Virtual Vigil to Remember Victims on the 5th Anniversary of Attack will be held now
A vigil in person to remember the victims in a Quebec City attack five years ago was cancelled by organizers. They cited safety concerns due to the presence in Ottawa of a protestor group against vaccine mandates on Saturday.
Canadians United Against Hate organized the event. It said that it expected more than 100 people to attend the event. This event was the only one in the region dedicated to the Jan. 29, 2017 attack which left six people dead, and 19 others injured.
The event was originally scheduled to be at the Human Rights Monument in downtown Ottawa. Instead, it will now take place virtually on Saturday.
“With extremist voices attached the protest and online chatter regarding possible violence, we began talking with city officials and police, and then early Friday morning we received a notice that the venue we were going for would be pretty much unavailable due to safety concerns,” Fareed Khan (founder of Canadians United Against Hate) said in an interview with CBC News.
Khan stated that City of Ottawa officials had informed him Friday of safety concerns and that his group started to think about cancelling the event. Khan stated that Khan was concerned about the safety of participants because of the large crowd and presence of protesters with “racist signs, Confederate flags and other paraphernalia that is linked to extremism or racism.”
He stated that “certainly the solemnity of the event would be totally destroyed by hundreds or thousands making noise, truck honking, and truck horns humming,”
Khan said that he felt that his freedom to organize and commemorate a sad event was being impeded by the protests. Khan said that he received calls from Ottawa Muslims asking him if he would cancel his convoy’s trip to Ottawa after news began spreading about the incident.
“Ofcourse I didn’t want too, because it’s giving in to extremist elements. Khan stated that he was not going to place people at risk of physical harm or health consequences.
Protesters in the truck convoy protest gathered in Ottawa to protest the mandates for vaccines, COVID-19 public healthcare measures, and the federal government.
The Freedom Convoy is the core protest movement organizers. They have pledged that peaceful demonstrations would take place. The organizers of the core protest movement, known as the Freedom Convoy, posted on their Facebook page on Saturday urging protesters to not enter government buildings or harass police officers. They also asked them to stay calm and not threaten anyone.
Ottawa police have stated that they are ready to handle any instances of violence. They also warned about the possibility of disruptions from “social media actors” or “lone wolf individuals”. Chief Peter Sloly, Ottawa police, stated that online threats have been made to violence, hate, and criminal acts both locally and nationally.
Sloly stated, “We cannot ignore direct hate language or threats, and we cannot overlook the direct attempts to inspire violence and criminality within and around the demonstration.”
Quebec’s Muslim community, as well as others, is marking the five year anniversary of the attack on the mosque.
The Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City was attacked by a gunman who opened fire on worshippers. Mamadou Tanou Barry and Ibrahima Barry were all killed. AboubakerThabti was also wounded.
