Canada Today: Tragedy at a Mosque, and Welcoming a New Colleague

View in [Browser] | Add [nytdirect@nytimes.com] to your address book. [The New York Times] [The New York Times] Saturday, February 4, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Canada »] [Tragedy at a Mosque, and Welcoming a New Colleague] By IAN AUSTEN [Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke Thursday in Montreal at a funeral ceremony for three of the victims of the shooting at the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec.] Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke Thursday in Montreal at a funeral ceremony for three of the victims of the shooting at the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec. Chris Wattie/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Last May when forest fires ravaged Fort McMurray, Alberta, I visited the Al Rashid Mosque in Edmonton. Among the 100 or so evacuee families it helped and sheltered were two families with members [who had recently reached Fort McMurray] as refugees from the turmoil in Syria. The efforts of the members of the mosque didn’t stop there. They rapidly tapped their business contacts and sent several tractor-trailer loads of clothing and supplies to other evacuation sites. But what I most remember is that in the midst of all that frenzied activity, I was received graciously and warmly by everyone I met at the mosque. Memories of that reception came back to me on Sunday night as word began to trickle in about the shooting at the [Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec] in the Ste.-Foy neighborhood of Quebec City. As is usually the case with such stories, initial reports were confused and often inaccurate. A man of Moroccan descent who went in to help the wounded was arrested, leading to suggestions by the police that there were two killers. In the end, six people were dead and eight wounded, some critically. Most of them were shot in the back while praying. It appeared to be the work of a single gunman, Alexandre Bissonnette, according to the police. He now faces six counts of first degree murder. The police may also bring terrorism charges. On Thursday and Friday, funerals for the victims were held before large crowds in Montreal and then Quebec. Both services were attended by several politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “Our children will continue to be honorable citizens in this country, as you were,” Imam Hussein Guillet said in Quebec’s large convention center on Friday. “We have chosen this society, and we ask that this society choose us and welcome us.” The tragedy struck just as Quebec’s famous winter carnival was getting underway. That lead to the incongruous sight of the city’s shellshocked Muslim leadership and several equally stunned politicians passing by statues of Bonhomme, the carnival’s grinning and overweight snowman mascot, as they entered City Hall on Monday for a news conference. Windows in the room which hosted it were decorated with carnival vuvuzelas. Some of that shock, as Craig Smith and I reported, came from a concern that the tragedy may have been a product of a [growing intolerance toward Muslims] and extremism that has taken root in parts of Quebec. Philippe Couillard, the premier of Quebec, in eloquent remarks, acknowledged Quebec’s “demons” and urged everyone to work together to eliminate them. He also noted the real test will come in a few weeks when the reflex to express sympathy and solidarity with Muslim members of the community will have faded. Mr. Smith and Dan Levin also looked broadly at [right-wing extremism]in [More news and information about Canada.]. While moderate by the standards of the United States, they found that there has been a flurry of right-wing groups developing in the country. The Quebec City attack, they wrote, “has put many on guard that Canada’s embrace of Muslim immigration is raising tensions”. In Opinion, Haroon Siddiqui, who many Canadians may know from his time as a columnist and editor at the Toronto Star, [wrote that the attack] was the culmination of years of growing suspicion and bigotry. “An incurably optimistic Canadian, I long believed that Canada would be immune to anti-Muslim hysteria,” he wrote “I was mistaken. This attack has been a long time coming.” And [in an editorial,] The New York Times noted that the attack seems to have strengthened Canada’s commitment to inclusion. During the news conference, the mosque’s leaders — who were patient and generous with journalists in the room — asked that the members who died be remembered as people, not statistics. I provided [a glimpse]of who they were. New Neighbor When President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order restricting immigration and creating chaos worldwide, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter. But it was not to criticize the American president. Instead Mr. Trudeau used the occasion to assure refugees that they are [welcome in Canada] “regardless of your faith.” I also looked this week at how Mr. Trudeau and his government are handling a new American administration which is the opposite of almost everything they stand for and which has proposed measures that could severely harm Canada’s economy. Two things stood out. Mr. Trudeau is not going to pick needless fights with Mr. Trump, despite calls from Canadians for him to adopt the role of the president’s international opponent. And Canada is [rounding up every friend and ally] in the United States it can find. New Colleague Mr. Smith, Mr. Levin and I, supplemented by various colleagues from the United States, have been responsible for most of The New York Times reporting on Canada. The three of us are delighted to welcome Catherine Porter, who has joined The Times as Toronto bureau chief from The Toronto Star. I asked her to introduce herself: “Like Ian, I bring a Canadian flavour (that’s how we spell it here) to The Times. I live in Toronto, about 20 minutes from my childhood home. But I’ve also lived in Montreal; Vancouver; Chicoutimi, Quebec; and northern Ontario, where I delivered blood to the black flies for two tree-planting seasons. “My goal is to bring you important, stirring stories about Canada that interest not just international readers but Canadian ones too. What are the pressing issues you think I should write about? Please contact me at [catherine.porter@nytimes.com]. You can also follow me on Twitter at @porterthereport.” Here are some articles from The Times over the past week, not necessarily related to Canada and perhaps overlooked, that I found interesting: — The Instant Pot, a leading version of which is designed by a Canadian company, is a combination pressure cooker, rice maker, yogurt maker and slow cooker. Melissa Clark [tested the latest thing]in small, electric appliances. — Op Docs has a film of what happened when [67 people were paid]about $30 to jump off a diving board 10 meters, or 33 feet, high. — Like many new technologies, the military wants to make [artificial intelligence]the next thing in warfare. The United States had cornered the market on it. But now China is making significant advances. A native of Windsor, Ontario, Ian Austen was educated in Toronto, lives in Ottawa and has reported about Canada for The New York Times for over a decade. Follow him on Twitter at [@ianrausten]. HOW ARE WE DOING? We hope you enjoyed this weekly roundup of Canada Today. Tell us what you think and what you’d like to see, at [CanadaToday@nytimes.com]. LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here]. 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