Close X
Friday, November 22, 2024
ADVT 
National

'It feels very bad': Brampton reels after two nights of tense protest outside temple

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Nov, 2024 05:01 PM
  • 'It feels very bad': Brampton reels after two nights of tense protest outside temple

Community members were left reeling Tuesday after tense protests at a Hindu temple in the Greater Toronto Area led to police intervention two nights in a row, the clashes adding fuel to already fiery Canada-India diplomatic relations. 

Monday night saw hundreds of demonstrators gather outside the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton, Ont., where police allege people in the crowd were carrying weapons and objects were being thrown. 

That demonstration came after violent protests on Sunday outside the same temple spilled over to two other locations in Mississauga, Ont. 

Varsha Shah said she was attending a service at the temple with her family on Sunday night when the demonstrations broke out and attendees were told to stay inside for their safety.

Shah said she attends the Hindu Sabha temple regularly, and she had never seen conflict like this since moving to Canada from India 25 years ago.

"It feels very bad (and) I'm not an emotional person," Shah said. 

"We have to protect ourselves," she said. "We live here peacefully. We don't want to fight anybody."

Shah added that she hopes the violence doesn't discourage people from visiting the temple. "People have to not worry. Temple is safe."

Groups that backed Monday's demonstration suggested it came in response to the Sunday protest, which was initiated by Sikh separatists who seek an independent nation called Khalistan.

Peel Regional Police said the Monday evening demonstration converged at an intersection outside the temple, shutting down traffic along Gore Road in both directions.

Police said in a statement that the protest was "declared unlawful" after weapons were seen in the crowd. The force's public order unit was deployed, leading to the groups' dispersal late Monday night.

"Several hundred protesters from opposing sides raised tensions, and the event quickly escalated," said police spokesperson Richard Chin. "During the evening, demonstrators were observed to have wooden sticks which could be used as weapons and items were thrown at cars and towards people."

Peel police have asked for the public's help to identify an individual who allegedly sprayed a "noxious substance" during Monday's protests, leaving one person with minor injuries. 

The World Sikh Organization of Canada condemned Monday's protest.

"What occurred last night was deeply troubling and rooted in deliberate incitement," the organization's Ontario president, Jaspreet Kaur, said in a statement Tuesday, urging law enforcement to prosecute those who were involved.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown also denounced alleged calls for anti-Sikh violence at Monday's demonstration. 

"Agitators trying to incite violence need to be dealt with promptly and swiftly with the full extent of our hate laws," he wrote in a Tuesday morning post on X.

Brown's latest comments came after he urged demonstrators on both sides to "de-escalate" in the aftermath of Sunday's protest outside the temple. 

Brampton Coun. Gurpartap Singh Toor, in whose ward the temple is located, encouraged those who have information about the violence to contact law enforcement.

"We need to make absolutely one thing clear: this is Canada. This kind of behaviour does not belong in Canada," Toor told reporters outside the temple on Tuesday. 

"It doesn't matter which side of the equation you belong on, if you're engaging in violent activity, action will be taken."

Three people were arrested and a Peel police officer was suspended after Sunday's demonstration, with social media videos seeming to show fist fights and people striking each other with poles on what appeared to be grounds of the temple. 

Protests also took place at a temple in Surrey, B.C.

During question period in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "unequivocally" condemned the violence seen over the past two days in some South Asian communities.

"Let me be very, very clear: the individuals who are inciting violence and division and hatred in no way represent either the Sikh community or the Hindu community in Canada," Trudeau said. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he expects Canada to "ensure justice," while calling Sunday's protest in Brampton a deliberate attack on a Hindu temple and an attempt to intimidate diplomats.

The group Sikhs for Justice said that Khalistan supporters had been protesting Indian consulate officials who made an announced a visit to the Brampton temple to provide administrative services such as helping seniors access their pensions. The group alleged such visits are used to find informants to report on Khalistan supporters.

Canada expelled six Indian diplomats last month over allegations that they used their positions to collect information on Canadians in the Sikh separatist movement, and then passed the details on to criminal gangs who targeted the individuals directly.

India, which has rejected those allegations, has long accused Canada of harbouring terrorists involved in the Sikh separatist movement. Canadian officials have said related extradition requests from India often lack adequate proof. 

Meanwhile, Brown has said he plans to bring a motion to city council to look at prohibiting protests at places of worship. 

Similar bylaws have been considered in other regions in Ontario. 

In the neighbouring municipality of Vaughan, city council unanimously approved a bylaw in June to prohibit "organizing or participating in a nuisance demonstration" within 100 metres of "vulnerable social infrastructure" such as places of worship, schools, child-care centres or hospitals.  

Last week, Ottawa city council voted to study the feasibility of a similar bylaw, with plans for staff to report their findings by early next year.

MORE National ARTICLES

Judicial recount dates set for two B.C. ridings to wrap up provincial election

Judicial recount dates set for two B.C. ridings to wrap up provincial election
Vote counting in the British Columbia provincial election will finally conclude next week with judicial recounts set for two ridings. Elections BC says the province's Supreme Court has confirmed recounts in Kelowna Centre and Surrey-Guildford will take place on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8.

Judicial recount dates set for two B.C. ridings to wrap up provincial election

B.C.'s Golden Ears park closed due to damage from atmospheric river

B.C.'s Golden Ears park closed due to damage from atmospheric river
The Environment Ministry says the storm that rolled over the region for three days starting on Oct. 18 left a trail of damage at Golden Ears Provincial Park, north of Maple Ridge. A statement from the ministry says the province hopes to be able to reopen a portion of the park this fall, but the exact timeline is not yet clear.

B.C.'s Golden Ears park closed due to damage from atmospheric river

Gurpreet Randhawa arrested in most sophisticated illicit drug "superlab" in Canadian history

Gurpreet Randhawa arrested in most sophisticated illicit drug
Mounties have dismantled what they say is the largest, most sophisticated illicit drug "superlab" in Canada. Police say they believe organized crime ran the operation where there was mass-production and distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine across Canada and internationally.

Gurpreet Randhawa arrested in most sophisticated illicit drug "superlab" in Canadian history

Assassins of B.C. man acquitted of Air India bombing 'hired and paid': court document

Assassins of B.C. man acquitted of Air India bombing 'hired and paid': court document
Court documents in the case of two men who murdered British Columbia businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik in 2022 say they were "hired and paid" to kill him. However, the agreed statement of facts does not say who hired them to kill Malik, who was acquitted in 2005 in a B.C. court of the Air India bombings that killed 331 people in 1985. 

Assassins of B.C. man acquitted of Air India bombing 'hired and paid': court document

Creditors to vote on proposed $32.5B tobacco settlement in December

Creditors to vote on proposed $32.5B tobacco settlement in December
Creditors of three major tobacco companies will get the chance to weigh in on a proposed multi-billion-dollar settlement in December. An Ontario court has approved a motion that would see representatives for the creditors, which include provincial governments and plaintiffs in two Quebec class-action lawsuits, review and vote on the proposal on Dec. 12.

Creditors to vote on proposed $32.5B tobacco settlement in December

Union talks underway between foremen, employers to avoid latest B.C. port strike

Union talks underway between foremen, employers to avoid latest B.C. port strike
Both the BC Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 confirm talks are ongoing with the help of federal mediation services. The current negotiation session began on Oct. 29 and was said to be extendable by two days, if necessary.

Union talks underway between foremen, employers to avoid latest B.C. port strike