CANADA’S leading anti-racism and civil liberties organizations on Monday in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged him “to establish a national action plan on dismantling white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups that threaten Canadians who are Black, Indigenous, Jewish, Muslim, or Sikh, amongst other communities.”
The letter was copied to Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet.
The letter:
“Our communities are still reeling from the incident that took place this September 12, 2020. On that day, a member of the Canadian community, Mohamed-Aslim Zafis, was ruthlessly killed in front of the IMO Mosque in Toronto by an individual with apparent links to a neo-Nazi group.
“This attack did not happen in isolation. This attack is one in a long series of a chain of horrifying attacks on racialized communities in Canada. Faith-based communities, as well as racialized communities, have faced attacks on our homes, our places of worship, our children, and our congregants at the hands of white supremacist organizations.
“We are calling on the federal government to establish a national action plan on dismantling white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups that threaten Canadians who are Black, Indigenous, Jewish, Muslim, or Sikh, amongst other communities.
“In 2015, according to counter-terrorism experts in Canada, we had 100 alt-right or white supremacist groups operating in Canada. Now, we have over 300. Some of these groups train with explosives and live ammunition. Others have shown up to intimidate racialized communities – and they operate from coast to coast. Therefore, we need bipartisan action from all political parties to counter these groups.
“While we recognize and appreciate that last year, two organizations affiliated with white supremacy were banned under the listing provisions of the Criminal Code, far more needs to be done.
“We look forward to ongoing dialogue with the government to ensure that action be taken now. An attack like this should never happen again.”
It was signed by:
The National Council of Canadian Muslims
The World Sikh Organization
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
The Canadian Anti-Hate Network
Amnesty International
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
The Canadian Labour Congress
The Alberta Federation of Labour
The Canadian Union of Public Employees
The Coalition Against White Supremacy & Islamophobia
The Canadian Federation of Students
The Black and Indigenous Alliance Alberta
Baha’i Community of Canada
The Living Interfaith Sanctuary
The NJUP Coalition
The Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism
Network for Research on Right-wing Extremism in the CAF
The Rideau Institute
Vaughan African Canadian Association
African Canadian National Coalition against Hate, Oppression and Racism
Social Planning Council of York Region
Black Youths of York Region
The Canadian Council of Imams
The Canadian Defence and Security Network
The Canadian Peace Congress
