Salam,

What has happened in our London community has shocked us all.

And yet, as we are shocked by this act of terror, we will not be intimidated.

Representatives of Ottawa’s diverse community organizations are welcoming Thursday’s announcement that the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) has relaunched its hate crimes unit.

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) has reintroduced a section specifically focused on Hate Crimes, which will further enhance changes it made to its online reporting system that make it easier for residents to report hate-motivated incidents.

On January 29th, 2017, six Muslims were murdered at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, a mosque in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood of Quebec City, Canada.

On November 15, 2019 more than 30 organizations announced the formation of a local coalition called United for All.

Canadians have the right to be free to practise their faith and culture without fear. That’s why the Government of Canada helps communities implement measures to protect against hate-motivated crimes through the Security Infrastructure Program (SIP).

The Government of Canada is constantly working to keep Canadian families and communities safe from terrorism and violent extremism. Engaging with communities is part of the Government’s approach to preventing radicalization to violence before tragedies occur. To assist these efforts, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, announced the launch of a National Expert Committee on Countering Radicalization to Violence on February 7, 2019.

The Edmonton Muslim community was faced with Islamophobic aggressions within a span of two weeks in late January and early February of 2019. As a growing community of over 40,000 strong adherents or approximately 5.5% of the Edmonton population, this climate of hate rearing its ugly head so fresh into the new year, instills unease as to any potential escalation of Islamophobic acts and/or rhetoric with provisional and federal elections on our doorsteps.

Ryan Slobojan is the founder of the Push Back the Darkness initiative aimed at encouraging all Canadians to place a light in their windows at 8 pm on Tuesday, January 29th in commemoration of the victims of the Quebec Mosque Attack and as a sign of commitment to "push back the darkness" of ignorance and hate in Canada. The initiative has also helped to support the organizing of vigils in cities across Canada.

Ryan and his daughter Elisabeth had the chance to visit the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec on January 18th.

On January 29th, 2017, six Muslims were murdered at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, a mosque in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood of Quebec City, Canada.

Six people were killed including Ibrahima Barry (aged 39), Mamadou Tanou Barry (aged 42), Khaled Belkacemi (aged 60), Aboubaker Thabti (aged 44), Abdelkrim Hassane (aged 41) and Azzedine Soufiane (aged 57)