With the death toll of the Christchurch, New Zealand mosque attacks rising to 50, society is hard-pressed to discuss the causes and consequences of this tragedy. While new details are still emerging, it is now indisputable that these cold-blooded killings were heavily influenced by the hateful ideologies of white supremacy and Islamophobia.
What is equally clear is that an attack like this does not materialize out of thin air. This attack was made possible because its perpetrators were radicalized first. It has now become clear—through one of the most prevalent terrorist movements of the 21st century, far-right wing extremism—that radicalization is being done by a cadre of white-nationalist media personalities.
What we may not realize is that a disturbing number of these people are Canadian. What is arguably worse is that several of them have friendly relationships—and even share similar viewpoints on key issues—with prominent right-wing politicians in Canada.
Indeed, we don’t have to look too far to find concrete, shameful parallels and interactions between Canadian right-wing extremists and some of our so-called political leaders. For instance, Andrew Scheer, Conservative Party leader, appeared to have a great time in a televised interview in 2017 on Faith Goldy’s show on Rebel Media, a Canadian media organization notorious for spreading hatred and Islamophobia to boomers and youth alike.
Faith Goldy, a proud white nationalist, has said that she would like to see Canada return to being a 90- to 95-per-cent white country. What’s more, Scheer’s current chief of staff and campaign manager, Hamish Marshall, was a director for Rebel Media.
Perhaps what is more alarming is ex-Conservative MP Maxime Bernier’s eagerness to spout white nationalist talking points. As leader of the newly-minted People’s Party of Canada (PPC), Bernier has gone out of his way to endorse deranged conspiracy theories, such as the United Nations seeking to dominate Canada through a world government or even the theory of an “immigrant invasion.” Bernier used this theory to support his opposition of the UN Global Migration Compact.
Shamefully, Bernier recently hypocritically refused to make a statement on the New Zealand terrorist’s killing of over 50 Muslims, saying he does not comment on foreign tragedies. Bernier said this while taking every opportunity to denounce Islamic extremism over the past two years, and just days after refusing to condemn the Christchurch attack.
There is no shortage of other examples of Conservative Canadian politicians displaying signs of right-wing extremism. Ontario Premier Doug Ford refused to denounce Goldy after receiving criticism for taking a picture with her.
As I write this, Caylan Ford, an Alberta United Conservative Party (UCP) candidate has dropped out of the 2019 provincial election after reports emerged of her saying that “white supremacist terrorists are treated unfairly.” You can’t make this up.
In the wake of rising far right-wing violence, it is time for members of these right-wing parties to sincerely question themselves on whether they want their parties to remain associated with those who peddle hate.
If the answer is no, serious steps must be taken to demand a rectification within these parties’ structures. Meanwhile, those on the outside who have been warning us of this dangerous trend must continue to call this out for what it truly is: a mainstream legitimization of white-nationalist ideology.
The rise in far right-wing violence in recent years makes it clear that it really isn’t a reach to link white-nationalist rhetoric with white-nationalist violence. It is simply the truth.
As Australian commentator Waleed Aly powerfully reminded us shortly after the New Zealand attacks, “Everything we say to try to tear people apart, demonize particular groups, set them against each other, that all has consequences, even if we’re not the ones with our fingers on the trigger.”
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