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Trudeau cancels appearance at event in B.C. after protesters hurl racial slurs

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SURREY, B.C. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was forced to cancel plans to attend a fundraising dinner on Tuesday evening after two speakers at the event said protesters hurled racial slurs at the mostly South Asian attendees entering a convention centre in Surrey, B.C.

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Trudeau did not enter the building and spoke to a crowd for about three minutes by Zoom instead of making a speech in person.

He said no one should be intimidated or stopped from exercising their democratic freedoms “because that’s what this country is all about.”

Trudeau said he would return to see his supporters in Surrey in the future, and an organizer of the event told attendees they should feel free to stay and enjoy dinner.

Defence Minister Anita Anand addressed the crowd, but a Liberal Party staffer asked a reporter to leave the room.

The party said in a statement to The Canadian Press that everyone participating “in our democracy should feel safe and respected.”

About four dozen protesters used expletives as they chanted against Trudeau and honked horns outside the convention centre.

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“We don’t like the way he’s running Canada,” one man said as another spoke through a megaphone.

About half a dozen RCMP officers stood by watching the crowd.

Earlier this month, police began investigating after a video circulated on social media showed people hurling verbal abuse at NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh during a protest in Peterborough, Ont.

The federal NDP leader had dropped by the campaign office for an Ontario NDP candidate running in the provincial election.

A video shows Singh encountering protesters as he left the campaign office, and they can be heard shouting expletives at him and calling him a “traitor”‘ as he gets inside a vehicle.

Singh later told reporters he found the experience “intense, threatening (and) insulting”‘ but that he is more worried about what it means for politics in general.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2022.

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Trudeau cancels appearance at event in B.C. after protesters hurl racial slurs

Anita Anand

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was forced to cancel plans to attend a fundraising dinner on Tuesday evening after two speakers at the event said protesters hurled racial slurs at the mostly South Asian attendees entering a convention centre in Surrey, B.C.

Trudeau did not enter the building and spoke to a crowd for about three minutes by Zoom instead of making a speech in person.

He said no one should be intimidated or stopped from exercising their democratic freedoms “because that’s what this country is all about.”

Trudeau said he would return to see his supporters in Surrey in the future, and an organizer of the event told attendees they should feel free to stay and enjoy dinner.

Defence Minister Anita Anand addressed the crowd, but a Liberal Party staffer asked a reporter to leave the room.

The party said in a statement to The Canadian Press that everyone participating “in our democracy should feel safe and respected.”

About four dozen protesters used expletives as they chanted against Trudeau and honked horns outside the convention centre.

“We don’t like the way he’s running Canada,” one man said as another spoke through a megaphone.

About half a dozen RCMP officers stood by watching the crowd.

Earlier this month, police began investigating after a video circulated on social media showed people hurling verbal abuse at NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh during a protest in Peterborough, Ont.

The federal NDP leader had dropped by the campaign office for an Ontario NDP candidate running in the provincial election.

A video shows Singh encountering protesters as he left the campaign office, and they can be heard shouting expletives at him and calling him a “traitor'” as he gets inside a vehicle.

Singh later told reporters he found the experience “intense, threatening (and) insulting'” but that he is more worried about what it means for politics in general.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2022.

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Obama to make first public White House appearance since 2017 at health care event – National | Globalnews.ca

Obama to make first public White House appearance since 2017 at health care event - National | Globalnews.ca

Former President Barack Obama will be returning to the White House on Tuesday for his first public event there since he left office in 2017.

A White House official said Sunday that Obama will be joining President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to “deliver remarks celebrating the success of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid in extending affordable health insurance to millions of Americans.”

The event is part of Biden’s effort to turn his focus to pocketbook issues that directly affect American households. While job growth has been steady since he took office, inflation is at its worst level in a generation.

The White House said Biden “will take additional action to further strengthen the ACA and save families hundreds of dollars a month on their health care.”

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Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and other members of Biden’s Cabinet will attend Tuesday’s event.

Obama’s visit to the White House was first reported by NBC News.

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