Dozens of white ribbons have been tied around street poles and trees lining Roncesvalles Avenue in a show of support for the city’s Muslim community.
The ribbons are part of a grassroots campaign that began in the wake of a deadly shooting at a mosque in Quebec City last month.
The campaign was started by a group of residents in the Roncesvalles Village area, who distributed the ribbons to neighbours.
The Roncesvalles Village Business Improvement Area then got involved, placing the ribbons up and down Roncesvalles Avenue.
“I think it is important for us to stand up in what we believe in and create an antidote to the racism and hatred that keeps up sprouting up out of people’s fear,” BIA Manager Veronica Feihl told CP24 on Tuesday afternoon. “We are not fearful in this neighbourhood and we want to stand up for the people that eat here, pray here and live here.”
Many of the ribbons on display include messages such as “All Faiths Welcome” and “Diversity is our Strength.” Others contain words like “Love” and “Hope.”
The campaign comes amid troubling rise of instances of prejudice in Toronto.
Last week, numerous protestors held an anti-Islam rally outside a downtown mosque, prompting police to launch an investigation.
Police are also investigating the discovery of anti-Semitic notes at a Willowdale condominium building on Sunday as a hate crime.
