Candidate for mayor of Montreal, Gilbert Thibodeau, leader of the Action Montreal party, posted several messages on Twitter suggesting opposition to health measures and sympathy for conspiratorial theses, but he denies joining this movement.
Posted on May 30, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.
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“POPULATION CONTROL – Over time – The problem with ‘conspirators’ is not that they are often wrong, it is rather that they are often right, but… a little too early! Mr. Thibodeau wrote on his Twitter account on April 8.
“I am pro-choice – Regarding the vaccine or the mask, vulnerable people know what to do, they are not stupid. For others, the immune system is doing its job. Let the government take care of the mess it created in the health care system and everything will be fine, ”he posted on February 24.
As early as last year, the mayoral candidate was broadcasting similar messages. “COVID-19 is virulent, severely attacking the human respiratory system, but people are getting a bit bored of mass manipulation. Solution: let’s talk about a 2e wave to come, a new strain even more virulent… more and more ridiculous ”, he wrote on May 6, 2020.
Other messages of the same content have been published over the months.
“To contradict the consensus of scientists”
Gilbert Thibodeau also records videos every week, entitled The candidate and broadcast on YouTube, in which he tackles various political subjects, in a style reminiscent of Jean-Luc Mongrain.
The videos are recorded in the studios of Lux Media. Under the broadcast window of each episode, there is a warning: “Some comments on this program could contradict the scientific consensus surrounding COVID-19. ”
There are links to financially support Lux Media as well as the stu-dio.tv channel, by making a transfer to André Pitre.
André Pitre, alias “Stu Pitt”, is at the head of Lux Media and of the stu-dio.tv site, an alternative news channel now banned from YouTube, which has widely propagated QAnon’s theses. Former speaker of the identity group La Meute, André Pitre denies in his videos the existence of the pandemic and ensures that the leaders of the planet are taking advantage of COVID-19 to control the population. He speaks of “sanitary fascism” and qualifies François Legault as “the first psychopath”.
Not up to date
Asked about the messages appearing under his videos, Gilbert Thibodeau replied that he was not aware and that he did not know the other hosts of the channel.
As for his messages posted on Twitter, he assures us that this should not be seen as a challenge to government measures against COVID-19.
My position is clear: I respect the measures. I have my mask, I am for physical distancing, I will get the vaccine, I do what the government asks.
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Gilbert thibodeau
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The post in which he says the conspirators are right referred to vaccines: Those who are termed conspiratorialists asked questions about the safety of vaccines, before it was discovered that they could indeed pose certain dangers, argues -he
“Anyway, the word conspiracy is used in all sauces,” he laments, in an interview with Press.
“Conspiratorial” content
For Marie-Ève Carignan, professor at the University of Sherbrooke and director of the media center of the UNESCO Chair in the prevention of radicalization and violent extremism, who is interested in conspiracy theories, there is no doubt that the messages posted on Twitter by Gilbert Thibodeau oppose health measures and the government, and promote pseudoscience.
He shares content that, according to our research at the research chair, can be characterized as conspiratorial.
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Marie-Eve Carignan
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“It’s worrying, because the position of candidate for mayor can give him a certain credibility, a certain authority, which can influence people to believe his words, which are of the order of public opinion and do not rely on no scientific data, continues the specialist, who looked at the candidate’s Twitter account at our request. For example, when he says that the immune system protects us from COVID-19 or that there was no second wave, but that it was invented to convince us to maintain sanitary measures. ”
Gilbert Thibodeau, businessman, was a candidate in Denis Coderre’s team for mayor of Plateau-Mont-Royal in 2013, then independent candidate for mayor of Montreal in 2017; he then obtained 1669 votes (0.35%).
In view of the 2021 elections, he founded his own party, Action Montreal, to run for mayor.
He promises in particular to reduce the number of elected municipal officials, the number of municipal officials and the number of municipal council committees.
He also proposes to reimburse the real estate transfer tax (“welcome tax”) to buyers of a first property, and to give them a check for $ 5,000, to stem the exodus of young families to the suburbs.
Mr. Thibodeau deplores the fact that the media present the race for mayor of Montreal as a fight between two candidates, Valérie Plante and Denis Coderre, while five other people have made known their intention to run for the post of mayor.
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