Letter to the Editor: Open letter to Anthony Rota from concerned constituents
An open letter from concerned members of his constituency calls on MP Anthony Rota to show stronger leadership around anti-racism in his role as Speaker of the House.
NORTH BAY (June 22, 2020)– As members of the Nipissing-Timiskaming riding, we the undersigned, object in the strongest possible terms to our political will, invested in Mr. Anthony Rota, being used to maintain procedural protocols that protect and uphold racism.
Last Wednesday in the House of Commons, we witnessed a courageous speaking of truth when Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), called out Alain Therrien of the Bloc Québécois for being racist. In what promised to be a pivotal moment for our government when the world is awakening to its denial of racism, this promise was short-lived. After a brief deliberation, we witnessed the Speaker of the House remove Singh from the Commons. Canada’s first racialized party leader was being punished for calling out the very racism that eventually led to his removal – by our elected Member of Parliament (MP).
The Prime Minister has suggested in recent weeks that Canadians need to pay attention to larger systemic challenges, but we must also ask how this is possible when the government is operating within a code of conduct that protects racist actions disguised in decorum and politeness. The preservation of racism within our parliamentary process is a collective failure of our country and on Wednesday, it felt like our community of Nipissing-Timiskaming staked out a position on the wrong side of history.
In recent weeks, we have expected more from our elected Member of Parliament. On Anthony Rota’s social media platforms there has been silence regarding the Black Lives Matter movement while close to 3,000 people from our community of only 52,000 marched in solidarity calling for action on dismantling racist systems, amidst a pandemic no less. Meanwhile in Parliament, Mr. Rota himself has played a pivotal role in actively reinforcing a system that punishes those who call out racism instead of those who are perpetuating it.
This begs the question – when our elected official becomes the Speaker of the House, does remaining neutral erase his accountability to us? Do we as the electorate unwillingly forfeit our voice in the House of Commons?
We are asking that Mr. Rota shows us otherwise. Nipissing-Timiskaming is waiting for our elected MP to show us he still sees us from the Speaker’s chair.
Signed:
Holly Cunningham, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Catherine Murton Stoehr, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Kim Kitchen, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Kimberly Lediett, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Jessica Love, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Sarah-Vi Leroux, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Lindsay Sullivan, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Jaymie Lathem, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Shea Lacombe, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Chris Jones, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Stephanie de Montmorency, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Robin Alex McDonald, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Liza Vandermeer, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Chantal Phillips, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Evan Newman, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Maurice Switzer, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Amy Louise Ells, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Lindsey Voisin, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Jared Hunt, Nipissing Timiskaming
Suzanne Brooks, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Shannon Claussen, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Henri Giroux, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Chantal Phillips, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Evan Newman, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Liz Lott, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Kaiden Peldjak, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Jamie Murton, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Brooke McCartney-Langson, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Wendy Peters, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Amanda Mathias-Mizzi, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Ian Mizzi, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Vincent Aquilina, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Johanna Kristolaitis, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Meghan Trussler, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Nathan Kozuskanich, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Scott Robertson, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Katrina Srigley, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Anna-Gibson Olajos, Nipissing-Timiskaming
Bob Olajos, Nipissing-Timiskaming