Politicians target racism in Canada
Ottawa—politicians across the country were united in denouncing racism on Monday, as anger over the police killing of a Black man in the United States sparked calls for more action to end the systemic discrimination against racialized communities in Canada.
The focus on racism by political leaders in Canada followed days of protests and violence in many U.S. cities, as the video showing police in Minneapolis killing a Black man, George Floyd, has set fire to long-held anger over racism in the States.
Speaking during his daily news conference in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned those who “took advantage of these peaceful protests to do significant damage to communities and stores as we saw in Montreal.”
The prime minister went on to lament that many racialized Canadians still face discrimination and live in fear, saying: “As a country, we can’t pretend that racism doesn’t exist here.”
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer also addressed the death of George Floyd during a news conference in Ottawa, saying he was “heartbroken” and that no one should ever feel unsafe around police officers because of the colour of their skin.
“When you’re looking at a tragic incident where a man was killed in police custody — with all the context around the discrimination that many Black people feel in the U.S. and around the world — it’s clear all levels of government have much more to do,” he said.
During his own news conference, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh recalled his experiences dealing with racism as a practising Sikh while noting the “casual violence” and “callousness” of the Minneapolis police officers who killed Floyd. “When you see somebody who looks like you being killed like that, it makes you feel like you have no worth and no value,” he said. “It makes you angry. And I speak as an ally who has felt the painful words and the physical violence of racism.”