By Sheldon Spackman

After a racially charged fight between some Syrian and non-Syrian students at Ecole Secondaire Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School in Red Deer May 16th, work is well underway in our community to make something positive out of the event.

The Welcoming and Inclusive Communities Network or (WIC) is working with it’s 50 members and other community partners including the Red Deer Public School District, to move the community forward in encouraging residents to learn more about each other rather than buying into incorrect rhetoric. The organization is asking Red Deerians to be smarter than that.

In a release, WIC officials say “The Network supports the Red Deer Public School District in its management of the conflict that occurred between students at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School last week and we stand with them to celebrate the good work Lindsay Thurber has done in celebrating the diversity among its students.”

“The very, small number of people in Red Deer, in Alberta, across Canada who are trying to promote hatred towards Muslim people, using the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (2. b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression as a right to promote hatred of Muslim people, even stating that their religious freedoms are at risk may not be aware that the same Charter states that freedom of conscience and religion (2. a) are also fundamental rights. That means their religious freedoms are protected, but it also means that the religious freedoms of everyone else are also protected including Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, and yes, Muslim people. The parts of Sharia Law that are being opposed will always be illegal in Canada under Criminal Code of Canada so people don’t need to continue fear mongering around that.”

“Those who spread misinformation, who are not willing to educate themselves on the truth, and ALL of the laws in Canada, who would rather buy into the fear mongering, end up standing for something that isn’t true, like what we saw here in Red Deer Tuesday morning. It is nothing short of disappointing and is exactly what The Red Deer WIC Network is working against.”

Established in the Fall of 2015, the Welcoming and Inclusive Communities Network works in a collective impact model to help The City of Red Deer achieve its commitments as a signatory of the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination.

Visit WIC’s Facebook Page.

Red Deer Public School District Statement Regarding Student Fight.