Groups urge feds to deal with white supremacy in Canada

A coalition of multifaith human rights organizations urged the prime minister Monday to come up with a plan to dismantle white supremacist groups across the country.

The open call to Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau comes in wake of the death of a 58-year-old man who was fatally stabbed outside the International Muslim Organization mosque in Toronto last month.

The mosque has asked police to investigate the death of MohamedAslim Zafis as a hate crime. The head of the Toronto police homicide squad said last month that while investigators had no immediate evidence the stabbing was motivated by hate, it was a possibility.

The organizations that wrote to Trudeau said the government needs to take action to prevent such incidents in the future.

“Canadians, whether from Indigenous, Black, Muslim, Jewish,

Sikh, Christian, or other faith and racialized communities have faced attacks on our homes, our places of worship, and our congregants at the hands of white supremacist organizations,” they wrote.

The organizations that signed the letter include the National Council of Canadian Muslims, the World Sikh Organization, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Amnesty International and the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.

They asked the federal government to develop an action plan to dismantle white supremacy groups. They also called on all political parties to help counter such groups.

“We look forward to ongoing dialogue with the government to ensure that action be taken now,” the groups wrote.

Police said last month that Zafis was seemingly attacked at random as he sat outside the mosque on Sept 12.