BradfordToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to a letter about the town deciding against hosting the Jalsa Salana conference in 2025, published Oct. 3.
I was surprised by the letter by respected Denise Wagstaff stating the decision of the council to not approve of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at (AMJ) convention to be based on logistics and not phobias. While this would be acceptable were it truly based on logistics, the council meeting and the deliberations therein proved otherwise.
The purpose of the community (AMJ) to settle in Canada was based on the concept of inclusion. Canada advertised itself proudly as, and proved in practice to be, an inclusive, tolerant and open country.
For that, community members belonging to persecuted backgrounds (such as AMJ) are appreciative. Where they have held their events and faith-based observances in this country, they have also pledged to stand by it, and give back in no limit, with humanitarian work (clean-up drives, food drives, homeless support, medical facilities’ establishment and improvement runs and a host of other initiatives). The tolerance as a key factor as seen helps not only include a community but fosters common values and directly benefits and enriches a country.
More importantly (to me), another factor this country prides itself on is its transparency and its fair and open regard and treatment of issues. Its adherence to fair and unbiased accountability is perhaps its greatest asset.
This is not, however, what happened in this council meeting. Neither is it what has led to this decision. The decision, while being stated to be fair and based entirely on logistics, could not be proven to be. Even to a casual observer, it would show the representatives on the panel that were against the convention were not only not on the same page but could not corroborate the refusal with sound reasons.
For instance, traffic was said to be a huge detrimental factor. In this, one member raised the issue of traffic concerns, with another attendee voicing their concern as well, while both observed the traffic congestion widely apart, by more than four hours. Even in terms of common sense, it showed that a two-hour to six-hour stalling range could not be justified.
Local police did a splendid job in handling the traffic, politely directing residents through the impediment that realistically and at most stretched half an hour in delay in navigation mainly on the 10th and associated lines. This could, of course, only be substantiated by not one, but perhaps two or three officers that performed their duty during that weekend. Instead, a widely ranging bird’s-eye view was given from two folks residing in the same community. This is not comprehensible even by a loosely based fact set.
A member simply stated they were just “glad it was not happening,” giving no other reason or explanation. I do not recall, aside from the Ford government’s handling of elderly care during COVID, where taciturn principles were adopted to utilize existing bills barring transparency in a time people were losing lives, that any other example could be seen where a responsible member of a council against or for an issue sounded their leverage in this manner. It is not logical, nor acceptable to say the least.
One member was suspicious of the water supply, content and nature being “possibly” rigged to benefit Ahmadi residents and not him. There was no sound logic, base or research presented in what was a very grave accusation. Neither was there any follow-up support or evidence to prove this very broad and baseless accusation. The hurtful factor was not the accusation itself but the way it was not contradicted or the lack of logic of it not challenged.
One council member stated pollution to be a factor resulting from the traffic. A three-day traffic flow in the inroads, where grasslands and green properties abide, cannot scientifically cause the degree of damage in terms of pollution that the member(s) tried to push. Many vehicles owned and operated by members of the AMJ community are modernized, with environment-conscious operational factors built into them, such as timed necessary ignition, which greatly limits emissions, the chief concern among traffic-related pollution issues.
None of these numbers were comprehended nor asked for. Only the larger attendees’ numbers were alluded to. That is not logical as well, because not all the attendees and only a quarter of those lined the roads when travelling as there were families of three, four, even five utilizing the same vehicle to go to and from the convention site. The full scope of the numbers was contained within the walls of the convention.
When such deliberations lack logic, proof and acceptance amount to a lower number of facts against an issue. Why would deliberations based so loosely, with a wide degree of perception and comprehension and other non-existent or unproven statements, be accepted?
The letter from respected Denise Wagstaff generalized the issue by stating that an event of this magnitude needs to be organized on alternate venues and grounds. What of the Santa Claus Parade? It was even labelled to attract “thousands” in the span of a few hours. Not only did the parade have people barricading the roads themselves, lining the avenue, but resulting in a traffic blockade.
