NJW’s Visit to MP Arya: Importance of Collaboration for Combatting Hate Speech
Northern Justice Watch visited MP Chandra Arya, a Liberal Party MP from Nepean, Ontario, as a part of its advocacy campaign to combat hate speech and to represent some members of the Nepean community who had suffered from the effects of this. During the visit, our Justice and Accountability Director Hilal Celegen, and Program Development Director Tarik Saglam presented the results of the recent research conducted by NJW and Dr. Davut Akca from Lakehead University on the impact of hate speech, in particular the term “FETO”. The survey was conducted with 318 participants from all across Canada and had important findings about the verbal and online attacks participants experienced, life alterations they had to make in order to avoid oppression, and other challenges they were facing in Canada.
MP Arya was very responsive to our concerns, and shared his experiences about hate speech towards other identifiable groups in Canada which he works closely with. He highlighted the importance of data collection and reporting such incidents promptly to law enforcement in order to address them more effectively and to prevent them from becoming a norm within our communities.
Former Director of Intercultural Dialogue Institute Ottawa, Salih Tinmaz, also accompanied our team in this visit and shared his views on the important role political representatives can play in this process. We proposed more work on preventive measures (including strategies to prevent hate speech escalation), discussed the importance awareness and support, and invited MP Arya to meet with members of the Nepean community who had suffered from such attacks.
As Northern Justice Watch, we reiterate the importance of a comprehensive action to combat speech all forms of hate speech in Canada, including the label “FETO”. In this regard, our initiatives in Canada aim to address these issues and promote a more inclusive and tolerant society, emphasizing mutual understanding, support, and community engagement.
