Prevented From Entering Canada
In May 2007, Chairman Shabazz was invited by Black Youth Taking Action (BYTA) to speak at a rally at Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and to give a lecture to students at Ryerson University. The Ryerson Students' Union (RSU) had endorsed the event as it called for grade school curricula to acknowledge the historical contribution of African-Canadians and African-Americans, and for the Brampton, Ontario super jail project to be dismantled. But, a spokesperson for the RSU later stated that support for the event was given "before they knew that Shabazz was the speaker."
Shabazz arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport as planned, but was prevented from entering Canada by Canadian border officials because of "past rhetoric that violates Canadian hate laws." Though Canada's airports and borders are within the federal jurisdiction, the Ontario Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister, Monte Kwinter, justified the barring of Shabazz. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty expressed concern about Shabazz. The press reported that Shabazz was denied entry to Canada because of a minor criminal record. Shabazz flew back to Buffalo, New York, and attempted to cross the border by car, but he was spotted by border agents and prevented from entering Canada.
The rally at Queen's Park went ahead without Shabazz, with approximately 100 people, plus at least two dozen journalists. Ryerson University canceled the planned lecture. The university administration alerted the RSU that they had received e-mails of threats of violent disruption of the event. The RSU canceled Shabazz's lecture due to safety concerns. Heather Kere, RSU's Vice-President of Education, said, "We definitely recognize there was some criticism of his views" and that "we were endorsing the campaign's goals and not the individual speaker." Kere added, "He deflected attention away from the main point of the campaign. We still strongly believe in the campaign."
Hashim Nzingh, Shabazz's chief of staff, blamed Jewish groups for the incident, stating in a telephone interview that "they let these groups like the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) and the JDL (Jewish Defense League), which is nothing but a bunch of gangsters, dictate what happens in the world today," and "they told Canada not to let us in and Canada followed their rules, because this country is run from Israel." Nkem Anizor, president of the BYTA, also blamed the "Jewish lobby" for the government's decision to deny Shabazz entry to Canada, Shabazz later said, "Canada is on Malik alert," and "B'nai Brith has won this one, and I'm starting to see the power of the Jewish lobby in Canada, full force. I thought Canada was free... I think this is evidence that black people are being oppressed in Canada."
Read more about this topic: New Black Panther Party
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