Tory leader issues new statement on attacks including mention of Muslims
By Mia Rabson
The Canadian Press | March 15, 2019
OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer issued two statements on the terrorist attacks in New Zealand on Friday — the second after being criticized for not mentioning in the first that the attack was against Muslims at mosques during their Friday prayers.
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The National Council of Canadian Muslims criticized the omission in a statement Friday afternoon.
“While some of our elected leaders sadly choose not to mention ‘Muslim’ or ‘mosque’ while denouncing the Christchurch attacks, the reality is that these horrific shootings and the Quebec City mosque attack on Jan. 29, 2017, have left Canadian Muslim communities — and indeed, Muslims around the world — feeling very vulnerable and unsafe,” wrote the Council’s executive director Ihsaan Gardee. “It is therefore essential that our elected leaders speak out clearly and unequivocally against such attacks and name them for the Islamophobic terrorist attacks that they are.”
The statement does not mention Scheer by name but at that point, he was the only Canadian political leader whose public response to the attacks did not mention either Muslims or mosques.