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House Hansard - 13

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 8, 2021 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 13 - Dec/8/21
Mr. Doug Shipley (Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, CPC)
  • Dec/8/21 2:09:31 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am rising to speak about an unfortunate incident that occurred in Barrie last week. A well-known community advocate and entrepreneur, Shanicka Edwards, also known as Shak, was verbally harassed and physically assaulted. Ms. Edwards founded Shak's World, which addresses the issues of addiction, homelessness and mental health challenges for youth in downtown Barrie. While the verbal harassment and physical abuse Shak experienced were despicable acts on their own, what made this incident even more heinous was that it was racially motivated. Ms. Edwards was sought out, berated and assaulted because she was a young Black woman. She was told to go back to where she came from. Shak was born and raised in Canada, in Simcoe county. No person should ever be subject to such racist and derogatory statements and acts. I would encourage Shak to keep doing her great work. I and the people of Barrie are behind her every step of the way. I would also like to thank the Barrie Police Service for making a speedy arrest in this despicable incident.
179 words
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