Taking decisive steps to prevent hate-motivated violence
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Summary
Learn English with Honourable Minister of Justice, Mika Amory, Minister of Education, and Acting Sheriff Chief Bob andrews, as well as Assistant Deputy Minister Rachit Naren, who's also present to answer any technical questions, join me in this episode to talk about protecting the rights while also protecting public safety.
Transcript
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Thank you. Well, good day. Good day, everyone. Thank you all for being here. First of all,
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I just want to take this opportunity to mention that we are gathered today in three to six lands.
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Of course, bear respects to the histories and languages and the cultures of First Nations,
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metis and inuit people from right across canada whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant
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community so thank you uh thank you to the minister of justice micky amory minister of
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education demetrius nicolaitis uh stacy levitt wright the ceo the jewish federation of edmonton
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and abraham of abogush the principal of edmonton islamic academy and acting alberta sheriff chief
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bob andrews as well as my assistant deputy minister ross naren who's also present to answer
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any technical questions we're here today to talk about an important issue that and that's protecting
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the rights while also protecting safety albertans government has been very clear over the past few
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months albertans have a right to learn worship and socialize freely and to feel safe while doing so
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over the past few months we've seen a rise in incidents of anti-semitism and islamophobia
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both globally and right here at home since this rise in attentions our government and department
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officials have been in constant communication with local law enforcement and community
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representatives too often certainly lately hate targeted violence has tarnished peaceful protest
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activities giving rise to a climate of confrontation and an increased sense of fear
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felt among our province's jewish and muslim communities albertans and their government
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will not stand for this hate and bias motivated acts of harassment and vandalism
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have no place on our streets schools or places of worship does it matter where you are from
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or where you pray in alberta you have a right to feel safe walking down the street or going to
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school alberta's government remains steadfast in our commitment to confront and uproot hate
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sentiment wherever it exists in our province as we've seen right here and elsewhere no society
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is immune to this serious problem that's why in 2021 we established the alberta security
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infrastructure program through this program organizations serving communities are identifiable
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groups at risk of hate or a bias motivated violence that can access a grant funding to
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help cover costs associated with security assessments and enhancements to security
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infrastructure at their facilities this funding has helped hundreds of diverse organizations
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pursue security enhancements that meet their particular security needs since its inception
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the asip grant has made a difference by providing 2.4 million dollars in funding to 231 organizations
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and help create safer spaces for those they serve given the increased potential for threats to
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public safety here in alberta since october we've taken swift and immediate action on a number of
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fronts we have to continue to be responsive to the evolving security realities that albertans
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and organizations face hate has no place in this province as we've seen in other parts of the
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country hate sentiment and targeted violence are on the rise even to the extent that some schools
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have now become a focus for vandalism and harassment this will not be tolerated this
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will not be tolerated for sure in alberta today i'm announcing a temporary expansion of the asip
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grant the next 12 months islamic and jewish faith-based schools within alberta school system
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will be eligible to apply for funding to cover costs associated with protecting their students
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teachers and their facilities in addition to supporting expenses related to security
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infrastructure enhancements up to twenty thousand dollars in asap grant funding will be available
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to support eligible schools that identify a short-term need for a physical security presence
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on campus many of the institutions that we have met with have identified that they can cover the
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costs for those who are unable to we will make accommodations on a case-by-case basis shameful
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hate motivated behaviors are less likely to occur when we know that others are watching
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i've said this time and time again officer presence matters so physical patrol uh physical
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patrolling can be useful it can be useful deterrent against targeted vandalism and other hate
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motivated crime that's why we're also making available in alberta the alberta sheriffs to
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support our local law enforcement in the protective monitoring of vulnerable sites like synagogues
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like mosques jewish and islamic schools and community centers our response to this very
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complex issue has been immediate and we will continue to work with community members local
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law enforcement agencies and our federal and provincial counterparts to ensure the rights of
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members of the public are protected while maintaining the public safety to be clear i
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am not insinuating that these locations are under any current threat or should fear attack
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but by providing more options for bolstering the physical security presence around sensitive sites
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we're helping to ensure that albertans their schools their places of worship
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are protected from heinous acts of anti-semitism and islamophobia action driven by hatred is
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cowardly and unacceptable and albertus government has zero tolerance for these actions and the hate
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motivated harassment of any albertan is something that our government must act decisively to
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confront and we are we won't compromise on safe educational religious or cultural environments
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because we are all albertans who have a right to live learn worship free from fear and intimidation
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it is critical that the support that we offer meets the current moment i encourage islamic
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and Jewish bilingual and faith-based schools to of course visit alberta.ca to learn more
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about the options that will be available to help them protect their facilities and keep students
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and staff safe and with that i say thank you very much and i will now let you look forward to my
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friend mickey andrew to say a few words mr justice thank you thank you minister ellis i'm very pleased
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to be here today at this important event as minister ellis already highlighted the tragic
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events that we've witnessed over the past several weeks in the middle east have been heartbreaking
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thousands of innocent civilians on both sides of the conflict including an unprecedented number
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of children have lost their lives humanitarian organizations all over the world are reporting
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that millions of people in gaza are unable to access basic human needs like water and electricity
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These events have weighed heavily on many Albertans, many of whom have close connections
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We've also seen and felt the impacts of the grief, fear, anger and pain that this conflict
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I share in these emotions and pray and urge all of those involved to end the conflict
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I also share in the concerns of my colleagues and Albertans over the recent rise in acts
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of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism here at home.
