Anti-immigrant groups\u00a0rallied along the Canadian side of the U.S. border and in Ottawa on Saturday, with counter-protesters also making their presence known,\u00a0as\u00a0concerns heighten\u00a0over the issue of irregular border crossings by asylum seekers.<\/p>\n
On Parliament Hill Saturday, protesters aligned with a group called the Canadian Coalition of Concerned Citizens (CCCC) assembled to stand against policies of the federal Liberal government they claim have allowed illegal immigration to flourish. Amid cries of “Fascist scum go away,” a lone member of the group was involved in a skirmish with members of the anti-facist\u00a0\u2014 or antifa\u00a0\u2014 movement, before being led away by parliamentary police.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nRight now scuffle at #ParliamentHill<\/a> anti-immigration rally in #Ottawa<\/a> | @CBCNews<\/a> @CBCAlerts<\/a> @CBCOttawa<\/a> @AshleyBurkeCBC<\/a> #ottnews<\/a> #FarRight<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/HXVbISIyMS<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014
\n @JHarringtonTV<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\nGeorges Hallak, the founder of the CCCC and himself an immigrant from Lebanon, was at the Ottawa protest. He told CBC News he is concerned Muslims will impose\u00a0Shariah\u00a0\u2014 the\u00a0Islamic religious guidelines that govern everything from personal hygiene and charity to pilgrimages and burials\u00a0\u2014 on Canada.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hallak, a self-described Christian patriot, said he is steadfastly opposed to M-103, a non-binding, Liberal-sponsored motion that passed the House of Commons in the spring, which condemned Islamophobia. Hallak fears\u00a0its passage\u00a0will limit free speech and criticism of Islam.<\/p>\n
He also said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has failed to secure the Canada-U.S. border while allowing mayors to declare\u00a0cities sanctuaries, which he said\u00a0shield undocumented migrants from law enforcement.<\/p>\n
“I respect immigration 100 per cent,\u00a0as long as the people coming to this country do not have criminal records, do not pose a threat to normal Canadians, that they come here with the intent to follow the laws of Canada without trying to modify [it] for their needs\u00a0\u2014 we’re talking about Shariah law, which goes against the Constitution of Canada,” he said.<\/p>\n
\n- Ultranationalists and anti-racist groups converge on Lacolle border crossing<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- ‘Ultranationalists’ monitor Roxham Road, where asylum seekers cross into Canada<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- ‘We won’t allow them to bring mayhem to our streets’: Quebec far-right group returns to extremist roots<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The group was vastly outnumbered by a group of counter-protesters aligned with the antifa movement, people who claim to support migrants and oppose racism. Many of them held placards with slogans such as “No to hate speech,” and “Unite to fight right.”<\/p>\n
An organizer with Ottawa Against Fascism, who would only identify himself as Robin for fear of online reprisal from the far-right, said these groups are\u00a0“sugarcoating”\u00a0the anti-immigrant\u00a0movement by insisting their actions are not racially motivated.<\/p>\n
“These groups are scary, they mask their anti-immigrant [sentiments] but underneath all of that they support genocide … These forms of scapegoating can escalate and become something that is genuinely dangerous.”<\/p>\n
Far-right, antifa protesters expected to clash at border<\/h2>\n
Members of the Storm Alliance \u2014 a group that identifies as “ultranationalist,” and claims to eschew ties to far-right white nationalists \u2014 planned to patrol the border crossing near St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Quebec, where thousands of migrants have crossed into the country on foot without proper documentation.<\/p>\n
According to federal officials, some 13,000 asylum seekers have entered Canada irregularly, with many\u00a0of those people crossing over\u00a0from New York State into Quebec at a single point of entry at the end of Roxham Rd. in Hemmingford, Que., not far from Lacolle.\u00a0Approximately 5,550 asylum seekers crossed through Quebec<\/a> in August alone,\u00a0but numbers dropped dramatically in September.<\/p>\nStorm Alliance was created by people formerly aligned with the Soldiers of Odin,\u00a0a group founded in Finland by a known neo-Nazi, which\u00a0is highly critical of Islam and the tenets of Shariah.\u00a0Dave Tregget, the founder and leader of Storm Alliance, has said he left Soldiers of Odin because of its overt racism.<\/p>\n
La Meute, French for “The Wolf Pack,” another anti-immigrant, anti-Islam group, was also on hand at the border town Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nAbout 100 Storm Alliance members have gathered in parking lot in Lacolle ready to head to border for immigration protest #manifencours<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/TRRgvEKD5v<\/a><\/p>\n