Bronze statue of women's rights pioneer cut off at ankles, stolen from Edmonton park
David Turnbull of the Edmonton Arts Council said Thursday only the shoes remain of the statue in Emily Murphy Park.
He said it appears the statue was sliced off near the ankles with a power tool earlier this week. A plaque glued to the stone platform it stood on is also missing.
Edmonton police are investigating.
Famous Five
Murphy was Alberta's first female judge and one of the so-called Famous Five women behind the 1929 Persons Case.
The case successfully challenged laws that prevented women from being appointed to the Senate because they were not considered legal "persons."
Turnbull said Murphy was also a controversial figure as she had a history of supporting racist policies, eugenics, and once stated Indigenous people have no place in the future.
Turnbull said her statue was splashed with red paint and the word "racist" was written across it in 2020.
"There is the good and the bad," he said.
Renee Williams, executive director of the Edmonton Arts Council, said the statue was installed by a local artist in 1992 and was recently appraised at around $250,000.
She said the statue is among the nearly 300 art pieces the council takes care of across the city.
She added that while it is not uncommon for the art to get vandalized or targeted, it is disheartening.
"Public art is so remarkable," she said.
"It brings vibrancy to the city. It humanizes the built environment that we are all living in."
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Canada News.Net
4 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
"Khalistanis surrounded me, threatened violence," says Canadian journo who was assualted
Vancouver [Canada], June 8 (ANI): Canadian Investigative Journalist Mocha Bezirgan, who was physically assaulted by multiple Khalistanis in Canada on Sunday, said that an assailant was also a stalker, who had been tailing him for over a year. Bezirgan, in a conversation with ANI, said that the said Khalistani stalker doxed his movements and assaulted him in front of the police. 'Well, I'm still in Vancouver and it just happened two hours ago, not too long ago, and I'm still shaking because I was surrounded by multiple Khalistanis who acted like thugs. They surrounded me, threatened violence and they got physical with me. They grabbed my phone out of my hand in front of police, by the way,' he said. Bezirgan said that the stalker harassed him for a long time using dehumanizing language against him. 'This has been very stressful for me because this was done by an individual who has been harassing me for a very long time online using dehumanizing language against me, doxing my whereabouts,' he said. Bezirgan told ANI that he had been covering Khalistani protests and being an independent journalist, his works irk them. He added that they try to bribe him, and if that doesn't work, they threaten violence. 'I've been covering the Khalistani protests in Canada, US, UK, New Zealand. Since last year, I've been to about 30 of their events. And my only goal is to do independent journalism and record and report what's going on. And because I'm editorially independent, this frustrates some people. They want to influence me. They want to buy me. If they can't buy it, they want to threaten violence towards me. That's what this individual did,' he said. Bezirgan added that this Khalistani stalker of his is a UK citizen who is threatening him- a Canadian citizen for simply doing his job. 'He's not even a Canadian citizen. He is from the UK. He is in Canada, threatening me, a Canadian citizen trying to do his job. And yeah, I was just there reporting on the event,' he said. He said that he was reporting an event which was honouring their so-called martyrs- killers of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and minor suicide bombers. 'Khalistanis gathered to honor their so-called martyrs, including the assassins of Indira Gandhi and suicide bombers, child suicide bombers. And I was reporting on that. This was a public event in a public location. And I was within my rights to do what I was doing,' he said. He further recounted the chilling details where he was verbally threatened first and then was assaulted. 'But there was this one individual who was not even a Canadian citizen. He came up to me and started asking me questions. He was very close to my face. And I said, listen, if you want to have a conversation, sure, let's talk, but you need to keep your distance. And he would keep saying, let's go around the corner. Let's go around the corner. I'll show you around the corner if you're not scared. And I told him, yeah, I'm not scared, but let's speak here,' he said. 