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Chungsen Leung[/caption]
A meet-and-greet gathering between members of the Iranian-Canadian community resulted in some inappropriate comments from a Toronto MP, Chungsen Leung, angering some of the attendees. The event was hosted by the Association of North American Ethnic Journalists and Writers.
Two dozen individuals attended the meeting where Leung, the Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism, answered several questions regarding life for Iranians living in Canada.
One specific question which he answered upset some of the individuals at the meeting. The question raised was, "What is the Iranian community's situation compared to the Chinese community?"
Leung responded by discussing the matter with some of the attendees, leading him to pose the question, "Let me ask you, if you like Iran so much, then why do you come to Canada?" This question did not sit well with many that evening. Leung went on to state further, "Why are you here? What are you fleeing from?"
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Cheung's comments at the meeting angered some of the attendees[/caption]
As he continued, the attendees had their say too. One of them, who was clearly unsatisfied with Leung's comments, stated: "And I can tell you, go back to China."
Leung's response only aggravated attendees even more, by saying, "You have the right to vote as you wish, and you have the right to say what you want to say." After that, a few individuals left the meeting.
Leung was reported as being arrogant that evening, and it was mentioned how there was a considerable amount of miscommunication between him and the attendee.
The event's organizer insists that Leung was clearly misunderstood, as his words were, "taken out of context." Leung stated that he had no intention whatsoever of offending anybody and sent apologies to the community members.
Some of the members of the Iranian–Canadian community did not accept his apology and felt that it did not suffice. They expected an official statement issuing an apology from his party. Leung has not been available for further interviews on the matter since.
Chungsen Leung[/caption]
A meet-and-greet gathering between members of the Iranian-Canadian community resulted in some inappropriate comments from a Toronto MP, Chungsen Leung, angering some of the attendees. The event was hosted by the Association of North American Ethnic Journalists and Writers.
Two dozen individuals attended the meeting where Leung, the Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism, answered several questions regarding life for Iranians living in Canada.
One specific question which he answered upset some of the individuals at the meeting. The question raised was, "What is the Iranian community's situation compared to the Chinese community?"
Leung responded by discussing the matter with some of the attendees, leading him to pose the question, "Let me ask you, if you like Iran so much, then why do you come to Canada?" This question did not sit well with many that evening. Leung went on to state further, "Why are you here? What are you fleeing from?"
[caption id="attachment_1749" align="alignright" width="300"] Cheung's comments at the meeting angered some of the attendees[/caption]
As he continued, the attendees had their say too. One of them, who was clearly unsatisfied with Leung's comments, stated: "And I can tell you, go back to China."
Leung's response only aggravated attendees even more, by saying, "You have the right to vote as you wish, and you have the right to say what you want to say." After that, a few individuals left the meeting.
Leung was reported as being arrogant that evening, and it was mentioned how there was a considerable amount of miscommunication between him and the attendee.
The event's organizer insists that Leung was clearly misunderstood, as his words were, "taken out of context." Leung stated that he had no intention whatsoever of offending anybody and sent apologies to the community members.
Some of the members of the Iranian–Canadian community did not accept his apology and felt that it did not suffice. They expected an official statement issuing an apology from his party. Leung has not been available for further interviews on the matter since.