Justin Trudeau joined thousands of people on Friday to kneel before the Canadian Parliament.
Ottawa, Canada:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined thousands of people on Friday to kneel before the Parliament of Canada in solidarity with American protesters who protested racism and police violence.
This marked a rare public outing for the Canadian leader since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as protests spread outside the United States after Minnesota police killed an unarmed black man .
“Far too many Canadians feel fear and anxiety at the sight of law enforcement officials,” said Trudeau during his daily briefing earlier today.
“In the past few weeks, we have seen a large number of Canadians suddenly wake up to the fact that the discrimination that is a reality experienced by too many of our fellow citizens must stop.”
Trudeau, holding a “Black Lives Matter” T-shirt, chanted behind a mask with the crowd that spread several blocks to the U.S. Embassy, and then stood in silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds.
This is the length of time a white policeman in Minneapolis knelt on the neck of George Floyd, an unarmed African American, who died after pleading “I can’t breathe”.
The video of Floyd’s death on May 25 went viral and sparked sometimes violent protests across the United States and mass protests in European capitals and elsewhere.
“Look at the diversity of this crowd,” said Minister of Families Ahmed Hussen, who joined Trudeau at the demonstration in Ottawa. “They are not just black Canadians. These are all those who say that the life of blacks counts. ”
Similar demonstrations took place in several cities across Canada.
In Toronto, Chief of Police Mark Saunders and several uniformed police officers met with protesters who were walking downtown and also took a knee.
“We see you and we listen to you,” he tweeted. “We must all stay together to bring about change.”
Saunders’ actions drew praise from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who called the city’s first black police chief joining the demonstrators “hard-hitting.”
“This is what you call real leadership,” he said.
Ottawa protester Stéphane Kribodo said there was too much racism – “in the world, in France, in the United States, in Canada”.
“It is important to oppose it if we want change,” he said.
Another protester, Sophie Scott, echoed this view, noting several recent cases of alleged police misconduct in Canada.
In Toronto and the city of Edmundston, New Brunswick, two women with mental health issues died after calling the police for help. An Inuit man in the far north was struck by a police vehicle.
“We want a (pandemic) recovery that is fair to all and this requires action against racism,” said Scott.
On Tuesday, Trudeau appeared short of words, stopping for 20 seconds when he was pressed for his thoughts on the threat of US President Donald Trump’s military mobilization against the violent protests.
“We all watch in horror and dismay what is going on in the United States,” he finally said.
Now “it’s a time to listen, it’s a time to bring people together and a time to learn what injustices continue despite progress over the years and decades,” he added.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