'If you want to say something, because I'm an independent journalist, I have to be accountable. I accept challenges and I'm okay with conversations, but this individual, this was not a conversation,' he added. Bezirgan then said that as this assailant drew closer, more people joined him and the stalker kept throwing questions at him. 'He keeps coming at my face, very close proximity. I'm stepping one step back, he's stepping forward. I'm telling him to keep his distance. He's not keeping his distance. He's asking loaded questions and won't even allow me to answer. Interrupting, advancing towards me, keeping his finger and hands towards my face. This is becoming very threatening. And then all of a sudden I had two, three people surrounding me with the same physical closeness. I have nowhere to go,' he said. 'And they're saying, so you're talking, you're talking about Sikhs, huh?' he added. Bezirgan said that as he started recording the incident, the other assailants hid their faces out of fear and walked away. But there was one Khalistani who kept asking him questions. He even grabbed his phone and stopped the recording and assaulted him despite police's warning. 'At that moment, I was recording secretly from my main camera because I felt that something physical is about to happen. I was recording, but to get a better view, I started recording from my phone as well. As soon as I started recording, they turned their faces away. They are scared. But this one individual, he keeps walking towards me. I walk away, he keeps walking. And then eventually he grabbed my phone out of my hand for a moment. It stopped my recording. And when I turned back on, the police was engaging with him and telling him to stop his harassing behavior,' he said. The journalist revealed that the police exercise restraint in addressing such issues. 'Canadian police are very conservative when it comes to laying charges or making arrests. They exercise a high degree of restraint, which I do not like because that type of behavior where he's reaching for my phone, grabbing my phone, having physical contact, harassing me. And I have filed police reports about this individual about this specific individual before, for his harassment,' he said. Bezirgan expressed his disappointment at the Canadian police and called for the deportation of the assailant. 'And, you know, him being allowed to walk free is a big disappointment. I think he should be deported back to UK. He's a foreign national. He's not a citizen of Canada. What is he doing interfering with my job, interfering with the journalism of a Canadian citizen? This is unacceptable. He should be deported,' he said. Bezirgan further recounted with chills how he was stalked even after police warning. 'His harassment continued even after police warned him. And I have more footage I'm about to upload on my channel. He continued following me throughout the parade. I'm stopping, he stops. I keep walking, he keeps walking. I distance myself and then I just turn around, he's standing right behind me. I go walk across the street. He comes near standing,' he said. He added that he called the police after this Khalistani person kept stalking him even outside the premises of the event. He added that he had filed multiple complaints of this person before with the police. 'I get away from the event. He's getting away from the events with me. And then eventually I had to call 911 and be like, Hey, this behavior is continuing and officers on the ground may not be aware, but I have filed police reports about this guy before. So please let them know. And officers came and they took notes for the police report further. And then they escorted me to safety. On top of a bicycle, he followed me to the train station, and that's how I departed from the area,' he said. He added that the assailants are trying to portray him as a weakling who is running away from questions. He refuted the claims and said that this is not how someone asks questions, this was threatening. 'But, now on online platforms, they are trying to frame it as, Mocha is afraid of conversation or they are always resorting to disinformation and they are trying to portray me as someone who's afraid to have conversation when I'm being assaulted, I'm being threatened, I'm being surrounded. My phone is being grabbed from my hand,' he said. 'That's not how you have a conversation. You don't go up to someone's face and don't give them any space and you keep talking and not letting them, that's not conversation. Very uncivilized and yeah, it's been, it's quite shaken me because I felt my safety was threatened,' he added.
