Protesters wave flags and sing as police line the entrance to the Art Gallery of Ontario, where a cancelled event for Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, was to take place, in Toronto on March 2.Cole Burston/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians have to a right to protest about the situation in Gaza but not to harass people, and that he’s heard from many members of the Jewish community who no longer feel safe in Canada.
Mr. Trudeau said Thursday that nobody can remain indifferent to the suffering and anguish in the Gaza Strip, and that many Canadians are worried about their loved ones in the region. But he condemned recent behaviour at protests, including one that led to the cancellation of his official event with the Italian Prime Minister in Toronto last weekend.
Protests, many pro-Palestinian, have been held in cities across Canada and around the world since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and abducting more than 250 others, which triggered an ongoing Israeli invasion of Gaza. The assault on the territory has killed more than 30,000 people, according to Palestinian Ministry of Health officials.
Toronto police say the number of protests have been increasing in the city, where Mr. Trudeau’s event with Italian leader Giorgia Meloni was cancelled last Saturday because of security concerns after several hundred protesters gathered around the venue.
“Canadians have a right to protest, absolutely, to make their anguish, their anger, heard by other Canadians. That’s important and we will always protect that right,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters in Toronto, where he was making an announcement about pharmacare.
“But when the protests turn to hatred, or to acts of harassment, particularly against fellow Canadians, there’s a line that’s crossed. I’ve heard from too many members of the Jewish community particularly, who are seeing the synagogues or community centres or neighbourhoods protested who feel unsafe in their own country.”
Mr. Trudeau said that Canadians have “very strong feelings” about the conflict and have seen “horrible things” coming out of the region.
“There are things to be outraged about,” he said. “But hateful or harassing behaviour, particularly against neighbours, is not what we do here in Canada.”
He said he expects Canadians, including police agencies, to act within the rules and the law to make sure that everyone can feel safe.
Another protest was planned Thursday at Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue in nearby York region, prompting an outpouring of concerns in the community.
This week, a Montreal synagogue and the Federation CJA, a Jewish community organization, obtained an injunction from the Quebec Superior Court barring protesters from within 50 metres of their buildings.
In Toronto, police have said they are also dealing with an unprecedented number of demonstrations. Toronto Police Service spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said some of the events are becoming “more hostile and confrontational toward both police and the public.”
In addition to Mr. Trudeau’s cancelled event last weekend, police were also called to a demonstration involving approximately 150 to 200 people outside a restaurant in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood on Tuesday, where the Liberals were holding a fundraiser.
Mr. Trudeau’s event on Saturday was cancelled because of several factors, “including the size and volatile nature of the crowds at the entrances to the venue,” said RCMP spokesperson Robin Percival.
“Toronto Police Service and the RCMP were mobilized to make the area safe for the Prime Ministers to enter, but an estimate of how long it would take to make the entrances safe and accessible for the Prime Minister could not be guaranteed before the end of the short event,” she said in a statement.
A man was also charged with five offences, including assault with a weapon, at a recent demonstration in Thornhill, Ont., after reportedly targeting pro-Palestinian protesters.
“Officers identified several witnesses who stated that a male had stopped his vehicle near pro-Palestinian demonstrators and began shouting obscenities at them, while becoming confrontational with three of the protesters. At one point, one of the victims told police the suspect discharged a nail gun that he was carrying,” said York police Constable Lisa Moskaluk.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trudeau would not say on Thursday whether Canada will resume funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), after Israel alleged that a dozen of the aid organization’s workers participated in the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7.
In January, Canada joined more than a dozen countries in temporarily pausing aid to UNRWA, which is the primary provider of social and humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip.
“The ongoing humanitarian crisis and disaster in Gaza is heart-wrenching for everyone. We know how important it is to get aid into Gaza,” Mr. Trudeau said.
“We know we need to continue to be there for them. At the same time, there are serious allegations being followed up by the United Nations and we’re going to continue to move thoughtfully forward.”