Toronto Protesters Rally against Islamophobia
The massive rally began outside the US Consulate on University Ave. as protesters, bundled against the cold, stretched from Queen to Dundas Sts. Hundreds had gathered five days earlier to protest Trump’s sweeping travel ban targeting seven predominantly Muslim countries — which was blocked by a U.S. judge on Friday.
Organizer Hashim Yussuf, of Black Lives Matter, estimated that at least 5,000 people protested outside the consulate on Saturday.
"It’s a call to action that has just begun,” Yussuf said in an interview. "The stuff that is happening now is not OK and we will fight back.”
As dozens of RCMP and Toronto police officers stood by, speakers at the rally — called a Day of Action Against Islamophobia and White Supremacy — demanded the Canadian government immediately denounce Trump’s travel ban.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stopped short of directly condemning the executive order this week, but did tweet in support of Canada’s diversity immediately after Trump implemented the ban.
Standing on the back of a pickup truck, speakers told the crowd that Canadians must not be smug about racism at home, reading out the names of the six men killed in the recent shooting at a Quebec City mosque. They also spoke about Canada’s record on indigenous land rights, police shootings of black men and prejudice against gay and transgender people.
Gilary Massa, of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, spoke about Islamophobia and Muslim fears after the Quebec killings.
After a few hours on University Ave., protesters marched across Dundas St. to Yonge St., down to Queen St. and back to University. Shoppers and tourists pulled out their cellphones to record the protesters, who chanted, "All of us or none of us” and "Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go.”
Anthony Oliveira said he joined the rally to tell the federal government that "Canada needs to do something … We need to be more protective of immigrants.”
Source: The Star
