Interview with MB MLA Richard Perchotte

*This article was originally published in print by the Jewish Post.

Richard Perchotte is the MLA for Selkirk. Elected in 2023 as the Progressive Conservative (PC) candidate to the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, his win upheld Conservative dominance in the riding, which hasn’t changed political party since 2016.

Later that year, Mr. Perchotte was appointed as the ‘Shadow Minister for Advanced Education and Training’, and he also took on the role of the Shadow Heritage Minister inside the PC caucus.

As a result of his ministerial duties, Mr. Perchotte believes it is an important part of his mandate to attend as many cultural events as possible. In the process, he hopes to build trust with communities by engaging in honest dialogue and listening to their concerns. He said there are three main reasons to attend cultural and religious events. “Number one, to show support. Number two is to get educated. And number three, to make sure that we are standing up in the face of adversity.” Of course, this includes the Jewish community. “I try to attend as many events to learn for myself what is happening from a personal level from the people in the Jewish community where antisemitism is affecting everybody on a daily basis,” he said.

Mr. Perchotte exclaimed, “You would have to be living under a rock somewhere to not understand the plight of the Jewish community!” He continued, stating that for him, a catalyst moment was “the effects of October 7th, which really brought that to the forefront for me.” Moreover, Mr. Perchotte said, “I’d like to find out how that (antisemitism) affects them and what decisions, or lack of decisions, are impacts in their lives.”

He made a call for unity, saying, “What I don’t understand in the world is this propensity to hate. We are all different. Even people of the same faith are different in their denominations. And our differences make this world!”

Mr. Perchotte then went on a personal yet deeply relevant tangent, which helped inform his worldview. He explained, “In my family line, the only surviving member after the Second World War was my grandfather, who escaped as the rest of his family was murdered. So, I have a little bit of a connection to the innocent being slaughtered for the sake of hate.”

The conversation then shifted to education, as it is one of Mr. Perchotte’s ministerial areas of focus. He supports the NDP’s efforts (in conjunction with the Jewish community) to implement a Holocaust education curriculum. “Educating people on the implications of the Holocaust certainly would shine a light on the atrocities that happen in the world, and specifically to the Jewish people. The resilience of the Jewish people to not only overcome but to succeed and to be so generous in the world, whether you take a look at the Rady Center in Winnipeg or other things going on.” He continued, “So, I am 100% in support of educating people on the Holocaust as well as other atrocities in the world, whether it be in different continents or different conflicts. I think we need to certainly shine a light on these things that have happened and to ensure that they never happen again.”

Swapping topics again but staying with the focus on tolerance of other people, we discussed the subject of religious butchering in Canada. Especially amongst the Jewish community, this practice has been under attack because the faith prohibits the stunning of animals before their slaughter. This fact is in conflict with the Liberal government’s regulations.

In response, Mr. Perchotte said, “I do support people of religious beliefs having the ability to slaughter animals for consumption in their belief system.” He continued, denouncing legislation which would have that effect. “So, I would not be in favour of banning any kosher butchering.” When pressed on the crux of the issue, which was stunning or not stunning the animals prior to being butchered, again, Mr. Perchotte did not back down. To him, this was a religious matter. The government should not be interfering. “So basically, for what I think, the community itself will determine what’s important without me. I think that is where we need to separate government from religion. This is a religious tradition that has been done for centuries. I don’t want to say that somebody should or shouldn’t do that of which I’m not a part.” He reiterated the point with emphasis, “It is not for me, as an observer, to try to tell somebody how they should live or what religious beliefs they should follow.”

Talking about personal freedoms and when government intervention was acceptable was a near-seamless transition to discussing Universities. Since the Oct. 7th terrorist attacks, Canadian Universities have struggled to find the right balance between defending the free speech of students, regardless of their side, while also ensuring that protests do not get out of hand and infringe on campus life or threaten student safety.

Mr. Perchotte believes that it is imperative not to be overzealous on either side, such as granting maximum leeway to protesters or being overly draconian in a crackdown. “They have to protest peacefully and not threaten anyone else,” he said. “When I saw the encampments going up at universities, and the protesters were to be there 24 hours a day, impacting the safety or the feeling of safety of the students attending, I don’t think that is correct.” Mr. Perchotte then began listing the limitations he believes need to be imposed on protests. “I think that you need to stand on the street or on the sidewalk, and you can pass your message on in a peaceful method. Not having encampments that threaten people as they walk by. I think that every student has the right to enter and exit the school on their free will and to feel safe doing so.” Mr. Perchotte went further, saying that if the school couldn’t or would not accomplish this list, then perhaps government intervention was necessary. “I think that as a provincial government, we should and must go out of our way to protect our students and their ability to enter the facilities and institutions that will be educating them.”

Since the protests are about the ongoing war in Gaza, it was a natural conclusion to next discuss his perspective and what Canada’s role should be. For Mr. Perchotte, the answer is clear. A return to the past. Canada should be a peacekeeper, not a benchwarmer or a warmonger. But what does that entail?

Well, Mr. Perchotte advocates for Canada “to negotiate peace, to employ soldiers in a strict peacekeeping role, to assist countries with armament if need be. But to do that on a pessimistic basis to protect the country, not as an aggressor.” It might seem a contradiction that he thought Canada should not be conducting or supporting aggressive military action, while simultaneously providing military aid could be acceptable. But this is no contradiction; there are many ways to aid allies without providing offensive munitions. For example, Iron Dome missile interceptors are purely defensive. As is body armour, medical equipment, and relief aid.