canada, he had over a dozen chances to correct them. He didn't correct them because they had understood his comments correctly. He further demonstrated that they had understood him correctly by repeatedly saying "you are free to leave".

[@davelundy1063]

I'm fairly certain he said "our Canadians" but perhaps Mr. Leung should go back and take some elocution classes so that his accent doesn't put him in hotter water than what he finds himself in. Call it "lost in Translation".

[@the42lindenburg]

satomiwa " But then it got sidetracked into a second conversation when someone said it's the same thing people said about Iraq, and it turned out to be a lie, and then went on to say that Iran never said they would use their nuclear weapons, and never even admitted that they had nuclear weapons, to which Leung replied, "that's not what the UN says", which someone disputed with something about not having the correct quote on that." That was way too long a sentence but lets just focus on one single point. Why would Iran "admit" they have nuclear weapons? They don't. No one with an ounce of credibility says otherwise. I appreciate that you're trying to fill in some backstory on a video clip that was edited to make the points the poster claimed, but with respect, you should look into the concept of "unclear antecedent". |Have a good day.

[@WendyMcClelland]

This man makes me embarrassed that he calls himself a Canadian. He should NOT be in charge of multi-culturalism and I hope he defeated in the next election.

[@azinderavi9284]

Sometimes I ask myself I tried all my possibilities and did all my bests to live in my nightmares today!!! Living among all these liars is living in your own nightmare. They actually do not care about us. I am just waiting for the big laughs, they know what I'm pointing through!

[@iliv2bhap]

i saw a tiny clip of you with the delegates for the country of iran. i do not know you your record or your personal constitution... im telling you i support you... and i think you went through a learning curve on how in the next go-around to deal with a testing situation in better syntax... but you were fine overall.. and FROM THE CLIP ALONE i would say dont beat yourself over it... and good luck in the future...

[@poyani]

Those were not delegates for the country of Iran. Those were his constituents from his riding, which is heavily populated by Iranian-Canadians. Don't worry. Your support doesn't matter. There is ZERO chance this tool is getting re-elected. He won by less than 1000 votes last time.

[@iliv2bhap]

should of written on behalf instead of for which is what i meant