On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a moment at the end of his press conference to address the increasing number of protests taking place in the United States.
These sparked after George Floyd, a 46-year-old, an unarmed black man, was killed during a police encounter on Monday in Minneapolis. The officer has now been arrested.
The violent gatherings across the US have been going on since Tuesday. Protesters that took to the streets initially to make their voices heard over Floyd's death, added the names of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, both of whom are recent casualties of race-based violence.
"Many Canadians of diverse backgrounds are watching like all Canadians are the news out of the United States, with shock and horror. Anti-black racism, racism is real. It’s in the United States, but it’s also in Canada," Trudeau said.
As he was being arrested for passing a counterfeit $20 bill, Floyd was pinned on the ground by a police officer, who used his knee to cut off Floyd's oxygen. He died while in police custody. The incident was caught on video and nationwide protests have emerged as a result. The National Guard has been deployed by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis St. Paul.
"We know people are facing systemic discrimination, unconscious bias, and anti-black racism every single day," said Trudeau.
"We need, as a society, to stand together, to stand up against discrimination, be there for each other in respect. But also understand that we have work to do in Canada, in our systems that we need to work forward on, and I call on all Canadians... to stand together in solidarity, to be there for each other, and to know how deeply people are being affected by what we're seeing on the news these past few days.”
"We have work to do as well in Canada in our systems that we need to work forward on and I call on all Canadians, whether it’s anti-black racism or anti-Asian racism or racism and discrimination of any time, to stand together in solidarity."
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