tamaka
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City Council Approved “Muslim-Only” Subsidized Housing CULTURESPENCERFERNANDOMARCH 20, 20170 INSANE - Toronto City Council Approves Muslim-Only Subsidized Housing Canada In 2017: A Haven For Sickening Political Correctness In story that is increasingly relevant today, in 2015 the Toronto City Council approved a provision that bans all non-Ahmadiyya Muslims from being able to get subsidized housing at an apartment block on Finch Avenue West. The building is called the Ahmadiyya Abode, and has 14 floors. As reported by Global, there were a total of 11,000 people on a waiting list for subsidized housing in the building. Because of a deal the Toronto city council struck with the Ahmadiyya Abode, they agreed to “restrict tenancy to members of the Muslim Jama’at.” The backlash was swift, but the politicians did not respond. At the time, Global reported on Austin Lewis, a 21-year-old disabled man in a wheelchair. The Ahmadiyya Abode is an accessible property, and would have been ideal for his needs. However, he received a letter saying that since he was “not a member of the designated group, and is not Muslim,” he would be denied the opportunity to apply. Said Lewis, “We don’t like you, you can’t share our religion, you can’t live here — it doesn’t make sense.” Responding to the exclusion of her son, Lewis’s mother Laura Whiteway said, “It’s wrong on every single level. This goes against everything Canada represents to me.” Laura Whiteway is absolutely right: This is an insane policy, and it has no place in Canada. Our elected officials – at any level – are not supposed to be encouraging religious segregation, and have no right to deny someone access to apply for a public benefit because they are not part of the “right” faith. It’s actually difficult to put into words how horrible this decision was, and what makes it even worse is the response of those in power at the time. Rather than denouncing this state-sponsored discrimination, Toronto City Councillor Joe Cressy supported it, saying “We want people to live in a culturally-appropriate setting.” Pathetic. It’s not the only instance of this taking place. A similar incident happened in 2016. State-sponsored discrimination must end Shockingly, this is not the only location where the Toronto City Council discriminates based on religion or ethnic background. It was reported that buildings exclusively housing people of Lithuanian, Chinese, Macedonian, and Greek backgrounds operate in a similar way to Ahmadiyya Abode. An important question here is why – despite so much outrage among the public – those in power were so unwilling to condemn such discriminatory policies? That is unacceptable. That kind of exclusionary policy has no place in our country, and no place in a society that claims to respect the rights of all individuals. And yet, almost two years after the initial report, it’s still taking place. It must come to an end. In Canada, there must be one law and one set of rules for all of us. Before any other differences, we must be Canadians first, and our government must encourage that attitude. The foolish political elites may think their policies are encouraging multiculturalism, but what they are actually doing is promoting segregation. Policies like these sow the seeds of a further division in society. The fact that the backlash was swept under the rug, and this story is only resurfacing now, raises serious doubts about the agendas of those in power. How much else is happening behind the scenes that we haven’t heard about? We cannot stand for this. We must speak out against the growth of this sickening political correctness. Otherwise, the elites will keep dividing us up until there is no Canada left to save. Spencer Fernando
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