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We must remain vigilant here in Alberta to make sure that our province is a safe place
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Hate-motivated violence and crime or racism of any kind has no place here in this province.
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Hate-motivated violence and crime against innocent Albertans will be prosecuted to the
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best of our abilities. Today's announcement of the temporary expansion of the Alberta
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Security Infrastructure Program, the ACIP grant, to include Islamic and Jewish faith-based schools
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for the next 12 months is part of Alberta's ongoing support and action. We are taking action
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to protect Albertans from this violence, with particular emphasis on protecting our children
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in faith-based schools it is critical that we deal with hate motivated crimes through
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our criminal justice system the alberta crown prosecution services specialized prosecution
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offices prosecute hate motivated crimes and offenses that have an element of hate or are
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bias motivated these can include charges like assault or mischief sections of the criminal
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code can also be used to show hate as an aggravating factor when dealing with sentencing
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we have been working on other ways to tackle this problem and protect albertans
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through alberta's anti-racism action plan we are taking meaningful action to address racism
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and help build a more welcoming and inclusive province for all albertans
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the alberta human rights act protects albertans from discrimination in protected areas
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and based on protected grounds such as religious beliefs or race. Alberta has appointed two hate
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crime community liaisons who are working directly with cultural communities and groups most targeted
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by hate and bias motivated crimes. These liaisons will make recommendations on how we can develop
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and implement a coordinated and comprehensive strategy to prevent these crimes and to support
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victims the hate crimes coordination unit was also created to work with law enforcement groups
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across the province to help reduce and respond to hate driven occurrences by facilitating
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training opportunities interagency intelligence gathering and investigative supports
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we know that many albertans have experienced serious grief and pain because of the ongoing
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world conflicts and that's why we are encouraging everybody who needs help to reach out for local
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support by calling alberta 211 which is available in more than 170 languages or the alberta mental
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health helpline by calling 1-877-303-2642 we are taking a multi-faceted approach and will continue
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to do all that we can to protect those targeted by hate and bias motivated crimes and support
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those who need help to get through these difficult times in recent weeks i've received reports from
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albertans about the use of excessive force by police during some protests in calgary
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i take these allegations very seriously as a result i understand that acert is investigating
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one of these allegations that occurred in the city of calgary on november 19 2023
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and the results of such investigation will be made public once that investigation is concluded
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i also want to be clear people from all faiths and backgrounds are welcome here in alberta
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we welcome you and we will take all steps needed to protect you let me also state unequivocally
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the fundamental right to peaceful lawful and safe protest belongs to all canadians
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we've seen thousands of albertans voice their concerns in a peaceful manner
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and we will protect their right to do so every albertan has a right to feel safe in their
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community and we're taking action to make that happen thank you i will now invite minister
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Nicolaides to come to the floor and say a few remarks. Thank you.
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Sure thank you very much and good afternoon everyone and thanks for joining us for this
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very important announcement. I want to thank in particular of course Minister Ellis
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for the important work in expanding the ACIP program as he's outlined and I want to thank
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Minister Amory and our other colleagues and guests who are joining us here today.
