By Fareed Khan
This past week the Liberals became the last of the three major parties to release their policy platform for the federal election taking place on September 20th. Like those of the Conservatives and the NDP the Liberal document is filled with scores of promises touching every area of public policy, including proposals on fighting the rising tide of racism across the country. However, given the unimpressive record of Justin Trudeau's government on addressing issues of hate, bigotry and racism during their six years in office Canadian voters, and particularly voters from racialized communities, need to take the Liberal proposals with a grain of salt.
Since being elected in 2015 the Trudeau Liberals have governed during a time that has seen an unprecedented rise in white supremacy, right wing extremism, violent racism, hate crimes, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-Asian racism.
During Justin Trudeau's tenure as prime minister nine Muslims have been killed in hate motivated attacks – six in a Quebec City mosque in January 2017, one just outside a Toronto mosque in September 2020, and four members of a Muslim family out for an evening stroll in London, Ontario in June 2021. Also, since the start of the pandemic anti-Asian hate crimes have surged with, Vancouver police reporting a 717% rise in hate crimes targeting Asians.
The seriousness of the hate crime problem in Canada was revealed in the General Social Survey conducted by Statistics Canada which reveled that there were an estimated 223,000 self-reported hate crimes in Canada in 2019, with the highest proportion in Ontario (33%), Quebec (28%), and Alberta (14%). In the same period, law enforcement reported 1,951 hate crimes, meaning that less than 1% of perceived hate crimes in 2019 were captured in police-reported statistics. Hate crimes in 2017 were of particular note because they reached an all-time high, increasing by 47% according to Statistics Canada numbers, with anti-Muslim hate crimes rising by 151%.
The response of the federal government to the rising tide of hate has been largely reactive and inadequate according to anti-racism activist groups. In essence the message being sent to the Trudeau government by those calling for more action on racism is that while "thoughts and prayers" are welcome, in the end words and political platitudes are not enough (and never have been enough) to address the problem. Given past failures by the Trudeau government to adequately address the rise in hate and issues of systemic and institutional racism (which Canadians see as a pervasive problem), it would be safe to say that the jury is out on the Liberal Party’s anti-racism proposals until Canadians see them become reality.
Anti-hate activists are also critical of Trudeau's slow response to calls for action in the wake of anti-racism protests that erupted across Canada following the murder of Minneapolis resident George Floyd by a white police officer in May 2020. Only after tens of thousands of Canadians took to the streets in anti-racism protests did the government decide to make fighting racism a priority by putting it in their September 2020 Throne Speech.
Quebec’s Bill 21 “secularism” law is also an issue high on the agenda for anti-hate activists. The law, which is being challenged by several human rights and civil liberties groups in Quebec courts, is seen as state-sanctioned bigotry and intentionally violates the freedom of religion provision in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The law is mainly targeted at members of the Muslim, Sikh and Jewish communities in Quebec , and yet Justin Trudeau, as well as Conservative leader Erin O’Toole and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, have all said they will not take action against it. So why should Canadians trust the Liberals, Conservatives or NDP to stand up for human rights when they are refusing to defend the fundamental human rights of Canadians being violated by a government in Canada?
The Liberal platform talks about protecting and defending human rights, and making Canada’s commitment to human rights a “core strategic priority” but the Trudeau government’s record in defending human rights at home and abroad contradicts this premise. It seems the Liberal policy is to defend human rights only when it is advantageous politically and economically.
If Canadians want to see real action on fighting hate, addressing systemic racism and standing up for human rights, it is up to them to take to the streets, storm the barricades, and show the politicians that they will not be silent on these issues and they will not go away until the promises made are fulfilled. Unless they take this approch the promises made in the campaign platforms of the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP will be like many promises made in the past, intended to gain voter support and then forgotten after the election.
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View From Here. © 2021 Fareed Khan. All Rights Reserved.
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