Muslim council cancels meeting with Trudeau over Liberal stance on hate crimes, Gaza

By The Canadian Press on January 29, 2024.

Stephen Brown, CEO of the National Council of Canadian Muslims speaks on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, April 17, 2023. The organization gave a searing critique of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying they cancelled a Monday meeting because it would not be productive since the group feels the Liberals are failing to push advance hate-crimes legislation and funding nor to hold Israel to account for its bombardment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA – The National Council of Canadian Muslims has cancelled a scheduled meeting today with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying there’s no point in speaking with him.

Chief executive Stephen Brown says that’s because of Trudeau’s response to the situation in the Gaza Strip and his government’s failure to deliver legislation and funding to prevent hate crimes.

Brown says Trudeau has not followed through on promises he made to the Muslim community in the 2015 election that brought him to power.

He says he sees no evidence Ottawa is willing to put pressure on Israel to ease its bombardment of the territory controlled by Hamas, whose brutal attack on Israel last October has provoked a massive military response.

And he argues Canada’s lack of support for an international court ruling last Friday that Israel must prevent a genocide of Palestinians shows the federal Liberals only support justice for some.

The Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to Brown’s comments.