Canada News.Net
4 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
"Canadian politicians must distance themselves from extremists": Journalist Mocha Bezirgan alleges assault by Khalistanis at Vancouver rally
Vancouver [Canada], June 8 (ANI): An independant Canadian investigative journalist on Sunday alleged that he was physically assaulted and 'threatened' by a group of Khalistan supporters and had his phone snatched while reporting their rally in Vancouver. The journalist, Mocha Bezirgan, who posted his ordeal on social media platform X said that the Khalistani extremist movement in Canada has raised serious security concerns and strained ties between India and Canada. 'It just happened two hours ago and I'm still shaking,' Bezirgan told ANI in a phone interview. 'They acted like thugs - crowding in on me, grabbing my phone, trying to stop me recording.' The incident occurred while Bezirgan was in Vancouver city to cover a rally organised by Khalistan supporters. The Canadian journalist described the attack as 'thuggery' and said he was targeted for his editorial independence and past coverage of Khalistan-related protests. Earlier he took to X to post, 'I've been surrounded by a group of Khalistanis who grabbed my phone out of my hand and threatened me. Naturally I'm a bit shaken, but not deterred.' Bezirgan further said that the pro-Khalistan movement has led to acts of vandalism, intimidation, and violent rhetoric, despite not being widespread within the Sikh community. On being asked about Khalistani extremism, the Canadian investigative journalist said, 'This is a movement headed by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). They are the ones organising it, and most of the time, it's the same people attending these protests, whether it be in Ontario, British Columbia, US, UK, New Zealand. They mobilise people to come from local Gurudwaras to create a little bit of crowd, but there are bigger political organizations like the World Sikh Organization which is based in Canada and they are they have a troubled history and they do the political cover in Canada. He highlighted that larger political organizations such as the World Sikh Organization, based in Canada, provide political cover for the movement. 'Their executives include current and former MPs and ministers, who have spread influence across Canadian institutions,' said the Canadian journalist. Bezirgan also expressed concern over the reluctance of Canadian politicians to condemn these extremist groups. 'Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, the NDP, and some Liberal MPs recently attended a Nagar Kirtan in Surrey, BC, which had significant Khalistani influence. They shared the stage with Santokh Singh Kelha, a convicted Sikh Canadian who conspired to bomb an airplane,' Bezirgan said. Bezirgan condemned the glorification of violence by these groups, who the journalist said speak openly about plans to ambush and kill India's current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. '...Because of the tensions between Canada and India, it's a very highly political subject, but I feel like we are disregarding what's happening underground. What these people are saying, how they are exercising their free speech while they are celebrating the assassins of Indira Gandhi and saying that they are going to ambush and kill India's Prime Minister, Modi's politics at the G7. I asked them Are you going to kill his politics the same way you killed Indira Gandhi's politics? Because they refer to the assassins as their forefathers. They say we are the descendants of the killers of Indira Gandhi, and they are glorifying these acts of violence...' 'It is disturbing that Canadian politicians continue to associate with such extremists, despite their violent history and inflammatory rhetoric,' Bezirgan said. He warned that lack of media coverage and public awareness in Canada allows such events and political participation to go unchecked. Bezirgan called for greater accountability and awareness to prevent normalization of extremism. 'As a citizen, I expect my representatives to distance themselves from extremists and those with violent pasts.' The investigative journalist emphasized that ignoring these issues would embolden extremist groups and escalate tensions between India and Canada. 'Today's thuggery I was subjected to was not the first time,' said the journalist who posted visuals on his social media platform X about an event from March 2024 when 'Khalistan supporters, armed with daggers, swords, and spears, gathered in Edmonton, Alberta to protest against India's high commissioner to Canada.' Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed on June 6 that he will represent India at the upcoming G-7 summit in Canada next week, after he was invited by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during a telephone call. (ANI)
Canada News.Net
4 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
Pakistani citizen extradited to US for alleged ISIS-linked terror plot: FBI Director Kash Patel
Washington, DC [US], June 11 (ANI): Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, a Pakistani citizen residing in Canada, has been extradited to the United States on charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS and attempting to commit acts of terrorism, FBI Director Kash Patel announced in a post on social media platform 'X'. 'Earlier this afternoon, Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, a Pakistani citizen residing in Canada, was extradited to the United States on charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS and attempting to commit acts of terrorism. In the fall of last year, Khan allegedly planned to travel from Canada to New York and carry out a mass shooting in support of ISIS at a Jewish Center in Brooklyn. Khan allegedly planned his attack to occur on October 7, 2024 -- the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel,' Patel stated. 'Thankfully, the great work of FBI teams and our partners exposed those plans and shut them down -- and Khan was arrested by Canadian authorities on September 4, 2024. He has now arrived in the U.S. and will face American justice,' he said. Calling the case a reminder of the 'constant threat of terrorism facing every corner of the world,' Patel also warned about the 'disturbing rise in threats against our Jewish communities.' He acknowledged the efforts of multiple FBI field offices, saying: '@NewYorkFBI, @FBIChicago and @FBILosAngeles did great work in this case with our partners and we thank them.'
