Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a sad and heavy heart to speak about the hate crimes committed in Ottawa in the recent past.
First, the Jami Omar Mosque in my riding was vandalized with posters bearing white supremacist messages. Second, at Hilda Jayewardenaramaya Buddhist Monastery, a statue of Buddha, who symbolizes peace, was viciously decapitated. Third, a young Sikh man was physically assaulted and subjected to racial slurs and hateful comments about his ethnicity, and worse, had his turban ripped off.
These hateful acts have no place in Canadian society. I know that these heinous acts do not reflect the Canadian values of openness and inclusiveness. Our Canadian society is truly multicultural and inclusive.
I wish to assure our Muslim brothers and sisters, our Buddhists brothers and sisters, and our Sikh brothers and sisters that all of us here stand in solidarity with them all.