Greater Sudbury is a city of immigrants, said the organizers of a rally and march on Saturday aimed at showing the Nickel City's support for new Canadians.
Dave Starbuck, himself an immigrant from England, said hundreds of people have been fleeing the United States and seeking refuge in Canada. They have walked across snowfields to enter Canada, some losing fingers to the cold air in the process, he said. Furthermore, six Muslim men were shot and killed in Quebec City precisely because they were immigrants.
“The world is becoming a dangerous place,” Starbuck said. “Incidents of racism and hate speech are increasing and creating fear and uncertainty for many.”
Starbuck and his group want to bring attention to the situation, and let the rest of the world know that Sudbury welcomes refugees.
“We're a small, friendly city with people from more than 80 countries,” Starbuck said. “The diversity of our immigrants is what makes this city what it is. We just want to take this day and say this is the type of Sudbury we want.”
As part of the rally, Starbuck and his group are demanding the cancellation of the Safe Third Country pact with the U.S. “so that refugees can enter Canada safely at our border crossings and not have to risk life and limb crossing snowy fields into Canada,” he said. “We reject all acts of racism and bigotry and will not let them raise their heads in Sudbury.”
The rally and march takes place March 4 (this Saturday) starting at Tom Davies Square at 11:30 a.m. Participants will rally and then march through town, staging visible pickets at Elm Street and Notre Dame Avenue and in front of the Rainbow Centre.
Participants are encouraged to make their way to Lansdowne Public School and join the International Food Buffet there until 4 p.m.
