A Liberal MP is facing criticism after dismissing a wave of church burnings and acts of vandalism as “conspiracy theories,” despite numerous church arsons, including some near his local riding in Hamilton.
During debate in the House of Commons on proposed hate-crime legislation, Liberal MP John-Paul Danko (Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas) accused Conservatives of “repeating conspiracy theories” rather than addressing “real hate crimes.”
“If we want to talk about real hate crimes, and I’m not quoting, you know, alt-right, so-called alternative news, I’m talking about Jewish members in my community who are covering their Jewish identity in public, that is the hate that we’re talking about, that this bill seeks to address.”
Danko’s response was in relation to True North’s church arson incident map hosted on Juno News which has catalogued 123 instances of arson or vandalism since 2021.
Conservative MP Andrew Lawton responded on X, calling the attacks “real hate,” and highlighted dozens of firebombings and acts of vandalism against churches and synagogues since 2021.
Hellbound and Down 