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Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn under fire over residential school comments

Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn under fire over residential school comments

CBC09-04-2025
WARNING: This story contains details of experiences at residential schools. The past tweets of the Conservative candidate in the North Island—Powell River riding have been making headlines for days. Aaron Gunn has been under fire for tweets about Canada's residential school system, in which he said that the system did not constitute genocide. CBC's Claire Palmer made the journey to the riding and talked to those defending Gunn, and others who say he's got to go. A national 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available at 1-866-925-4419 for emotional and crisis referral services for survivors and those affected. Mental health counselling and crisis support are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat.
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Anti-hate coalition denounces presence of white nationalist 'active clubs' in Hamilton, calls for action

time14 hours ago

Anti-hate coalition denounces presence of white nationalist 'active clubs' in Hamilton, calls for action

Several organizations in Hamilton are denouncing white nationalist active clubs, whose members were found by a recent investigative report by CBC News (new window) to be preparing for a "race war" in area gyms and parks. The Hamilton Anti Hate Coalition, a group formerly known as No Hate in the Hammer, said it is also calling on municipal authorities and neighbours to act immediately in light of the investigation's findings. Coalition members have also issued their own statements since the investigation's initial report was published on July 18. Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI), Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre (HARRC), and Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council (HIPC) have expressed their condemnation and are calling for urgent action to root out hate. HIPC said it's deeply alarmed by the report from the CBC's visual investigation unit. These groups are not benign social organizations. They are part of a transnational movement grounded in fascist ideology, white supremacy, misogyny, and violent extremism, HIPC said in a statement. HIPC unequivocally condemns the presence of these hate-fuelled organizations in our city, the statement reads. Their activities — whether covert or public — pose a serious threat to the safety of all Hamiltonians and are especially harmful to newcomers and longstanding racialized communities who already experience heightened risk of discrimination and violence. Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council's anti-racism committee chair is Kim Martin. Photo: Submitted by Sarah Wayland According to HIPC anti-racism committee chair Kim Martin, newcomers and racialized communities face disproportionate barriers and discrimination. The organized presence of hate groups training in our public spaces sends a chilling message, Martin said. This cannot be normalized. We must meet it with urgency, solidarity, and zero tolerance for hate in all its forms. A CBC visual investigation (new window) , in collaboration with The Fifth Estate, recently identified local spaces where white nationalists are getting together to train, including in Myrtle and Gage Parks. Known within white nationalist communities as active clubs, these training sessions are also part of the groups' recruitment and propaganda. Although the clubs portray themselves as promoting community, fitness and Canada's European heritage, some experts told CBC News they're a growing extremist threat. Organization launches survey to hear from residents The report prompted HCCI — a community-based organization dedicated to making Hamilton an inclusive city — to get public input on combating hate. HCCI has launched a survey saying it wants to hear from people about what is needed and what expertise already exists to determine how best to support impacted communities. "Many of you have likely seen the disturbing reports published by CBC (new window) and CBC Hamilton (new window) about so-called 'active-clubs' operating in Hamilton gyms and local public spaces," HCCI wrote in an email on July 23. The escalation of these activities in the current context is disturbing and we know that reading and seeing this happen so close to home is very concerning, HCCI said. We also know that it triggers many historical memories and feelings amongst communities for whom these threats are unfortunately not new. HCCI has put out a three-question survey to see if there are any specific needs we could help respond to and figure out if we can pool some resources to add to and amplify the knowledge and skills that we know already exist in our communities. HCCI told CBC Hamilton residents interested in filling out the survey can contact HCCI directly with their email address and name and they will send the link. WATCH | CBC tracks 'active clubs' to Hamilton area: The anti-hate coalition is also encouraging residents to report suspicious activity such as groups training in parks under questionable circumstances. For example, they could be wearing masks, appear heavily militarized and be using white supremacy slogans. There are various means to report such activity, the group said, including through the Hamilton police and (new window) , a website launched in 2023 for people in the area to report incidents of hate. It is separate from police. Police say no criminal offences reported related to groups Hamilton Police Service said it is aware of the groups mentioned in the CBC report and continue to monitor their activities, however there have been no criminal offences reported to Hamilton police related to these clubs, it said. Police also said a club training in a facility is not a criminal offence. It is up to the individual business owner to act accordingly. Each business owner has the right to choose how they respond. They advised anyone who sees members of an active club working out in a park to report it through police's non-emergency number or online. On July 24, Hamilton police released their 2024 hate crime statistics (new window) , which show that 297 hate- or bias-related crimes and incidents were reported to police over the 12-month period, a 35 per cent increase from the previous year. Hamilton police reported 106 hate crimes — criminal offences where hate or bias is a clear motivating factor — and 191 hate incidents, which include actions with hateful overtones but that don't meet the legal threshold for a crime. Hate crimes were most often in the form of graffiti, but also included arson, assault, criminal harassment, theft and uttering threats, among others, police said. Black, Jewish and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities were the most frequently targeted. 'We need.. preventative approaches': HARRC City officials, including Mayor Andrea Horwath and Ward 3 Coun. Nrinder Nann, have been urging residents who discover hate in their neighbourhoods to report it. Residents in Hamilton want assurance that our local police service is working proactively to monitor, track, investigate and report the individuals involved in extremist organizing in Hamilton with Canadian intelligence agencies, Nann wrote in an email to CBC Hamilton. I encourage all residents in the city to learn more about hate symbols so they can report them accurately. Nann said she is working with both HCCI and HARRC to build skills residents can use to foster community safety in Ward 3 neighbourhoods. A CBC investigation found members of white supremacist groups have been preparing for a 'race war' in Hamilton-area gyms and parks. Police say they are aware of these groups and continue to monitor them. Photo: CBC / Bobby Hristova HARRC's executive director, Lyndon George, said collective accountability, is needed, noting that we can't keep treating racism and hate as individual experiences. To confront hate in Hamilton, we need to shift from 'they' to 'we.' This is not a problem for impacted communities to solve alone; it's a responsibility we all share. George is concerned that racism and hate are too often reduced to isolated incidents or perpetuated by bad actors instead of being recognized as systemic and experienced collectively by entire communities, often over generations, he said. We need systems of accountability that include preventive approaches to address hate, bias, and radicalization before they engage in violent extremism. With files from Aura Carreño Rosas, Justin Chandler, CBC News

