'A Hollow Gesture': Social Justice Activist Calls On Trudeau to do More than Kneel with Protesters

TORONTO -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s kneeling in solidarity with anti-racism protesters in Ottawa on Friday was a “hollow gesture,” according to a Toronto lawyer and social justice lecturer who says the leader should be taking action to confront systemic racism in Canada.

Kike Roach, Unifor National Chair in Social Justice and Democracy at Ryerson University, argued that raising awareness is not enough and Trudeau should be focusing his attention on how to address the underlying causes of discrimination and police violence in the country.

“A lot of people are looking at Prime Minister Trudeau taking a knee now as a hollow gesture. When Colin Kaepernick took a knee, he lost his job. When the prime minister does it, he does it to make it look like he is doing his job, but they’re hollow, empty, symbolic gestures,” she told CTV News Channel on Saturday in reference to the NFL football player who kneeled during the American national anthem to protest racial inequity in the U.S.