Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante attended an event in Montreal, Sunday, to commemorate the first anniversary of the fatal shooting at a Quebec City mosque.
A year ago on Monday, a gunman opened fire inside the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre during evening prayers, killing six men and wounding many others.
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Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, has been charged with the shootings.
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About 200 people attended the event at Place de la Gare-Jean-Talon in Parc-Extension, organized by the Canadian Muslim Forum.
Many carried placards calling for peace and unity, and wore commemorative pins on which were printed “Je me souviens. Massacre mosquée de Québec 29 Janvier 2017.”
A few fought back tears as the names of the six men were read aloud.
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Several speakers, including members of the city’s Muslim communities and politicians, spoke of the need to address hate and division.
“Till today, we have politicians saying, ‘there’s no Islamophobia in the country’ ” said Samer Majzoub, president of the Canadian Muslim Forum during his speech, as he stood beneath a banner on which were printed pictures of the men who were killed.
“We’re having lives lost, and you’re telling me there’s no Islamophobia? What do you call it?”
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Before leaving, Plante spoke to reporters addressing the issue of Islamophobia.
“Islamophobia is a reality. It happens and so we need to acknowledge it, and then from the city perspective we need to act on it concretely by making sure that Montreal is a safe space.”
There were other events across the city on Sunday and several are planned for Monday, including at Montreal city hall between 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
In Quebec City, the events, which began Friday, included prayer services, a seminar and a spiritual rally bringing together members of the Muslim, Jewish and First Nations communities.
The commemoration will end Monday evening — the anniversary of the shooting — when people are invited to bring flowers and candles to a vigil, which will take place outdoors close to the mosque.
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