From a racism-fuelled shooting in Buffalo, to the provincial leaders’ debate, this is what The Ontarion noticed in the news this week.
Buffalo mass shooting tragedy affects both sides of the border
With Buffalo, New York, just across from our border, Ontario families grieve for those lost and injured during the racially-motivated mass shooting at a Tops supermarket last Saturday.
74-year-old Robert Ford is a Buffalo resident who visits the Tops supermarket “nearly every day,” so much so that it has become an inside joke between him and his family, according to CBC News.
Shortly before the shooter arrived at Tops, Ford was on his way there before stopping to invite his friend Larry who lives in Niagara Falls, Ontario. They had still been talking on the porch when they heard sirens. Ford’s daughter, Sherri Darlene, says he came “that close” to being at Tops at the same time.
The shooter, a white 18-year-old, entered the supermarket with military gear and was livestreaming through a helmet camera. He opened fire with a rifle, killing 10 and injuring three before surrendering himself to police. 11 of those shot were Black and two were white. The shooting has left communities on either side of the border “torn between heartbreak and anger.”
Darlene was born in Buffalo but now lives in Niagara Falls. Along with Ford, most of her family still live in her hometown, and she claims that the Tops supermarket on a Saturday afternoon would’ve been crowded with elderly shoppers.
When she heard about the shooting, she told CBC that her heart dropped, and she immediately called to check in on her father.
“This is my backyard and it’s way too close to home. It’s so scary and so heartbreaking,” said Darlene.
She hopes that this horrific act of violence will at least be a much-needed “reality check.”
“We’re tired of you telling us that we’re in your thoughts. We’re tired of you feeling sorry for us. What we want you to do is acknowledge that white supremacy is the biggest threat in this country today,” she said.
Provincial election candidates dig into Ford during Ontario leaders’ debate
Provincial candidates for the upcoming election gathered for the Ontario leaders’ debate on Monday night and brought their “sharpest” criticisms to the floor, most of which were aimed at current Premier Doug Ford.
Campaigning for the provincial election this year are provincial party leaders Steven Del Duca for the Liberal party, Andrea Horwath for the NDP, Mike Schreiner for the Green party, and Doug Ford for the Conservative party.
For Schreiner, this is the first time his party has appeared during the widely-televised debate.
During one of his most notable digs, Schreiner criticized Ford’s claim that his government was “taking care of nurses.”
“Mr. Ford, have you talked to a nurse lately? Have you talked to a nurse about how disrespected they feel, how overworked and underpaid and underappreciated they are? How insulted they feel being called heroes and then essentially having their wages cut by having them frozen?” said Schreiner.
In response to the stark criticism, Ford said he’d give every region in Ontario a new hospital and would fund nurses’ tuition fees if they work in an underserved area, according to Daily Commercial News. When he noted that the conservatives gave nurses a $5,000 retention pay bonus, the other leaders argued that repealing his government’s cap of public sector workers’ compensation would be more beneficial.
Meanwhile, the other leaders focused on Ford’s cuts to the education system.
“Your cuts and your chaos destabilized our education system significantly,” said Horwath. “Ask any parent and they’ll tell you the same thing. You can’t cut toward a better education system, you just can’t.”
Del Duca also jumped in, adding, “your record on public education is an embarrassment and you should be ashamed of yourself. You, sir, have failed this province.”
According to CBC News’ poll tracker, the debate left the conservative party with a 36.9 per cent lead, the liberals held steady 28 per cent with the NDP following closely behind with 23.7 per cent. While the green party remains with the least projected seats, Schreiner’s performance during the debate increased his statistics to 4.9 per cent.
Guelph residents march in solidarity with Palestine
Last Saturday afternoon, 40 local residents marched on the streets of downtown Guelph to show solidarity with Palestine.
Organized by Guelph Palestine, participants reportedly advocated for the liberation of Palestine from Israeli occupation, chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
Members of the Canadian Defenders of Human Rights (CDHR) also attended.
“The people of Guelph and in Canada should know about the occupation of Palestine,” said Firas Al Najim, manager of CDHR to GuelphToday.com.
“Palestinian people deserve human rights, just like how the Canadians deserve human rights, just like people in the Ukraine or anywhere else in the world deserve human rights, safety and peace.”
The rally took place on Nakba Day–meaning “disaster” or “catastrophe” in Arabic–which observes the expulsion of Palestinians from the area when Israel declared their independence in 1948. The march also happened in light of recent acts of violence against Palestinians.
Namely, Palestinian-American Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed while wearing a press vest and covering an Israeli military raid on the city of Jenin. MEMO reports that the israeli sniper who fired the bullet and whose rifle was equipped with a telescopic lens claims he “had not seen her, and did not know her identity.”
According to Newsweek, Abu Akleh’s funeral was held on Friday but was interrupted by Israeli police who fired tear gas and stun grenades into the crowd and beat mourners with batons.
Rally participants in Guelph urge for the violence in Palestine to end and for the Canadian government to take action and ease the conflict in the region.