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as alberta's minister of education i want to be very clear every student in alberta should feel
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absolutely safe and secure when they walk through the doors of their school our schools should
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always be welcome caring and respectful places for our students right now unfortunately that's
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not the case for too many jewish and muslim students in our province i've heard firsthand
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from many families about concerns in with respect to attending schools during these challenging
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times as minister ellis has outlined a moment ago alberta's united conservative government
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is taking decisive steps to keep albertans safe by expanding the alberta security infrastructure
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program grant islamic and jewish faith-based schools will now have access to temporary
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funding for security enhancements that will offer peace of mind to students, educators,
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other staff and their families. Any school that demonstrates that they're at risk of
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hate or bias motivated crimes or incidents may apply. Funding will be available to help
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cover the costs of security assessments and security enhancements up to $20,000 for schools
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and threats to impact our students, their schools,
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we're doing everything we can to provide students
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that many of our school divisions have done tremendous work
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in reaching out to local law enforcement agencies
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Of course, we all collectively continue to hope
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for a peaceful resolution to the conflict overseas
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Thank you. Thank you to the Alberta Government for inviting me to give remarks today. On
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behalf of Alberta's Jewish community, I want to express our sincere appreciation to Minister
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Mike Ellis and the Government of Alberta for the additional support and protection for
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places of worship, community centers and faith-based schools. All Albertans want to send their
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children to school knowing they are safe and with this added layer of protection our community
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obtains the security it needs to function tonight jewish people around the world start the
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celebration of hanukkah it is amongst many other things a celebration of good over evil it's a
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celebration of light over darkness today's announcement gives us light in these dark days
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that have descended upon our people over the last two months with the rise in anti-semitism and
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incidents of hate targeted towards alberta's jewish community we have required additional
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security measures so our children can attend school without fear of attack so we can worship
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in our synagogues and so we can attend cultural community events according to statistics canada
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jewish people make up only one percent of canada's population but we are the target of 67 of
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religiously motivated hate crimes the attacks have become more brazen across the country
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with shots fired at jewish schools and fire bombs thrown at synagogues
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alberta security infrastructure program has been a lifeline to our community
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giving jewish albertans security and peace of mind we commend minister ellis and the government
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of alberta for sending a powerful message of support in the face of hate to the expansion
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of the asic grant and the provision of alberta sheriffs to protect our community as required
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Good morning, Honourable Ministers, distinguished guests, and to all Albertans, assalamu alaikum.
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My name is Abraham Abogouj, and I am the Principal of the Edmonton Islamic Academy, and I'm honoured
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to have been invited on behalf of all Islamic schools within our great province to partake
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in today's announcement and to validate the importance of this added security measure
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I'd like to begin by thanking the Honourable Minister Ellis and his staff from the Public
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Safety and Emergency Services offices for approving this grant.
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I'd also like to acknowledge Honourable Nicolaitis, about six weeks ago we had the opportunity
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to host our Minister of Education at our school.
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During the visit, the minister was very receptive to hearing about our security concerns and
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the increase in hate-related incidents towards our students and their families.
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We also would like to thank the Honourable Minister Amory, who has also been engaging
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with our community on a number of occasions and has expressed concern for student safety
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As a result of these open discussions, our entrusted ministers took quick action and
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instituted a strategy that we are in full support of this is a great example of how government and
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community relationships work here in alberta and i want to thank our ministers and the provincial
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government for recognizing that our community is going through a very difficult time as we face an
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increase in hate incidents towards muslims here in alberta and we fully support the need for
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expanding the alberta security infrastructure program to include faith-based independent
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schools as i had mentioned earlier i am the principal of the edmonton islamic academy we are
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a k-12 islamic school we provide education to children these children are the future of our
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province and i can confirm that we have had moments of anti-racism incidents in our school
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especially over the last couple of months at times our families our staff and our students
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have expressed concern with the increase of hate and cited incidents as a school our resources to
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provide security have limitations and this grant will assist us in supporting our security demands
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our students and staff deserve to go to school and feel safe and feel secure they should not
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have to worry about getting harassed for wearing the hijab on their way home from school worrying
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about unwanted visitors entering our building or having to face hate comments while online
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or even at times in person schools are places for children and they deserve to live in a province
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that is free from hate that is free from islamophobia that is free from any form of anti-muslim
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or anti-palestinian threats at our school we teach our students to uphold an intercultural
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and interfaith understanding and to use their skills and intellects for the betterment of
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humanity we teach our students to be proud of their islamic identity and to love all people