Summer reading: How a Liberal toppled Pierre Poilievre and won Carleton riding
Summer reading: How a Liberal toppled Pierre Poilievre and won Carleton riding

Ottawa Citizen

time20 hours ago

  • Ottawa Citizen

Summer reading: How a Liberal toppled Pierre Poilievre and won Carleton riding

Article content He was also clear and transparent with the people he met that he was doing it to put a serious dent in the toxicity that's taken over the Conservative party since the trucker wing elected the only leadership candidate who openly supported them. Article content Even though he'd been involved in his community for many years, as a hockey dad, an activist and a board member of Bike Ottawa, the exercise of knocking on doors was a powerful lesson in humility as Fanjoy discovered how many people had no sweet clue who he was. Eventually, word of mouth started doing what it does best and when people opened their door, they would exclaim things like, 'Oh! It's you! I was wondering when you'd show up!' Article content Politics can be more ungrateful than the worst teenager. But it can also be rewarding. One of the most memorable people Fanjoy encountered early in his campaign was a person who moved to Canada many years ago and was a permanent resident but not a citizen yet, because they'd never taken that final step. That person went through the process and officially became a Canadian citizen a few months after meeting Bruce Fanjoy, just so they could vote for him. Article content The polling aggregator 338Canada has consistently shown (Carleton) riding as Conservative blue. Fair enough, I guess, until a stunning upset at the ballot box. Article content When I first chatted with Fanjoy about the possibility of running against Poilievre, I thought his odds weren't exceptionally good, but I knew they were better than the polls would suggest. Article content I had a few reasons for thinking that. First and foremost, the occupation of Ottawa … suffice to say for now that for most people in the Ottawa area, the occupation of our downtown was an affront we won't forget anytime soon. Article content Another reason is that while the Trudeau Liberals had outstayed their welcome, most Canadians did not appreciate Poilievre's tone, and plenty of voters worried he would be ideologically too far to the right. Article content You'd be amazed to hear how many variations there are of 'You're wasting your time' and Bruce Fanjoy has heard every single one of them. But in a democracy, campaigning to offer voters a choice is never a waste of time. Article content Article content The funny thing is, the more doors he knocked on, the more convinced he became that what the poll aggregators were saying about Carleton was not a true refection of what the voters of Carleton said when he took the time to listen to them. Article content Article content I am working my way through Ernest Hemingway's Islands in the Stream for the first time ever, after a dear friend and great writer recommended it. Growing up in French-speaking Quebec, we didn't overly study this author, and discovering him in my 50s is … eye-opening. I appreciate his economy of words in dialogue, and the love story he has so much difficulty acknowledging. Pairs well with a glass of rosé around dinner time. Article content

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