Canada: Ontario Premier visits Sankat Mochan Hanuman Mandir
Wynne was welcomed at the temple by Pt. Rabindranath Tiwari on February 6, 2017 where she delivered remarks about the changing face of Ontario.
Ajax Councillor and moderator Renrick Ashby who were present during her meeting at the St. Francis Centre said there was a need to advocate issues like racism and intolerance.
Consequently #AjaxForAll was launched with an intent to fight racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia.
“There are forces working today that want to push us apart,” she said “It pains me. We’ve got to be strong and push back. It’s not good for us. It’s not good for the country. It’s not good for the world,” www.guelphmercury.com news reports said.
At the temple Wynne was introduced to Ajax-Pickering MPP Joe Dickson.
Wynne pointed when both of them were growing up in Ontario, “we were the diversity. Joe is Catholic and I’m Protestant. That was diversity.”
She talked about India’s different religions and ethnic groups living together.
“We have so many differences. My prayer is we don’t let that go,” Wynne said. “It’s horrible when violence sets up back, like in Quebec, but that is not who we are.”
The Anti-Racism Directorate had been set up to deal with systemic racism said Wynne.
Restating Dr. Martin Luther King Wynne saying, “The arch of history is long, but it bends toward justice. Sometimes, it feels like when we’re in the arch, it’s a long way from justice.”
She said the question of gathering race-based data is important to fascilitate measurement of systematic racism and added it was easy to say diversity was our strength but harder to make that a reality.
School curriculum was also undergoing a huge change to reflect today’s society, said Wynne.
Wynne noted racism, homophobia and sexism should be eradiated from our society.
“We have to check those. It’s hard work, but it has to be done,” Wynne said. “South of the border, we’re seeing the normalization of dividing people. That’s why we’re very determined to put something in place. It’s work some of you have been dealing with for a long time.”
"This is a government that has and does believe this is work that needs to be done," she added.
Reporting by Asha Bajaj
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