MPs move to convene emergency Islamophobia summit

Federal lawmakers are calling on the government to convene an emergency summit on Islamophobia by the end of July.

In the House of Commons today, MPs unanimously passed an NDP motion demanding the gathering in the wake of Sunday's deadly attack against a Muslim family in London, Ont.

London-Fanshawe MP Lindsay Mathyssen, who brought forward the non-binding motion, says the Liberal government needs to go beyond expressing condolences.

"A Muslim family went out for a walk, like so many families and people have been doing in this pandemic, and this family didn’t make it back home because of hate. No one should ever feel unsafe in their community and neighbourhood,” she said.

#HOC unanimously passed my motion https://t.co/5CGfO1iA0J

— MP Lindsay Mathyssen (@LMathys) June 11, 2021

New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh says Canada must urgently address a problem with white supremacy and far-right radicalization and make policy changes at every level of government to prevent another attack.

40,000 Canadians have called for a National Action Summit on Islamophobia

I stand with them

Tomorrow, @LMathys will bring forward a motion calling on PM Trudeau to meet the demands of the community in response to these acts of terror

Solidarity means action, not just words

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) June 10, 2021

Police allege the attack, which saw four family members driven down and killed on Sunday night, was a planned act that targeted Muslims.

The funeral for the four family members who were run over and killed is set for Saturday afternoon at the Islamic Centre of Southwest Ontario in London.

Relatives have identified the dead as 46-year-old Salman Afzaal, his 44-year-old wife Madiha Salman, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna Salman and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal.

The couple's nine-year-old son, Fayez, was seriously wounded but is expected to recover.

Nathaniel Veltman faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in connection with the attack.