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regardless of their religious beliefs we take time to celebrate our differences and to make
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every effort to celebrate our diversity here in alberta these are the traits of a muslim
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and by extension these virtues represent what it is to be an albertan our province was built on core
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values of respect acceptance and kindness however targeted attacks on faith groups does exist and
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have a negative impact on the safety and the well-being of alberta students as albertans
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we need to come together at this very difficult time to reflect and to realign our efforts to
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reclaim the alberta spirit that makes our province so special for all people for all faiths including
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alberta's muslims today's announcement by the alberta government to include faith-based
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independent schools under the asip program is a positive step towards ensuring alberta students
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of all faiths can access their education in a safe and secure environment we thank our ministers
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today and we look forward to continuing on this path towards a better alberta for all assalam
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this brings us to the question and answer portion of our announcement uh we do have some reporters
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here on the floor and we have reporters on the phone so we'll just start in the room uh if uh
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if you guys just want to ask anyone any questions yeah go ahead yeah travis mckeon cbc news edmonton
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is this measure seen as a preemptive measure based on what we've seen in other parts of canada or we
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seen enough incidents in schools as well well so there's a bit of a preemptive measure we've
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certainly seen some of the things that have occurred in other jurisdictions in um in in canada
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um but i would say this is this was kind of instigated by by parents right and both in the
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the jewish community the muslim community um who would tell me and certainly my colleagues
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stories of of their children watching the news and and saying you know mom dad like
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it's just going to happen in our school as an example and there was genuine fear
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in both the Jewish community and in the Muslim community.
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to all of our communities, both Muslim and Jewish,
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And as I talk with these wonderful people from the Jewish community and my wonderful friends from the Muslim community, we are just providing avenues and mechanisms for their community to feel safe.
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So, you know, as I syndicated in my reports, you know, we have no information at this time that there is a direct threat.
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However, you know, the old policeman in me says we always got it prepared and certainly to make
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sure that our community feels safe has always been a priority of mine.
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Yeah, I'm curious on the side of the sheriffs being used for security,
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why is that a good fit and how is that going to work as we know some of the sheriffs have been
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Sure, well thank you. So obviously I've indicated many times officer presence
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matters. Certainly the first point of contact will be the Edmonton Police Service, the Calgary
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police service just as an example and anywhere where there is uh our friends of the the the
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muslim and the uh jewish communities uh however um certainly some of the feedback we've gotten
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from those organizations is you know minister we are already stretched as far as uh what we're
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what we're dealing with regarding organized crime and other issues facing facing the communities
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so again i'm always trying to think outside of the box you know what is it what is it that
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the um the communities have been asking for what they're asking for is an officer presence
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okay so if we can provide that officer presence um as a potential mechanism understanding that
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the um local jurisdiction would have first right of your first right to choose whether or not they
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want to do it or not we just want to make sure that all options are on the table and of course
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there's an operational component to make sure that those sheriffs would be in contact with
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the local law enforcement and and you know i think we from a technical perspective we've worked out
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those details yes have any more questions yeah um um so when we're talking about the increase
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um are we talking about both severity and number and i know sometimes there's a lag with the police
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data because they have to try and hate motivated versus hate crime um can you speak to is it is
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it both number and yeah i would say i would say it's a little bit of both i mean certainly our
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folks that are on on the ground uh i'm sure they they certainly may be able to speak to a bit
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better than i can but again we're just trying to be responsive to the needs of the community and um
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um you know i don't want to get too emotional here but you know when i'm when i'm hearing stories
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about you know young kids doesn't matter jewish muslim who are
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you know you know under the age of 10 as an example right and uh okay this is alberta like
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we're not i'm not gonna let people live in fear here and uh so having the sheriffs um like what
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ladies and gentlemen like i i've been around a long time i mean this is again alberta being
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a shining example for the world right look at this we're standing here because we love our
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children and we love our community and um you know i don't sorry i don't have any specific numbers
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but i'm sure somebody might be able to get to something and it might be a too big of a question
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for this press conference but i mean it sounds what i'm hearing is everybody here values peace
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safety the the right to practice their religion everyone wants um their children protected and
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and yet when we see global global events flare up we see hate flare up here so what's it going to
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take to stop that stop that hate and and to have that embrace of that is a big question yeah i i
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that is a very big question and but i would say this again this is a shining example of how
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everyone and every culture can come together understanding that it is about peace that it is
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about protecting our children and making sure everyone in the community um um has the ability
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to practice their faith and uh practice their their their cultural norms in a way free of hate
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and again I will reiterate this we are not going to tolerate that in this province.
