Close X
Thursday, November 7, 2024
ADVT 
National

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman Invites Donald Trump To City To Learn 'Compassion And Tolerance'

The Canadian Press, 11 Dec, 2015 10:46 AM
    WINNIPEG — Petitions are circulating in some countries to ban Donald Trump.
     
    Some mayors in the United States are joking about banning him themselves.
     
    But Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman is ready to welcome the controversial Republican presidential hopeful.
     
    Bowman released a letter to Trump on Thursday — International Human Rights Day —  that urges him to visit the Manitoba capital and specifically its Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
     
    "Mr. Trump, it is my hope that in visiting our city and, in particular, our museum, you might develop a more profound sense of compassion and tolerance for others," Bowman wrote.
     
    "My invitation comes ... in light of the recent traumatic events in Paris and around the world, and in response to your political and personal reaction to them."
     
    Trump suggested this week that all Muslims should be banned from entering the United States "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."
     
    His remarks prompted fury around the world. The White House said his comments disqualify him from being president. Others both joked about, and seriously pondered, shunning Trump. 
     
    Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said if he had the power, "the only banning that would be done is that I would ban (Trump) from Philadelphia."
     
     
    Rick Kriseman, the mayor of St. Petersburg, Fla., tweeted: "I am hereby barring Donald Trump from entering St. Petersburg until we fully understand the dangerous threat posed by all Trumps." He later explained he was "answering ridiculousness with ridiculousness."
     
    Bowman wrote that while "you fight to close doors on foreign Muslims in the United States, Canada is preparing to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees."
     
    "I believe the reason for our tolerance, acceptance and desire to help comes from a deep understanding of other cultures," said Bowman, who came under scrutiny earlier this year after Winnipeg was labelled "the most racist city in Canada" for its treatment of indigenous people. 
     
    "We embrace and celebrate our multiculturalism and we understand that in diversity there is strength."
     
    While a few applauded the invitation on social media, it was criticized by others who felt it downplayed the seriousness of Trump's bigotry.
     
    "For some crazy reason, the letter doesn't make it clear that Trump is a virulent racist who invokes the language of the Holocaust," tweeted lawyer Corey Shefman, who added it was "a misguided publicity stunt."
     
    "How would having him in Winnipeg make our city's Muslim community feel?"
     
     
    Another called the invitation deplorable. 
     
    "@realDonaldTrump has no place in our city or our politics," tweeted Thomas Linner. "Please reconsider and rescind this invitation."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    B.C. Signs Pledge To Join Global Race Towards Zero-emission Vehicles

      VICTORIA — British Columbia has joined a global team aiming to fill highways and city streets with zero-emission vehicles over the next 35 years.

    B.C. Signs Pledge To Join Global Race Towards Zero-emission Vehicles

    University Of Northern B.C. Board Failed To Consult On James Moore: Senate

    PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — The University of Northern British Columbia's senate is formally opposing the process by which former Conservative MP James Moore was selected as chancellor.

    University Of Northern B.C. Board Failed To Consult On James Moore: Senate

    First Flight Of Syrian Refugees Now Headed To Toronto From Beirut

    First Flight Of Syrian Refugees Now Headed To Toronto From Beirut
    OTTAWA — They escaped a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more, leaving behind homes that have been bombed to pieces, their livelihoods and future hopes in tatters.

    First Flight Of Syrian Refugees Now Headed To Toronto From Beirut

    ISIL Cyberattack On Airplane Unlikely, Federal Intelligence Analysts Reported

    ISIL Cyberattack On Airplane Unlikely, Federal Intelligence Analysts Reported
    The prospect of a terrorist cyberattack on an airplane struck federal intelligence analysts as more pie-in-the-sky than a real possibility, newly released documents show.

    ISIL Cyberattack On Airplane Unlikely, Federal Intelligence Analysts Reported

    Nardwuar Recovering From Stroke In Vancouver, According To His Twitter Account

    Nardwuar Recovering From Stroke In Vancouver, According To His Twitter Account
    Offbeat celebrity interviewer Nardwuar the Human Serviette is recovering from a stroke in Vancouver. The humorous TV personality and musician, whose real name is John Ruskin, has the news posted on his Twitter account.

    Nardwuar Recovering From Stroke In Vancouver, According To His Twitter Account

    Calgary Police Arrest One In Hate-crime Investigation Over Anti-Muslim Graffiti

    Calgary Police Arrest One In Hate-crime Investigation Over Anti-Muslim Graffiti
    Investigators had released surveillance photos of two men in hopes of identifying the culprits.

    Calgary Police Arrest One In Hate-crime Investigation Over Anti-Muslim Graffiti