Trudeau Weighs In On Minneapolis Protests: ‘Racism Is Real’ In U.S. And Canada
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took an unusual step Friday, commenting on protests that have erupted in the United States over the death of George Floyd.
Bystander video recorded Monday in Minneapolis showed a handcuffed Floyd pinned to the ground with a white police officer’s knee on his neck. “I can’t breathe,” Floyd, who is Black, could be heard saying, over and over.
Floyd was later taken to a hospital, where he died. His shocking death has sparked nightly demonstrations in the midwest city, which have turned violent, and prompted the state governor to call in the National Guard on Thursday.
Watch: Trudeau on U.S. unrest: ‘Racism is real’. Story continues below video.
Protesters set a Minneapolis police precinct on fire and a CNN reporter and camera crew were arrested on live TV for doing their jobs Friday morning.
Trudeau made the unsolicited statement at the end of his daily press conference outside his Ottawa home, affirming that racism is real and exists in both the U.S. and Canada.
Read his full remarks below:
“I just want to make a quick point on what is happening in the United States. Many Canadians of diverse backgrounds are watching like all Canadians are, the news out of the United States with shock and with horror. Anti-Black racism, racism is real. It’s in the United States, but it’s also in Canada. And we know people are facing systemic discrimination, unconscious bias, and anti-Black racism every single day.
“We need, as a society, to stand together. Stand up against discrimination. Be there for each other in respect. But also understand that we have work to do as well in Canada in our systems that we need to work forward on.
“And I call on all Canadians, whether it’s anti-Black racism or anti-Asian racism or racism discrimination of any type, to stand together in solidarity, to be there for each other and know just how deeply people are being affected by what we see on the news these past few...