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Do we have any more questions from the floor? Go ahead Lisa.
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I'm sorry to take this opportunity to ask Minister Amory a question about Bill 8. It's been just over
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a month I think since you introduced it. I've heard you speak to it a couple times but obviously it
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passed last night and I'm still a little bit confused about some of your comments that you've
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made about the bill you talked about how it's important for modernizing the government but
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i still don't understand the specific reason why uh you need to take um the the rules about
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receiving gifts and the maximum amount of value of those gifts out of the the legislative debate
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into regulations why do those decisions need to be made behind closed doors essentially well first
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First off, they're not made behind closed doors, this was actively debated for many hours
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We have decided to move the prescribed amounts into regulation because that is a common theme
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that we're doing with a number of different bills and that is a common theme of our government.
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We're trying to make things far more efficient for Albertans rather than moving the or changing
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the or amending the amounts each and every time by legislative act we are able to move them into
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regulation now and have that done by order and council which is a publicly available document
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and it's not done behind closed doors um we also recognize the need and we've heard from
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stakeholders all across the province that the um the demands potentially they have not been changed
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they have not been addressed for a very long time and we are an outlier as it comes right now in
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terms of what those numbers are we're trying to align them and we will look to align them with
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the rest of canada and just to follow that the premier has spoken publicly about taking issue
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with the ethics commissioner reminding her about conflict of interest rules she was irritated that
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the ethics commissioner was reminding her about the value of gifts and the specific events that
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she um could could or could not go to so and she also thought it was important that she be able to
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attend events so i'm wondering which stakeholders specifically are asking for this or have asked
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for this and why can't mlas just buy a ticket to a hockey game or a skybox why do you have to
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receive them as gifts why is that important i think as a function of our office and our role
00:30:00.400
both as ministers and as mlas you know there's certain expectation that we involve ourselves
00:30:05.920
with various events of the community we do a number of events each and every week i think all
00:30:10.640
I don't think the premier was necessarily irritated with the ethics commissioner who has done a wonderful job in providing me advice and the rest of the members of cabinet and caucus.
00:30:23.020
I think the challenges that we're experiencing are the limitations on doing things that we think align with our social duties and our office.
00:30:32.520
One of those are the challenges and limitations that we have in attending stampede events, for example.
00:30:37.800
and I think that we have limitations as to how long we can stay at a particular event,
00:30:43.160
who we can meet with, what type of event we can go to. These do not reflect, in my view,
00:30:49.560
the current environment of what's happening right now. Things have changed, things have evolved
00:30:54.360
since the Act was last addressed and Bill 8 will attempt to repair those issues.
00:30:59.880
We're going to head to the phone lines now to take some questions. Ask the operator if
00:31:04.440
If she could put through the first caller.
1.00
00:31:14.440
I'm wondering what the ministers of the government make of Calgary Mayor Zodi Gondek
00:31:24.740
Well, look, I'm not going to speak to what she is or is not doing,
00:31:30.780
but certainly from our government's perspective,
00:31:33.420
we certainly believe in celebrating traditions of all our diverse cultural communities right
00:31:38.380
here in albertas and i know members uh attending we do have member uh attending an event in calgary
00:31:45.100
minister jones will be there in calgary and minister nally will be at the legislature for
00:31:51.100
the menorah lighting events um did you have a follow-up question um the mayor indicated that
00:31:59.340
that she felt like this had been reframed in picking sides.
00:32:05.580
Well, that's a good question you can ask the mayor.
00:32:11.260
I'm not gonna get into what she may or may not do
00:32:20.540
I'm gonna say this side of you sipping in the legislature
00:32:23.780
and saying this side of the house, I apologize.
00:32:26.820
But what I'm referring to is certainly our government,
00:32:29.200
It certainly believes that you should be able to
00:32:32.060
practice your traditions, again, of all diverse
00:32:40.520
matter what your religion is, that is a priority
00:32:58.260
And if you have any follow-up questions, you can send me an email.
00:33:19.340
Without the CSSA, our gun rights would have been taken long, long ago.
00:33:23.920
These guys are on the front lines, helping to draft smart and intelligent.
00:33:28.260
firearms, regulations, and legislation in Canada, and more importantly, educating the public about
00:33:34.100
how we keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people. To become a member, it's absolutely worth