‘Enough Is Enough:’ Ford, Trudeau Quick To Denounce Shootings At Jewish Schools In Montreal And Toronto
Adedokun Waliyu 
After several disturbing incidents at Jewish schools in Toronto and Montreal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford both said enough is enough with the premier suggesting immigrants are to blame for the shooting.
At an unrelated announcement in Toronto on Thursday, Trudeau said he was disgusted by what he called “vile and despicable acts of antisemitism” after learning that a Jewish school in Montreal was struck by gunfire overnight. It comes on the heels of a similar shooting at an all-girls Jewish school in Toronto over the weekend. No injuries were reported in either incident.
While investigators in both cities have not definitively concluded that the incidents were hate-related, the Prime Minister said federal officials were working with local law enforcement to ensure the perpetrators would be held accountable.
“It needs to stop now. Jewish parents and students across the country, we stand with you. We will always work to safeguard your right to live proudly Jewish lives in Canada,” said Trudeau. “We cannot and will not let this antisemitism stand in Canada.”
Ford joined Trudeau in denouncing the shootings, adding that we can’t have people in the Jewish community being attacked like they have been.
“What lunatic goes around shooting up schools? That is just unacceptable,” said Ford. “These guys need to be caught, they need to be punished, they need to be thrown in jail.”
Ford then went on to suggest, without any evidence to date, that immigrants may be behind the Toronto shooting.
“Enough is enough, you’re bringing your problems from everywhere else in the world, you’re bringing it to Ontario and you’re going after other Canadians, as the Prime Minister said, unacceptable. I got an idea, before you plan on moving to Canada don’t come to Canada if you’re going to start terrorizing neighbourhoods like this. Simple as that,” said a visibly irritated Ford.
“I’ve just had it up to here and guess what, people outside those communities, they’ve had it too.”
Opposition members at Queen’s Park called the premier’s comments offensive and insulting to newcomers and called on him to apologize for singling out a specific group.
“I think with no evidence about who actually took the shots, it’s way too early to be speculating what might have motivated them but also it paints an entire group of people with an unfair brush,” said Ottawa West-Nepean MPP Chandra Pasma. “We have no idea even if the person who took the shots was an immigrant, that does not mean every immigrant coming to Canada shares these ideas or that they’re guilty of this kind of hate and division.”
“What he said was really dangerous,” added Liberal MPP Ted Tsu. “Blaming the actions of individuals on groups, that’s something if you studied history for the last 100 years, that has been a really dangerous thing to say for any society.”
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said in a social media post she was “appalled” by the Premier’s racist remarks and also called on him to apologize.
“Fighting hate with hate has never worked. Fighting anti-semitism with xenophobia won’t keep communities safe.”
According to CityNews it was stated that “the premier was clear, if you are in Ontario, we have zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour. These actions do not reflect Canadian values.”
Toronto police have released images of a suspect vehicle involved in the shooting. Two suspects are being sought, but descriptions are limited with police only saying they both wore dark clothing and fled in a dark-coloured vehicle.
