Author: nhh

On April 29, community organizations hosted a press conference at Hamilton City Hall condemning the display of hate symbols and the rising targeted hate crimes in Hamilton. In interviews that took place immediately after the press conference, the mayor made comments to the media that countered the calls to action made by Indigenous communities regarding colonial statues. Instead of supporting the requests for removal of statues and monuments that immortalize and celebrate genocide, the mayor used this opportunity to propose his own personal solution to retain the statues and to add explanatory signage nearby.

Colonization is not a force of the past, but rather a continued system that impacts Indigenous communities today in various ways, including through ongoing discrimination. A March 2021 representative survey in Hamilton focused on the extent and context of discrimination, found that approximately 83% of Indigenous Peoples reported experiencing discrimination in Hamilton in the last three years compared to 48.5% of non-immigrant White respondents^[1]. The most common reported bases for discrimination were Indigenous identity (61.6%), ethnicity or culture (32.9%), and race or skin colour (28.8%).

Further, Indigenous peoples have stated that the statue of Sir John A. MacDonald, and more recently that of Queen Victoria at Gore Park, are hurtful and triggering. This would not be altered by the addition of signage around the status.

In this context of high levels of reported discrimination, the City of Hamilton must take concrete steps to support Indigenous communities, and not to further traumatize them. As we continue to reckon with centuries of colonization, it is important that we listen to and honour the voices of Indigenous communities. No Hate in the Hammer stands with Indigenous advocates who are asking that monuments of hate and genocide to be taken down. This request is simple and feasible, and we continue to look to the City of Hamilton and its elected representatives to attend to these community demands.

^[1] https://hamiltonimmigration.ca/sites/default/files/2021-12/HIPC%20Discrimination%20Experiences%20Report_Revised.pdf

In light of the recent hate crimes that have escalated within Canada and targeted Muslim-Canadians, No Hate in the Hammer joins others across the country to express our sadness, outrage, and stand in solidarity with Muslim communities to denounce any form of hate, especially Islamophobia. 

In London, Ontario, we grieve the lives of four members of the Afzaal family who were killed in a hate-driven vehicle attack. In Cambridge, we are saddened to think of the vandalization of The Baitul Kareem Mosque in an act of anti-Muslim hate. In our Hamilton community, we, too, are pained when we think of the mother and daughter in the Meadowlands who were victims of an anti-Muslim terror attack. The mother and daughter were called racial slurs and were almost killed by a vehicle.

While conversations denouncing Islamophobia have risen due to the terror attack in London, sadly, we remember that these incidents are not new to Canada as anti-Muslim hate crimes have only increased in the past years and are etched in our memory. We are still mourning over the 2017 murderous attack on the Quebec City Mosque where six Muslim men were fatally killed.

Policies at the federal and provincial levels also further contributed to anti-Muslim hate and discrimination in Canada. Two examples are the “Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act” and Quebec’s Bill 21. The so-called “Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act” contributed to perpetuating gendered stereotypes and Islamophobic sentiments. Quebec’s Bill 21 systemically prohibits public service workers from wearing religious symbols including crucifixes, hijabs, kippahs, or turbans.   

The National Council of Canadian Muslims presented a statement and recommendations (PDF) at the recent National Summit on Islamophobia. This document outlines anti-Muslim hate in Canada and shares 61 policy recommendations to combat it. This is one way we can understand how to directly address this issue.

We stand in solidarity with Muslim communities across Canada and call on leaders to take action to dismantle systems that perpetuate all forms of hate. To do this, we must learn, listen, and acknowledge how prejudice is present in our communities to break these barriers. Members of our communities deserve to live in a hate-free Hamilton where places of worship are respected, and groups of all ethnic backgrounds, religions, or identities can thrive.

In solidarity,

No Hate in the Hammer