Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called on Canadians to look at their own country’s “systemic discrimination” and “anti-black racism” amid riots in the United States following the death of a black man arrested by police.
After delivering his usual COVID-19 crisis press conference in Ottawa this morning, Trudeau added a short statement about events in Minneapolis.
The Minnesota city has been rocked by days of fires, looting and angry protests following the death on Monday of George Floyd, who cried for help with an officer kneeling on his neck for at least eight minutes after he was arrested for allegedly trying to use a counterfeit $20 bill.
The prime minister said he knows Canadians “of diverse backgrounds” have been watching events unfolding south of the border with “shock and horror.”
He also stressed that “anti-black racism is real” and is not just in the United States, but in Canada as well.
“We know people are facing systemic discrimination, unconscious bias and anti-black racism every single day,” he said.
“We need, as a society, to stand together – stand up against discrimination, be there for each other. But also understand we have work to do as well in Canada.
“I call on all Canadians, whether it’s anti-black racism or anti-Asian racism, or racism or discrimination of any type, to stand to together in solidarity and to be there for each other and know just how deeply people are being affected by what we see on the news these past few days.”
