Statement by Andrea Horwath on the anniversary of the shooting at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec

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

 

“Two years ago today, six men were killed in a horrific hate crime, an act of Islamophobic terrorism. These men were killed in a house of worship, the lives of their families and communities forever altered, for no other reason than their Muslim faith.

 

Today, we mourn the tragic loss of these six men killed: Ibrahima Barry; Mamadou Tanou Barry; Khaled Belkacemi; Aboubaker Thabti; Abdelkrim Hassane; and Azzedine Soufiane.

 

We honour, too, the survivors of this cowardly and hateful act of violence, and grieve with the families and communities that have been devastated.

 

In the two years since this tragedy occurred, Ontario has continued to see a rise in Islamophobia, anti-Muslim racism and hate crimes against Muslims.

 

Ontario’s New Democrats are committed to working to eliminate Islamophobia in Ontario and around the world.

We must work to build a province where everyone feels safe and welcome, no matter their faith or ethnicity. Islamophobia has no place here.”

Andrea Horwath