BC Conservative leader John Rustad pledged he would direct the provincial government to demand that Ottawa deports non-citizens who glorify and support terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Rustad’s comments came on the eve of the one-year mark of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre in Israel – a day which saw radical protesters in Vancouver commemorate the attack with chanting “death to Canada” and pro-Hamas, pro-Hezbollah slogans.
Rustad called for action to be taken against anyone in B.C. and the rest of Canada who glorifies terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“Those who do so should face serious consequences, including the immediate revocation of their visas if they are not Canadian citizens. Canada cannot tolerate this kind of hatred and violence in our society,” Rustad said in a statement released by the BC Conservatives on Monday.
He said the rise of public support for terrorist organizations has been noticeable and that celebrating terrorist violence is incitement and crosses beyond freedom of expression.
“We are witnessing an alarming rise in public support for violent, genocidal organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the IRGC,” said Rustad. “It is deeply disturbing that people are celebrating the massacre of Jews and promoting violence on Canadian soil. This is not free speech; it is incitement to violence, and it cannot be tolerated.”
Rustad shared a clip from a rally that night, on the one-year marking of the deadly Hamas-led terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in Israel, which killed over 1,200 and took over 200 hostages, nearly 100 of which have not been returned.
The clip showed anti-Israel protesters screaming, “We are Hezbollah, and we are Hamas,” at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Rustad said anyone chanting such “hate” on the otherwise solemn one-year marking of the terror attacks should not be welcome in Canada.
Samidoun, a self-proclaimed Palestinian prisoner solidarity advocacy group, organized the protest. True North has covered the organization before for its continuous open support for listed terrorist entities despite it holding non-profit status in Canada.
Another video posted by Western Standard journalist Jarryd Jäger shows protesters burning the Canadian flag while the crowd cheers.
Other clips from the protest organized by Samidoun show protesters glorifying Hamas using hand gliders to fly over the Israeli-Gaza border wall.
“Do not wonder how revolution can be done,” the protester said after celebrating the men who flew over the wall using handgliders. “We must do it. Death to Canada, death to the United States, and death to Israel.”
In another video shared by Jäger, an activist on the microphone can be heard saying they’ve answered the calls from resistance forces in Palestine. The “resistance forces in Palestine” are Hamas, the listed terrorist group responsible for Oct. 7, 2023.
“In this city, we have answered the call of the resistance forces of Palestine and disrupted everyday life in every way. Our resistance has blocked traffic, cost profits, shut down businesses, caused property damages and more, and we show no sign of slowing down,” the activist said.
In another post, Rustad noted that Samidoun should be designated as a terrorist entity.
“It is outrageous that a group like Samidoun can operate on Canadian soil. They have openly glorified genocidal terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, burned Canadian flags and called for the death of our nation and our allies,” Rustad said. “It’s time to take decisive action.”
BC Conservatives also advocated the group have its funding revoked and investigated and have its members responsible for these protests arrested and, if they are not Canadian citizens, deported.
BC Premier David Eby also commented on the events on Tuesday, saying the “hateful rhetoric is wrong and has no place” in BC.
“We stand together against violence – and the glorification of it. And we strive for peace,” he said.
Charlotte Kates, the organization’s leader, was seen in a video shared by X user “Leviathon” in front of an anarcho-communist flag at the Masar Badil Annual Conference in Madrid, Spain, where she said, “Yes, we are here to celebrate the seventh of October.”
Jewish community groups such as B’nai Brith Canada have been calling for Samidoun to lose its non-profit status for years.
“The disgusting protests which were organized by Samidoun last night in Vancouver are just yet another example of why there is no place for an organization like Samidoun in Canada,” Rich Robertson, the director of research and advocacy at B’nai Brith Canada, said. “It is beyond the pale that an organization can be granted, not for profit status in this country and organize protests that call for the destruction and death of this country, of its allies and openly glorify and support terrorism.”