People write in chalk outside of a building during a pro-Palestine rally marking the anniversary of a Hamas attack on Israel in Vancouver, B.C., Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
VANCOUVER – Political leaders are condemning what they describe as “hateful rhetoric” from a speaker at a pro-Palestinian rally in Vancouver who told the crowd that “we are Hezbollah and we are Hamas.”
Both groups are listed by Public Safety Canada as terrorist entities.
In videos circulated online, the unidentified masked woman led a crowd of hundreds at the Vancouver Art Gallery Monday night in chants of “death to Canada, death to the United States and death to Israel,” while some in the group burned Canadian flags.
The protest was organized by the pro-Palestinian group Samidoun and held on the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people while triggering a war that has left about 41,000 dead in Gaza.
The comments at the protest drew universal condemnation among federal and provincial politicians, with the federal Conservative Party vowing to add Samidoun to the terrorist entities list if it forms the next Canadian government.
“While Jewish Canadians live in fear, terror groups like Samidoun are free to fund raise and support organizations like Hamas and the (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) who seek to kill innocent Jews,” federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a statement.
“We’ve seen what happens when these groups aren’t taken seriously.”
During question period in Parliament Tuesday, Conservative members repeatedly demanded that Samidoun be added to the terrorist list.
“If they took action, they would have listed them already,” said Thornhill Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman.
“So, if burning a Canadian flag, if calling for the death of Canadians, if fomenting hate in this country, and most of all being a front for an already-listed terrorist organization is not enough to put them on the list, then what the hell is it going to take for them to ban them?”
Jennifer O’Connell, Parliamentary secretary to the public safety minister, said the government would not follow the Conservatives and “play politics” with the issue.
“When it comes to listing of terrorist entities, the members opposite know full well it is not a political decision,” O’Connell said. “It is based on the national security services of this country.
“But it’s precisely why the minister had already sent it for an urgent review, understanding that this hate is unacceptable in Canada.”
On social media platform X, British Columbia NDP Leader David Eby responded to a post describing the speech, saying “this kind of hateful rhetoric is wrong and has no place in our province.”
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad said in a statement that the behaviour is “completely unacceptable.”
Rustad, whose provincial Conservatives are in a contest with Eby’s NDP in the upcoming B.C. election on Oct. 19, said in his video statement that his party would “crack down on this type of hate” if elected.
Eby said in his social media post that the province’s people “stand together against violence – and the glorification of it. And we strive for peace.”
Samidoun director Charlotte Kates was arrested by Vancouver Police last year in a hate-crime investigation, then released on an undertaking to appear in court on Tuesday, but no appearance has been scheduled.
Kates was arrested after praising the Oct. 7 attack as “heroic and brave” in a speech at a rally.
The B.C. Prosecution Service said the charge assessment process was ongoing and no timeline for its completion was available.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
