Mr. Speaker, yesterday a group of students occupied my constituency office after entering on the pretext that they were constituents looking for assistance. When it turned out they wanted to protest Canadian foreign policy in the Middle East, which my staff was prepared to discuss, they rejected discussion, proceeded to occupy the office, told my staff to leave for their own security, refused to leave when the police arrived and were subsequently charged with trespass.
It is ironic than when we are commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms people choose not to exercise their right to speak and give expression to their grievance but choose to enter under false pretenses, illegally occupy an MP's office, intimidate employees and effectively assault the very values that underlie a free and democratic society.
I say this because I am increasingly concerned about the importation of hatred from the mideast conflict. After September 11 many of us spoke out and continue to speak out against the singling out of any visible minority, particularly Muslims, for discriminatory treatment but we must now sound the alarm about the increasing anti-Semitic assaults on Jews and Jewish institutions and threats of “death to the Jews” at public demonstrations.
We have to make it clear that racism and hate against any individual or group has no place in our society.