LONDON – London MPPs Teresa Armstrong, Terence Kernaghan and Peggy Sattler issued the following statement in response to the racist signs outside the Ale House in London:
“With anti-Asian racism on the rise over the last year we feel it’s important to let our neighbours and constituents know that we strongly condemn this language. This kind of anti-Chinese rhetoric is inflammatory and unwelcome in our increasingly diverse city. The increase in racist attitudes and behaviours due to misplaced anger regarding COVID-19 has negatively impacted the health, well-being and safety of Canadians of Asian descent.
We stand together in denouncing all forms of racism in London and across our province and continue to push the Ford government to take the work of tackling racism seriously. We are calling for urgent actions, including:
- a province-wide Anti-Racism strategy that aggressively addresses the rising tide of hate
- the reinstatement of and reinvestment to the Anti-Racism directorate
- race-based data collection by all provincial ministries
As Ontarians, we must all step up and stand up to root out racism."