WATCH: House passes motion calling on the government to designate Proud Boys as a terrorist group
Members of Canada’s parliament have agreed to call on the federal Liberal government to formally designate the Proud Boys a terrorist entity.
The motion, introduced by NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh passed with unanimous consent in the House of Commons on Monday.
By unanimous consent, the #HoC adopted a motion regarding the proliferation of white supremacist and hate groups and the designation of the Proud Boys as a terrorist entity.
— In the Chamber (@HoCChamber) January 25, 2021
The party has for weeks been calling on Trudeau and the Liberals to “immediately ban and designate the Proud Boys as a terrorist organization.”
Our motion calling on the Liberal govt to designate Proud Boys as a Terrorist Org has passed!
But, Justin Trudeau has a habit of breaking his promises.
Sadly, we can't trust him to follow through.
We need to the pressure on, sign here to keep it going:https://t.co/KBzMGqQqpX
— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) January 25, 2021
The move comes after thousands of supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, leaving dozens injured and five people, including one police officer, dead.
Members of the Proud Boys were reportedly present during the riot.
The federal government said it is considering designating the group as a terrorist entity.
“As Minister Blair has said, we strongly denounce ‘ideologically motivated extremists including groups like the Proud Boys, white supremacists, anti-Semitics, Islamaphobic and misogynist groups,’” Mary-Liz Power, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Bill Blair told Global News earlier this month. “Intolerance and hate have no place in our society.”
Power said national security and law enforcement agencies are “very actively engaged in monitoring the activities of these groups, and gathering the evidence required to support a determination of listing as a Terrorist Organization.”
Now that the motion has passed, the federal government would need to formally add them to the long list of terrorist entities.
If the Proud Boys are designated as a terrorist entity, the group would be joining a long list of other organizations including the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and the Islamic State.
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
