FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 3, 2009
PC MPP DISCUSSES STUDENT SAFETY WITH YORK?S DR. SHOUKRI
Queen?s Park - With Israel Apartheid Week in full swing Peter Shurman, MPP (Thornhill) met with York University President Dr. Mamdouh Shoukri to discuss the protection of freedom of speech while at all times guaranteeing student safety on campus.
?We agreed that the university has always been and should always be the centre of debate and discussion, no matter how controversial the issue. But we also agreed that strong action must be taken whenever hate laws are not respected or the university becomes the site of intimidation, humiliation or threat of violence,? said Shurman.
Concerned about the safety of York students in view of recent events at that campus, Shurman asked to meet with Dr. Shoukri to discuss York?s plans to ensure the safety of all students at all times and encourage the administration to act decisively whenever hate laws are at issue.
?I represent the riding of Thornhill, arguably the most diverse riding in all of Canada, certainly in all of Ontario, where over 100 cultures have found the right formula to co-exist, to celebrate their diversity and to value the differences that make them unique. My constituents know that they are each an integral part of what has made Thornhill such an economic and social success. It grieves me to see that the centre for knowledge and learning that is York University, just a stone?s throw away, can?t do likewise,? Shurman added.
Shurman has previously called on the Liberal Party and the NDP to follow in the footsteps of his Progressive Conservative Caucus and condemn Israel Apartheid Week en masse. To compare Israel?s policies to those of apartheid states, he says, is to diminish the pain of those who suffered under true apartheid regimes, such as South Africa. To date neither the Liberal nor the NDP Caucus signaled their intent to join the PCs in condemning Israel Apartheid Week.
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For further information please contact:
Monika Bujalska, Executive Assistant
Office of Peter Shurman, MPP-Thornhill
(416) 325-1415
peter.shurman@pc.ola.org