Members from all parties in the House of Commons agreed Friday to call on the government to organize an emergency national action summit to tackle Islamophobia.
The unanimous vote comes in the wake of a horrific vehicle attack on a Muslim family out for a walk on Sunday in London, Ont. Police say they believe the family of five was targeted because of their faith.
Four members of the family died and a nine-year-old boy was left orphaned when a driver in a truck ran them down, an act condemned by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “terrorist attack” — though police have not laid terror charges.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the National Council of Canadian Muslims have also condemned the attack as an act of terrorism.
READ MORE: Calls grow to lay terrorism charge in London attack. Why it won’t be easy
Lindsay Mathyssen, the NDP MP for London-Fanshaw, put forward the motion in the House of Commons after question period on Friday. It called on the government to convene “an emergency national action summit on Islamophobia” before the end of July.
The motion was unanimously adopted.
Mathyssen had addressed the need for action on Wednesday, saying that she never thought her hometown would see such a “horrific act of terror.”
“We must act now. When we say that this can never happen again, we have to mean it,” she said.
“Muslim lives are at stake.”
A spokesperson for Diversity and Inclusion Minister Bardish Chagger said the government is also planning to hold a summit on combatting antisemitism, which has seen similar spikes in recent months.
The details of that summit are not yet confirmed.
More to come.
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