It also had true pollution in the sense of noise pollution, with alternate heavy inroad traffic for those that needed to utilize the roads immediately. Yet the event, with the number of attendees, participants and vehicles involved all packed into a mere few hours on the road itself, garnered no objections or disruption to peace.
Please make no mistake that this thought stems from any animosity to Christmas; it isn’t. I am Muslim but have gladly shown my children the splendour and painstakingly set-up lights, decorative endeavours, and feel-good atmosphere of Christmas, from visiting the towering glowing lights in Vaughan, to the Illumi Christmas section, to the Bradford parade to the polar experience in Mississauga. It comes from an inclusive, tolerant and accepting mind set.
By magnitude, while the AMJ convention is significantly larger, its only realistic obstruction is the incoming traffic prior to the event, and outgoing traffic post-event. Everything else is housed in the confines of the convention grounds. It is a spiritual convention, with there being no noise pollution, negligent air pollution (point above) and no attendees walking on or lining the roads themselves.
It is also important to discuss the methodology adopted in this negative decision. It was too surprising, even more than the deliberations.
Canada is a land of discipline, method and reason based off facts. This deliberation was anything but, with zero regard for the most important aspect as mentioned above: accountability.
The facts are: The AMJ conducted all events only after permits, passes and any due permissions were granted. The zoning personnel, fire safety personnel, land safety and readiness personnel and respective inspectors did their diligent duty in determining the event as permissible. It took a multitude of dollars, time, effort and faith (in the Bradford authorities, community and council) to conduct this event, which violated no bylaws, laws or principles.
All traffic congestion (the possible only issue) was also projected and serviced accordingly. Certain inspections took repeated visits from inspectors that finally converged with the permit to hold the event. The council with not only half-baked facts, but without due process and said logic and without any regard for their own authorities’ call, determined the authorities’, experts’ and designate inspectors’ work to be erroneous. There is no leeway in this determination except this.
In the line of the same methodology, it should have been practice apprising the AMJ of any shortcomings and there were none raised. If the councillor, MP or any designate member of the board in Bradford had issues, they should have well in time informed the AMJ about it, instead of having them pour a multitude of funds into the initiative that comprised paid contracts to parties, and funds in progression for coming years to services that accordingly realigned their schedules and promises for an event of this magnitude. Undoing all of this is not child’s play. To restate, there were no violations or any orders, restrictions or barricades in seeking this permission.
Hence, when the logical review does not hold or add up, the facts do not clearly align with largely varying observances in the same locality and residents and the opportunity in the sense of accountability or reason does not afford the time to properly view all facts and issues, and even more importantly, to address them, then the errant thoughts per human nature can set in — one being the fear of the event or the AMJ community, with all stray cards on racism, phobia and intolerance finding their way into the discussion.
Please also note that tolerance is not a luxury, but a duty of humanity. It does not come instantly at all avenues, but at times requires time to build, and for that, time is to be afforded as well.
The hurried stance of the council here in their deliberations and hastily put-together outcome speak of intolerance, misunderstanding, lack of method and patience altogether. Tolerance is accepting perceived flaws against many positives and working together with one another to make things work to uphold the same rights every Canadian has, be it there may be temporary issues or kinks to work out. Tolerance, understanding and mutual regard here are missing.
For such facts and adverse findings, for justice to prevail here per the lofty standards of Canada, this most imbalanced decision, per logic, reason and fairness, needs to be set aside. It can either be set aside to be redetermined after raising the issues properly on paper and affording a timeline to respond, or it can be turned around and the permit granted again, in line with the authorities’ still-standing findings.
The alternate as it has played out will only be heartbreaking, discouraging and a definitive stain on the transparent, accountability-adhering and fair practices of this nation.
From a well-meaning, proud fellow Canadian and AMJ member,
Mubashar Ahmad
Toronto
