Andrea Horwath on mosque shooting anniversary

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath issued the following statement on the one-year anniversary of the shooting at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec.

 

“One year ago today, the lives of six men were cut painfully short, and the lives of so many others were changed forever, in a cowardly act of Islamophobic violence. 

Today, Ontario’s New Democrats, alongside all Canadians, honour and remember the victims and survivors of this cowardly act of violence and hate. We remember in particular those who lost their lives: Ibrahima Barry; Mamadou Tanou Barry; Khaled Belkacemi; Aboubaker Thabti; Abdelkrim Hassane; and Azzedine Soufiane.

Islamophobia has no place in Canada.

Ontario’s New Democrats want to build a province where everyone feels safe, and welcome, no matter their faith or ethnicity. That’s why we fought to establish the Anti-Racism Directorate and to declare October as Islamic Heritage Month, and why we continue to condemn Islamophobia in all its forms.

As a nation, we must use this horrific act as a reminder to stand up against prejudice, intolerance, and hate whenever we see it. Only by working together to eliminate hate can we build a country that feels like home for all Canadians.”

This Media Release