'The sorrow doesn't go away:' Commemoration for victims of Quebec City mosque shooting
'The sorrow doesn't go away:' Commemoration for victims of Quebec City mosque shooting
Montrealers gathered Friday to commemorate victims of the Quebec City mosque shooting nearly six years ago.
Afternoon prayers at the Verdun Islamic Centre also included a moment of reflection for those killed in the 2017 attack.
"Believe me, the sorrow doesn't go away. Yes, we life our live and this is nature. But the sorry is in our hearts everyday," said Samer Mazjoub, president of the Canadian Muslim Forum.
On Jan. 29, 2017, six men were killed and five critically injured shortly after evening prayer at the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre.
The victims were professor Khaled Belkacemi, 60; pharmacy worker Aboubaker Thabti, 44; grocery store owner Azzeddine Soufiane, 57, the owner of a local grocery store; accounting technician Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42; computer analyst Abdelkrim Hassane, 41; and IT worker Ibrahima Barry, 39.
The gunman, who was 27 at the time, pleaded guilty to the murders in 2018.
A judge said the shooter had a "visceral hatred for immigrants who are Muslims."
Afternoon prayers at the Verdun Islamic Centre on Jan. 27, 2023 included a moment of silence for those killed in the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting. (CTV News/Kelly Greig)
For Ahmed Chihane, president of the Verdun Islamic Centre, the tragedy is a painful reminder of the reality many Quebec Muslims face.
"[It's] the problem of Islamaphobia here in Quebec, which is rising every day," he said.
According to Montreal police, the number of hate incidents based on religion rose from 32 to 40 between 2020 and 2021.
And in Quebec City, the number of hate crimes rose for the fourth year in a row.
"This might happen to any one of us," Chihane concluded.
For this reason, Friday's event was more than a commemoration -- it was a call to action.
"Bringing everyone here in front of the mosque to talk about the actions we can do to counter Islamophobia is really important," said Stephen Brown, CEO of the National Council of Canadian Muslims.
Those actions include addressing racial profiling by authorities like police, and creating better tools to help people report intimidation or hate crimes.
According to Brown, many are also hoping for changes to Quebec's secularism law, Bill 21.
A speaker wears an anti-Bill 21 pin at a Montreal commemoration on Jan. 27, 2023 for victims of the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting. (CTV News/Kelly Greig)
"A major source of public tension right now is Bill 21," said Brown. "In a situation where it allows you to take people's rights without justifications means we don't have rights, we have permissions."
Bill 21 prohibits government employees from wearing religious symbols, including head and face coverings.
Many religious groups and civil rights advocates have argued the bill disproportionately affects racialized and immigrant groups, particularly Muslim women.
But the Quebec government has maintained that the law is "reasonable."
However, many members of the Muslim community feel differently.
"We should not beg for tolerance and acceptance," said Mazjoub of the Canadian Muslim Forum. "We are citizens. To make a whole community feel like they need to beg for tolerance and acceptance is extremely bad."
Ottawa Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the residence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser, the second such incident involving one of his top aides in recent months.
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
A scientist at CAMH says video games have similar addictive features to gambling which cause social isolation of the individual and dependency on the activity.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a brief initial response to the final report from the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) into Canada's worst mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 22 people in Nova Scotia in 2020. Vowing changes will come, here's what Trudeau said in Truro, N.S.
The federal Liberals are trending downward on three key measures while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has surpassed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when it comes to the question of who Canadians would prefer now as their prime minister, according to Nanos Research.
A coroner has denied a request from a former Toronto police officer to explore a theory that a distraught teen he shot was committing "suicide by cop."
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
Premier Doug Ford is slamming federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault as a “real piece of work” in the wake of public remarks he made suggesting that Ontario has “no plan to fight climate change.”
Two-and-a-half years after it was established, Nova Scotia’s Mass Casualty Commission has recommended sweeping changes to everything from gun control to mental health services, although there’s no guarantee any will ever be implemented.
When the store manager at La Noisette Bakery arrived Thursday morning to open the small shop on Oxford Street, she discovered that one of the two large circular windows at the side of their building was shattered.
There are exciting plans for Knox Presbyterian Church in downtown Sudbury. Built in 1927, the former church was sold after its congregation dwindled and will be transformed into a concert hall.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has yet to answer direct questions about a growing scandal of her alleged interference with the justice system, but her deputy premier has responded the media about the issue.
Police have released video of a suspected arsonist who allegedly caused thousands of dollars in smoke and water damage to a building in Vancouver's Chinatown last weekend.
B.C. Lottery Corporation says a Lotto 6/49 ticket that was purchased in North Vancouver was the only one in Canada that matched all six winning numbers in Wednesday night’s draw for the Classic Jackpot.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has yet to answer direct questions about a growing scandal of her alleged interference with the justice system, but her deputy premier has responded the media about the issue.
Just one point separates the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings before their game Thursday night, as the players size each other up for another possible playoff battle.
The Windsor Police Service’s Arson Unit is asking for the public’s help identifying two suspects after police say they intentionally set fire to the former Mission Thrift Store.
Windsor police arrested a suspect Wednesday who allegedly broke into a local business earlier this week, and in a separate incident, violently beat a person leaving the victim with serious injuries.
A Mass Casualty Commission report that came out on Thursday following a mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020 may have a local impact on the RCMP Depot model being phased out.
Students at the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine are reluctant to speak up when faculty make racist comments, according to a new report from the human rights commission.
Students at the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine are reluctant to speak up when faculty make racist comments, according to a new report from the human rights commission.
A Mass Casualty Commission report that came out on Thursday following a mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020 may have a local impact on the RCMP Depot model being phased out.
Afternoon prayers at the Verdun Islamic Centre on Jan. 27, 2023 included a moment of silence for those killed in the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting. (CTV News/Kelly Greig) 
A speaker wears an anti-Bill 21 pin at a Montreal commemoration on Jan. 27, 2023 for victims of the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting. (CTV News/Kelly Greig) 
