Statement of the Parliamentary Black Caucus Regarding the Ongoing Protest in Ottawa

For immediate release

Statement of the Parliamentary Black Caucus Regarding the Ongoing Protest in Ottawa

Ottawa, February 4th, 2022

We are disturbed and alarmed by the protests of the past days in Ottawa and Gatineau. The “Freedom Convoy'' protest became an opportunity for White supremacists and others with extreme and disturbing views to parade their odious views in public. Some protestors brought symbols such as the swastika or the Confederate flag onto Parliament Hill and into neighbourhoods in the national capital region. Indigenous culture was caricatured and appropriated, monuments to Canadian heroes were desecrated, and businesses, employees, and volunteers were harassed and intimidated. This is unacceptable. These displays of hatred and violence offend Canadians and have no place in our country.

We strongly support the right of Canadians to protest. Regrettably, we believe that this protest became a venue for extremist elements to intimidate Members of Parliament, Senators, and the residents of Ottawa and Gatineau. We believe this because of the reported links between senior leaders of this protest and extremist organizations, as well as their stated objectives to use this protest to overthrow Canada’s democratically elected federal government through undemocratic means.

In light of these circumstances, the Parliamentary Black Caucus calls upon its parliamentary colleagues to proceed with the following:

1. Prohibit the public display of the Confederate flag and the swastika, symbols of hate and terror.

We believe these symbols have no place in our public spaces and must be banned from public display. Both symbols represent two of the most devastatingly evil and violent eras in human history. There is no reasonable purpose for the display of such symbols in the public square, where they are used to intimidate those for whom they serve as a reminder of oppression, torture, and death. Canada and its people must continually reject these symbols. We ask for the Government of Canada’s leadership in ending the use of hateful symbols in public. 

2. Disclose to the Financial Transactions and Report Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) and the police information related to donations made through public fundraising sites.

Money laundering and financial terrorisms are threats to Canada’s security and the well-being of its communities. We are concerned that many of the sites used for fundraising activities lack sufficient oversight and could be venues to divert monies for illegal purposes. This protest raised significant sums online with neither transparency nor accountability. The Parliamentary Black Caucus is concerned that these funds could be used to support illicit activities, including domestic White supremacist terrorism. We propose that the Government of Canada strengthen the oversight of these websites by bringing forward changes to the rules governing FINTRAC and financial institutions in order to heighten the safety and security of all Canadians.

3. Conduct a joint parliamentary study and review of the events surrounding the “Freedom Convoy”.

Parliament must conduct a fulsome examination of the events of the past week, including the role of the various police and intelligence services. We believe Parliament would benefit from examining these issues and understanding the changes that are needed for future events to ensure safety around the parliamentary precinct and to uphold the privilege of Parliamentarians at all times.

It is our hope that these protests conclude soon, or continue in a respectful, peaceful, and lawful manner. We thank our security forces and we stand in solidarity with those in the national capital region who face harassment, violence, and unwarranted disruptions to their everyday lives. We call on the Government of Canada to implement our recommendations immediately and we urge all parliamentarians to unequivocally, actively, and specifically denounce hatred and violence in all its forms.

This statement is signed by the following core members of the Parliamentary Black Caucus and their allies in Parliament.

The Honourable Wanda Thomas Bernard, Senator

The Honourable Bernadette Clement, Senator

Michael Coteau, M.P.

The Honourable Greg Fergus, P.C., M.P., Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Black Caucus

The Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable Amina Gerba, Senator

Matthew Green, M.P.

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable Marci Ien, P.C., M.P.

Arielle Kayabaga, M.P.

The Honourable Marie-Françoise Mégie, Senator 

The Honourable Rosemary Moodie, Senator, Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Black Caucus

as well as the following Members of Parliament and Senators:

Shafqat Ali, M.P.

Gary Anandasangaree, M.P.

The Honourable David Arnot, Senator

Chandra Arya, M.P.

Niki Ashton, M.P.

The Honourable Michèle Audette, Senator

Vance Badawey, M.P.

Yvan Baker, M.P.

Lisa Marie Barron, M.P.

Jaime Battiste, M.P.

Rachel Bendayan, M.P.

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, P.C., M.P.

Daniel Blaikie, M.P.

Rachel Blaney, M.P.

Kody Blois, M.P.

The Honourable Peter M. Boehm, Senator

Alexandre Boulerice, M.P.

The Honourable Patricia Bovey, Senator

The Honourable Yvonne Boyer, Senator

Élisabeth Brière, M.P.

The Honourable Bev Busson, Senator

The Honourable Jim Carr, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable Bardish Chagger, P.C., M.P.

Sophie Chatel, M.P.

Shaun Chen, M.P.

Paul Chiang, M.P.

Laurel Collins, M.P.

The Honourable Jane Cordy, Senator

Serge Cormier, M.P.

