Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is playing down any personal inconvenience he suffered this week when he was targeted by protesters over the Israel-Hamas war while he was at a pair of Vancouver eateries.
In one case, Vancouver police had to send 100 officers to a cocktail bar in the city so Trudeau and his security detail could safely depart given the presence of 250 pro-Palestinian protesters.
“It’s not about me,” Trudeau said today when asked what the incidents said about his safety in a place, namely British Columbia, where he used to live and visits frequently.
“Right now, the grief, the anger, the despair so many Canadians are feeling is bleeding over into each other,” Trudeau told a news conference in San Francisco held as the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation leaders’ meeting wrapped up. “We are not a country where Canadians should be scared of other Canadians.”
“We all have to commit ourselves every day to be there to listen to each other, and to have compassion for each other.”
In London, Ont., pro-Palestinian protesters this week disrupted a rally held by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who was interrupted several times by protesters as he spoke to supporters.
On another note, Trudeau declined to describe Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “dictator” – a term U.S. President Joe Biden used after a meeting on the sidelines of the summit with his Chinese counterpart.
However, the Prime Minister acknowledged China is not a democracy.
“Look, China is a one-party state. I don’t think anyone would call it a democracy,” Trudeau said. “We can get into all sorts of different definitions. The fact is he is not running a democracy. It’s an authoritarian state.”
