MONTREAL — Thousands of people marched in downtown Montreal on Sunday to honour those who were killed and wounded in the recent terrorist attacks in Paris.
Many chanted "Charlie" over and over, a reference to Charlie Hebdo, the satirical newspaper that was the target of the attack that started three days of terror.
Laurent Beltritti, a French flight attendant who happened to be in Montreal for 24 hours, was one of those who participated in the march.
"As I couldn't attend the event in France with my friends and family, I thought it was important to come here to show my solidarity and to protest in favour of freedom and the right to express oneself without being killed by fanatics," Beltritti said.
Asked if he was frightened about returning to Paris, Beltritti said "No, I'm not scared. You can't be scared. That's what they want. You have to continue to live your life as normal."
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre also took part in the march, which ended at the French Consulate, and said there needs to be "zero-tolerance against fanaticism."
"It's important to be able to show solidarity and also that we won't yield to intimidation," Coderre said in an interview.
Other rallies and vigils were to be held in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver later on Sunday.
In Quebec City, Premier Philippe Couillard attended a similar event in honour of the 17 people who were killed in the attacks at the Charlie Hebdo offices, at a kosher supermarket and on police.
"What we're saying in particular is, 'No to fanaticism, no to blind violence, the inhuman violence we have witnessed in the past few days, and yes to freedom,'" Couillard said.
The premier said the rallies in support of France were extremely important.
"We have to reaffirm our faith in democracy and freedom," he said. "The worst thing we could do would be to retreat into fear."
The Canadian events came on the same day of a major unity rally in Paris to mourn the victims and to denounce terrorism.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the French capital, with Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney attending on behalf of the Canadian government.
The leaders of Britain, Germany, Israel and Palestine were also there, prompting the deployment of thousands of additional police personnel to enhance security.