The Honourable Brent Cotter, Senator

The Honourable Mary Coyle, Senator

Julie Dabrusin, M.P.

The Honourable Pierre J. Dalphond, Senator

Pam Damoff, M.P.

The Honourable Donna Dasko, Senator

The Honourable Colin Deacon, Senator

The Honourable Marty Deacon, Senator

The Honourable Tony Dean, Senator

Blake Desjarlais, M.P.

Sukh Dhaliwal, M.P.

Anju Dhillon, M.P.

Lena Metlege Diab, M.P.

Han Dong, M.P.

The Honourable Percy Downe, Senator

Francis Drouin, M.P.

Terry Duguid, M.P.

The Honourable Pat Duncan, Senator

The Honourable Renée Dupuis, Senator

Julie Dzerowicz, M.P.

Fayçal El-Khoury, M.P.

Andy Fillmore, M.P.

Darren Fisher, M.P.

The Honourable Éric Forest, Senator

Peter Fragiskatos, M.P.

The Honourable Brian Francis, Senator

The Honourable Raymonde Gagné, Senator

The Honourable Rosa Galvez, Senator

Leah Gazan, M.P.

Mark Gerretsen, M.P.

The Honourable  Clément Gignac, Senator

The Honourable Marc Gold, P.C., Senator

The Honourable Diane Griffin, Senator

The Honorable Steven Guilbeault, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable Patty Hajdu, P.C., M.P.

Brendan Hanley, M.P.

The Honourable Peter Harder, P.C., Senator

The Honourable Nancy Hartling, Senator

Lisa Hepfner, M.P.

Anthony Housefather, M.P.

Carol Hughes, M.P.

Angelo Iacono, M.P.

Lori Idlout, M.P.

Helena Jaczek, M.P.

The Honourable Mobina S.B. Jaffer, Senator

Gord Johns, M.P.

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, P.C., M.P.

Yvonne Jones, députée

Majid Jowhari, M.P.

Peter Julian, M.P.

Mike Kelloway, M.P.

Iqra Khalid, M.P.

The Honourable Kamal Khera, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable Marty Klyne, Senator

Annie Koutrakis, M.P.

Irek Kusmierczyk, M.P.

The Honourable Stan Kutcher, Senator

Jenny Kwan, M.P.

The Honourable Patti LaBoucane-Benson, Senator

Marie-France Lalonde, M.P.

Emmanuella Lambropoulos, M.P.

The Honourable Frances Lankin, P.C., Senator

Viviane Lapointe, M.P.

Patricia Lattanzio, M.P.

Stéphane Lauzon, M.P.

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable Tony Loffreda, Senator

Tim Louis, M.P.

Heath MacDonald, M.P.

Alistair MacGregor, M.P.

Brian Masse, M.P.

Lindsay Mathyssen, M.P.

Bryan May, M.P.

The Honourable Mary Jane McCallum, Senator

The Honourable John McKay, P.C., M.P.

Ron McKinnon, M.P.

Michael McLeod, M.P.

The Honourable Marilou McPhedran, Senator

Heather McPherson, M.P.

Alexandra Mendès, M.P.

Wilson Miao, M.P.

The Honourable Marc Miller, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable Lucie Moncion, Senator

Robert Morrissey, M.P.

Yasir Naqvi, M.P.

Taleeb Noormohamed, M.P.

Jennifer O’Connell, M.P.

The Honourable Robert Oliphant, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable Kim Pate, Senator

The Honorable Dennis Patterson, Senator

The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable Carla Qualthrough, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable James Quinn, Senator

The Honourable Mohamed Ravalia, Senator

The Honourable Pierrette Ringuette, Senator

Sherry Romanado, M.P.

Ruby Sahota, M.P.

Ya’ara Saks, M.P.

Darrell Samson, M.P.

Francis Scarpaleggia, M.P.

Marc G. Serré, M.P.

The Honourable Judy A. Sgro, P.C., M.P.

Brenda Shanahan, M.P.

Terry Sheehan, M.P.

Sonia Sidu, M.P.

Jagmeet Singh, M.P.

Francesco Sorbara, M.P.

The Honourable Karen Sorensen, Senator

The Honourable Pascale St-Onge, P.C., M.P.

Jenna Sudds, M.P.

The Honourable Scott Tannas, Senator

Joanne Thompson, M.P.

Ryan Turnbull, M.P.

Rechie Valdez, M.P.

Tony Van Bynen, M.P.

Adam van Koeverden, M.P.

The Honourable Dan Vandal, P.C., M.P.

Anita Vandenbeld, M.P.

Patrick Weiler, M.P.

The Honourable Howard Wetston, Senator

The Honourable Vernon White, Senator

Jean Yip, M.P.

The Honourable Hassan Yussuf, Senator

Bonita Zarillo, M.P.

Sameer Zuberi, M.P.

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