It is a long and difficult fight. We must sustain hope, we must do it together. NCCM

In the past few weeks, dozens and dozens of Palestinians have been slaughtered in Gaza after a ceasefire was supposed to take effect.

Aid is still barely getting in. And ethnic cleansing plans in relation to the West Bank passed in the Knesset, as did plans for annexation.

We have been pushing our leaders to act further, not just to speak more words.

It is a long and difficult fight. We must sustain hope, we must do it together.

This is our task for the upcoming NCCM Gala, scheduled to take place in the Toronto area on November 1st. Joining us will be world-renowned public intellectual and activist Dr. Cornel West, one of the world’s most courageous voices for civil rights, Palestinian rights, and global justice.

If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, do so now! We are almost sold out (only 100 tickets remain)!

Renewing our resolve to act against an ongoing genocide also means protecting our civil liberties here at home, which are, yet again, under attack.

Fighting for Our Rights in Quebec

Nowhere is our fight more urgent than in Quebec, where we now face the greatest civil liberties challenge in modern Canada.

You know all about Bill 21, the law that stops many civil servants in Quebec from wearing religious symbols like the hijab, while at work. Bill 21 is now just the beginning of our challenges.

The ban is being extended more broadly into daycares and various schools across the province. The PQ has also considered banning girls from wearing hijabs.

We have not relented. We are pushing as hard as we can on the front lines of a battle that threatens to deal a permanent blow to Canada as a democracy as we head to the Supreme Court of Canada on the Bill 21 case.

That’s why NCCM CEO Stephen Brown was in Parliament recently to support Bill S-218, presented by Senator Peter Harder, which puts the usage of the NWC in front of a court before it can be applied to any piece of legislation. We also supported Bill 50 in Manitoba, which does the same thing by putting similar guardrails around using the NWC.

These fights for justice, equality, and human dignity have tangible results. We in Canada know exactly what the vicious results of Islamophobia look like.

We were with the family of a Muslim hotel worker beaten almost to death in Markham, ON. We were with the Muslim family in Newmarket, ON, whose neighbour wanted to murder in a bomb blast.

Enough is enough. We are tired of words. We are pushing for action. We have never stopped advocating for you.

We need you to join us by renewing your resolve on Nov 1, with the help of Dr. Cornel West.

We hope to see you there. We need you by our side.

Together, we can win.

Wasalam,

The NCCM Team