NPD leader Jagmeet Singh says he still feels safe knocking on doors in Canada, despite protesters shouting insults and racist threats at recent liberal and NDP events. But he is concerned that divisions are growing in the country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau canceled plans to attend Liberal Party fundraising dinner in Surrey, BC., this week, citing security concerns after a large group of protesters was heard shouting racist comments against South Asian volunteers.
The incident comes just a couple of weeks later Singh says he was verbally harassed at a campaign stop in Peterborough, Ont.
Sigh spoke with As It Happens guest host David Gray about what he sees as a worrying trend in Canada and why he still has hope. Here is part of their conversation.
What does your experience at Peterborough, and now the threats of this Liberal fundraiser in Surrey, tell you about the current state of Canadian politics?
I’m in the community very often meeting people, walking the streets, chatting with people, and a lot of people come up and talk to you about the things they appreciate that are happening, the things we’re doing to help them. with dental and pharmaceutical care. I have people who express concern and care about what is happening at the federal level.
So I think it’s still very healthy. But these two incidents that you raised, Peterborough with myself and what happened in Surrey, are examples of some worrying trends.
I think in both circumstances, these are people who are from [Ottawa] a kind of convoy and they don’t want to get involved in a conversation, [and] they just want to create interruptions. This is worrisome because I feel it creates threats for my staff and my team, which worries me.
I’m not worried about myself. I’ve dealt with worse, more intense, more violent scenarios in my life before politics. But I’m worried that this will also discourage young people, young people, who are running for politics, who are thinking, “This is not my life. I don’t want to deal with this kind of aggression.”
TARGET | Justin Trudeau talks about the rebel crowd and its impact on free speech:
Trudeau says no one should be intimidated into supporting a political party
The prime minister says protesters shouted racial insults at an event he was forced to cancel.
You said that your experience in Peterborough would be one of your worst experiences. What do you mean by that? What happened?
I would say the worst experience for me politically, but not the worst experience of my life by any means.
What happened at that time was that they were not people who wanted to chat or have a conversation. [They were] aggressive, throwing insults, and someone shouted, “I hope you die.” And only this kind of intensity and anger and not a desire to really want to participate.
I even asked someone, you know, “What are you trying to say? Is that the way you want to approach this?” And there were only so many screams and shouts.
This, for me, is not dialogue, it is not a healthy way to raise a concern. People should be angry if there is a decision that they believe is harming a family or their community … but when it gets to the point that it only shouts words to hurt or create discord or threats of violence or aggression. this nature, this is not so. healthy for anyone.
Who or what is feeding this behavior?
In Peterborough, I can say very clearly that they had signs in support of the convoy. So these are the kind of people who have no real intention of providing constructive feedback or the desire to make a point that will change a policy. They only express broad, untied anger.
What I know is happening separately from this in Canada is a real concern for the cost of living and affordability. And as that grows, people will feel more and more frustrated and angry when they see billionaires making big profits, oil and gas companies making record profits, while Canadians feel like they’re being hit by bombs. This kind of injustice will lead to real frustration and anger.
The video posted on social media shows protesters shouting at Singh and following him to a vehicle after a campaign event in Peterborough, Ont. (Freedom through unity – Peterborough / Kawartha / Facebook)
I appreciate the points you make. But I don’t want to lose sight of what or who is driving some of the violence and anger you’re seeing. You said after Peterborough that there is “a responsibility on the part of politicians who intentionally set fire to these divisions or spread misinformation”. Can you go deeper?
That’s something I think we can get closer to. A similar topic [is] when we see hate online and how that hate online can radicalize people. And the results are very dangerous. There could be violence. He could have died. And we’ve seen that in cases where online hatred radicalizes people for committing acts of violence against marginalized communities like Muslims in Canada.
Similarly, the people in the convoy really base their anger and frustration on many conspiracy theories, a lot of misinformation. And there is a clear responsibility on the part of political parties and leaders not to incite this kind of misinformation or ignite this kind of division.
When you talk about politicians who promote this kind of anger in Canada, who are you talking about?
We have seen Conservatives blatantly embrace the convoy in Ottawa. And the Ottawa convoy was very clear in its intention … They were determined to undermine and break our very democracy.
So politicians, conservatives and others who have supported such groups are encouraging groups that are creating an unhealthy climate of violence and division that is designed to break our democracy. And that is absolutely, unequivocally wrong.
Let me go back to a point you said earlier. I know you’re back in the campaign. You are campaigning for the Ontario NDP calling for accessibility actions. Is it really possible to tackle violence and racism by making it easier for people to pay for food and gas?
I think so.
The climate that divides people is one in which people are already struggling and feeling frustrated. And then it’s easy to find a scapegoat and say that the reason you can’t find a good enough job to buy your groceries, or the reason the cost of living is rising, is for all these new immigrants as a kind of dog whistle argument that would incite division.
When there is more frustration, when there is less prosperity and less opportunities for everyday people, when there is more inequality, all of these things are breeding ground for someone to come and exploit that frustration and use it in a way. that creates more. divisions and confront people with each other instead of isolating real problems, inequality caused by more wealth concentrated in fewer hands, [and] corporate greed. This is where we should put our anger … to create policies that really lift people up, [like] more universal social programs.
This is a really important tool for recognizing the climate of inequality and the frustration of not being able to live a good life are absolutely conditions that allow more division to grow.
Written by Sheena Goodyear. Interview produced by Kevin Robertson. Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.