Brampton: Video of Jagmeet Singh responding to a heckler who wrongfully accused him of wanting to impose “sharia law” is drawing attention to the NDP leadership candidate on Facebook and YouTube.
The incident at a meet-and-greet on Wednesday in Brampton, Ont., involved an angry woman who stood in the front of the candidate and shouted.
The heckler appeared to be confused about “sharia law,” which is an Islamic law tradition, while Jagmeet Singh is Sikh.
When she continued heckling, in an incident that lasted more than four minutes, Jagmeet Singh said “We don’t want to be intimidated by hate. We don’t want hatred to ruin a positive event.”
“Let’s show people how we would treat someone with love,” Jagmeet Singh said to the crowd, before addressing the woman directly with the words “We welcome you. We love you. We support you … we believe in your rights.”
The crowd chanted “love and courage” – a slogan used by Jagmeet Singh’s leadership campaign.
“We’re not worried about this. It’s OK,” Singh continued. “As a brown-skinned turban-wearing man I have faced things like this before.”
The final debate in the NDP leadership race is Sunday afternoon in Vancouver. Jagmeet Singh is running against Ontario MP Charlie Angus, Quebec MP Guy Caron and Manitoba MP Niki Ashton for the leadership.