(Ottawa) No incitement to hatred will be tolerated during demonstrations in support of Gaza and the Palestinians planned for Friday, warned the federal, provincial and territorial ministers of Justice and Public Safety.
Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc, said he had been in contact with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in anticipation of these demonstrations – a march is notably planned in Montreal this Friday.
“Calls for violence and the glorification of the horrific and murderous actions of Hamas have absolutely no place in Canada,” he also said at a press conference in Bromont, in Estrie, at the end of a meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts.
His Quebec counterpart, François Bonnardel, agreed in the same vein: “The right to demonstrate is protected by our laws, but we are not going to tolerate any [incitation] violence or hatred during these demonstrations.
However, he added that there was nothing to suggest that incidents could occur. “But we are not safe from anything. Our police forces are notified, our police forces are ready to accompany these marchers, and everything must be done calmly,” he continued.
Asked whether it would be prohibited to wave flags bearing the image of Hamas in the wind, he seemed to respond in the negative. “You know, it’s difficult to prevent a Quebec, Canadian citizen from carrying a flag,” he said.
The Federal Minister of Justice, Arif Virani, for his part insisted on the fact that the Criminal Code contains provisions to prohibit hatred, incitement to hatred as well as the promotion of terrorism. Hamas is considered a terrorist entity in Canada.