Trudeau kneels at protest against racism and police brutality

by J. Edward Moreno - 06/05/20 6:03 PM ET

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kneeled during a protest against racism and police brutality in Ottawa Friday.

The event was organized by No Peace Until Justice at Ottawa’s Parliament’s Peace Tower, according to Canadian media, and comes in the wake of the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis police custody last week.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a knee while attending a demonstration on Parliament Hill that was organized to protest racial injustice and police brutality.

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— CTV News (@CTVNews) June 5, 2020

Floyd’s death has led to dozens of protests in the U.S. and around the world.

Trudeau’s attendance shows a stark contrast between him and President Trump, who has called for law enforcement to take aggressive measures against protesters.

When asked earlier this week about Trump’s threats to call in the military to respond to U.S. protesters, Trudeau notably took a 20 second pause before saying that Canada was watching in “horror and consternation.”

“It is a time for us as Canadians to recognize that we, too, have our challenges,” Trudeau said Wednesday. “There is systemic racism in Canada.”

This was quite the moment. Trudeau was asked outright to comment on Trump calling for military action against protestors and the tear gassing of protestors to make space for a photo op.

He takes a very long pause, about 20 seconds. Watch.

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— Rachel Gilmore (@atRachelGilmore) June 2, 2020

Chantel Moore, a 26-year-old indigenous woman was shot by Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Edmundston, New Brunswick, on Thursday during a welfare check, CBC reported.

“Far too many Canadians feel fear and anxiety at the sight of a law enforcement officer,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa, according to Reuters. “Over the past weeks we’ve seen a large number of Canadians suddenly awaken to the fact that discrimination is a lived reality for far too many of our fellow citizens.”