Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau confirmed Friday he is setting up a phone call with NDP chief Jagmeet Singh to personally apologize for the several episodes where he appeared in blackface.
Everyone should watch this response from Jagmeet Singh. I don't think you can say it better than this pic.twitter.com/FCCXVEGgfD
— Robyn Urback (@RobynUrback) September 19, 2019
Trudeau appeared in Toronto to announce that a Liberal government would ban military-style assault weapons, but was again obliged to answer questions about the blackface issue that has deeply shaken his campaign.
Asked about President Donald Trump’s surprise at the photos and video, he suggested the affair would not impede his ability to champion “marginalized” communities on the world stage.
And he revealed that a video of a third blackface incident occurred at a “costume day” for staff at a white-water rafting company he worked for in the early 1990s.
Singh’s emotional reaction to the initial photo of Trudeau in blackface as a 29-year-old encapsulated the hurt expressed by many Canadians of colour.
Trudeau said he wanted to reach out to him directly, an unusual gesture in the midst of a federal election.“I’m apologizing to him personally as a racialized Canadian, as I’ve been apologizing to Canadians who have suffered intolerance their entire lives in ways that some of us — like me — have never had to experience on a daily basis,” he told reporters.
Trudeau also said he had “nothing to confirm” when asked about a report there were other blackface photos still to emerge.
And he said he could not recall anything when asked if there were other embarrassing incidents in his past not related to blackface.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
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