10 January 2016•Update: 10 January 2016
TRENTON, Ont.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday condemned an attack on a group of Syrian refugees who were participating at a “Welcome Night” outside the Muslim Association of Canada Centre in Vancouver.
Police said a man on a bicycle rode up to a crowd of people and pepper sprayed a number of men, women and children. As many as 30 people were sprayed.
“I saw people running … and crying and coughing,” a witness told the CTV Vancouver television network. “I [could] smell the black pepper. And it did hurt, of course.”
Paramedics treated those affected and no one was seriously hurt in the incident that occurred about 10:30 p.m. Friday.
Trudeau took to Twitter to decry the act.
“I condemn the attack on Syrian refugees in Vancouver,” he wrote. “This isn’t who we are – and doesn’t reflect the warm welcome Canadians have offered.”
The mayor of Vancouver added his own condemnation on Twitter, calling the act by the as-yet unidentified assailant a “disgusting display of hate – and Vancouver won’t stand for it.”
Kashif A. Ahmed, board chair of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, agreed with Robertson that hate was likely the motive behind the incident.
“This is an act of cowardice condemned by all Canadians of conscience,” Ahmed, who is also a Vancouver lawyer, said as reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. “We call on local authorities to investigate this assault as a potential hate crime so a clear message is sent that such abhorrent acts have no place in our communities.”
Tarek Ramadam, one of the organizers of the evening designed to welcome Syrian refugees to Canada and Vancouver, said he was a “little bit disappointed” by the incident and that it brought back black memories of persecution in Syria.
The attack will not stop organizers from hosting future welcome nights, he said, but in light of what happened, security may be hired for events.
Thousands more Syrian refugees are expected to arrive in Canada in the coming weeks.
