He came to address racism, ended up being called a terrorist
A man who was at Thursday’s regional council meeting to discuss racism was himself the target of bigotry as the meeting was getting underway.
St. Catharines resident Mohammad Al Jumaily found himself the subject of verbal abuse from Fort Erie resident and avid protester Fred Bracken in the minutes prior to the start of a special council meeting, held to discuss adopting a new code of conduct for regional councillors.
“He called me a terrorist!” Al Jumaily shouted after being confronted by Bracken, who was carrying a squawking bullhorn and video recorded while insulting most of the audience and councillors.
“Well call the police then,” Bracken told Al Jumaily. “We have free speech. You don’t like it, go home.”
But Al Jumaily is home.
He’s a Canadian citizen who has lived in the country for more than a decade, since leaving Iraq.
Although Al Jumaily drew council’s attention to the racial slur, regional Chair Alan Caslin said he could offer him no assistance.
“We haven’t started our meeting yet. There’s really nothing I can do,” Caslin told him.
Welland Coun. Paul Grenier, however, wasn’t about to allow the behaviour to continue unchallenged.
“It’s a hate crime,” Grenier charged.
Bracken replied: “Oh, it’s a hate crime because they’re bringing people here that want to change our culture and I defend myself. That’s a hate crime?”
Al Jumaily’s request to appear as a delegate was too late to be included in the agenda, but councillors voted unanimously to allow him to speak.
“Niagara is a wonderful diverse place, but hate, racism and bigotry is well alive around here. We’ve seen that with opinions expressed on social media,” he told councillors during the meeting.
He said individuals in positions of power have influence that can be abused, noting examples such as “ISIS sympathizers committing atrocious acts against their communities,” and the terrorist attack on the Muslim community in Quebec committed by a supporter of U.S. president Donald Trump.
“The fact that an individual is elected by the public implies there is significant support for their views,” he said.
Politicians, he said, should therefore face added responsibility when exercising their freedom of expression. For that reason, Al Jumaily asked councillors to consider adopting “a recall process” for any elected official who express “radical views and opinions on social media or anywhere else.”
He said there is a similar process in place in British Columbia, allowing for a recall or impeachment of municipal politicians.
“I’m hoping this council will incorporate a similar request from the province. Mr. Chairman, I’d be happy to work with anyone on this initiative here.”
St. Catharines Coun. Bruce Timms told him it’s up to the public to judge their politicians during elections.
“Now we’re into a four-year term, and so the public only gets to judge us every four years. Is that part of the problem?” Timms asked.
Al Jumaily said “the public memory is quite short.”
“I think this (a recall process) is what we should be aiming for,” he said.
While Al Jumaily asked that such a process be incorporated into the Region’s code of conduct being discussed at the meeting, councillors ultimately voted against the revised policy — opting instead to continue using the original code of conduct that was adopted in 2013.
Grenier told Al Jumaily that while he appreciates the intent of his request, he said he doubted the idea would get very far towards being implemented.
He instead asked Al Jumaily to work with council to develop a more concrete plan to work towards achieving similar goals.
“Councillor, I’d be honoured to start this process with you, and anyone who is willing to put that forward,” Al Jumaily told him.