On 17 May 2022, TUFA’s Executive Committee approved the following statement for public release. The statement reflects concern with the ill-treatment that Jagmeet Singh received on his recent visit to Peterborough, as well as other issues in our community and beyond that drive home the imperative to address hate and its manifestations.
Hate kills. Prejudice Hurts. Discrimination destroys.
We are concerned about the increasing incidence of hate, intolerance, and prejudice that we see expressed on the streets of our community. The social fabric is fraying. People of Colour, racialized minorities, Indigenous Peoples, LGBT+ individuals, persons with disabilities, and elders and older adults are coming to be seen as threats to community safety rather than as integral to cohesive, robust communities. Many are starting to feel unsafe on the streets of our community. The debates about public policy go beyond civil discourse and are moving into acts of verbal abuse and physical acts of intimidation. These behaviours put the health of our community at risk.
As academics, we continue working to address social injustices in our teaching, research, service, and campus life. We are committed to this essential work and to staying the course for as long as it takes. We strongly encourage public debate and discussion. We strongly condemn actions that verbally and physically abuse members of our community. We strongly condemn racism, prejudice, and discrimination. We add our voices to the growing discussion about how to return to civil discourse. We will continue to use our teaching spaces as sites where we model the behaviour we want to see from our fellow citizens. We will continue to call out actions that lead to the deterioration of our community health. We will continue to advance approaches and solutions that help us to live well together.