Political party leaders condemn ‘hateful rhetoric’ at B.C. protest

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.

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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. Conservatives Leader John Rustad said in a statement that the behaviour is “completely unacceptable,” while federal Conservatives Leader Pierre Poilievre vowed to list Samidoun as a terrorist entity if his party forms the next Canadian government.

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“We’ve seen what happens when these groups aren’t taken seriously,” Poilievre’s statement said.

Rustad, whose provincial Conservatives are in a contest with Eby’s NDP in the upcoming B.C. election on Oct. 19, says in his video statement that his party would “crack down on this type of hate” if elected.

Eby says in his social media post that the province’s people “stand together against violence — and the glorification of it. And we strive for peace.”