Belleville, Ont. mayor condemns 'hateful and discriminatory' behaviour during PM's visit
The mayor of Belleville, Ont. is speaking out after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was swarmed by protesters at an event on Thursday.
Trudeau was in the eastern Ontario city to mark the seventh anniversary of his government's Child Care Benefit and to meet with Mayor Neil Ellis.
During a visit to a farmers' market, the prime minister was surrounded by protesters, some of them waving Trump flags, others shouting expletives. Around 100 protesters surrounded him and his motorcade and his event was cut short.
In a brief statement on the city of Belleville's website on Saturday, Ellis said he took some time to reflect before addressing the scene that unfolded earlier in the week.
"While every Canadian has the right to protest, the hateful and discriminatory behavior displayed by some during the visit was absolutely unacceptable," Ellis said.
"It is an honour to host the Prime Minister in our city and regardless of your political views, no person deserves the treatment he received during his time here. Freedom of speech and the right to protest can be a wonderful thing; it is a part of what makes democracy great. However, what happened on Thursday was far beyond that."
Ellis thanked Trudeau on behalf of the city for visiting and said he hoped everyone could "move forward from this experience."
Trudeau is in Toronto on Saturday, where he attended an event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Black July, an anti-Tamil pogrom in Sri Lanka that occurred in 1983. He will also attend the Fun Philippines Festival and make an appearance on LuvBay Afrobeat Music Talk Radio.
--With files from The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.