We, the undersigned, including residents, community organizations, businesses, religious communities, labour organizations, educational institutions, unions, service providers, and other community partners—stand together in rejecting racist, xenophobic, anti-Indigenous, Islamophobic, anti-Arab, antisemitic, anti-Black, anti-2SLGBTQIA+, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, misogynistic, violent extremist, and anti-democratic ideologies in our communities.
We believe that events which normalize or promote hate based ideologies undermine community safety, increase fear among targeted individuals and communities, erode public trust, and threaten the social cohesion that makes Hamilton a welcoming, inclusive, and diverse place to live.
We reject attempts to divide our community through hatred, discrimination, intimidation, or the dehumanization of others.
CALLS TO ACTION:
To allies, residents, and elected officials at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels representing Hamilton:
1) Denounce the Dominion Society, their calls for remigration, and their white-washed history. Assert your commitment to responding to and funding the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. And, assert your commitment to ensuring that your policies and statements will not contribute to the scapegoating of immigrants and racialized communities that is on the rise in Hamilton.
2) To private venues: take steps to verify any bookings happening on or around August 29th and cancel bookings made with the Dominion Society so that the event cannot happen in Hamilton. (See our guide for local businesses and venues.)
3) To the City of Hamilton, McMaster University, Mohawk College, other public institutions, and private institutions like Redeemer University: deny any booking requests from Dominion Society for event or meeting space.
4) To individuals: stay informed about groups organizing in your community and aware of how these groups will try to connect with people on seemingly unrelated issues. If you see posters for the DomCon event or other advertising by the Dominion Society, Nationalist 13, or Diagolon, and you are able to do so safely, remove the poster and/or use a sharpie to cover its message (use gloves or a plastic tool to protect your hands). Report the locations of posters to the wesupporthamilton.ca platform.
Our Commitment
By signing this petition, we affirm our shared commitment to protecting our community from hate:
Racism and hate have no place in our neighbourhoods.
We support peaceful dialogue, democratic participation, and respect for human rights.We stand in solidarity with individuals and communities targeted by hate.