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Jan 26, 2022 1:52 AM - The Canadian Press

Public safety minister calls for removal of Hillier 'hate' tweet about Alghabra

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Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is calling on Twitter to remove a tweet from an Ontario politician who labelled federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra a ``terrorist.'' (Photo - Randy Hillier/Twitter)

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is calling on Twitter to remove a tweet from an Ontario politician who labelled federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra a ``terrorist.''

Mendicino says the tweet from Independent MPP Randy Hillier is ``flagrantly abusive, offensive and Islamophobic'' and amounts to ``hate speech'' that should have no place on Twitter or other social media platforms.

In a tweet today supporting truckers opposed to mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 in order to cross the Canada-U.S. border, Hillier refers to Alghabra as a terrorist who has condemned Canadians to starvation in the name of public safety.

In a separate statement, Hillier calls on the RCMP to open a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he accuses of engaging in an ``act of domestic terrorism'' by depriving Canadians of food and other basic necessities in the middle of winter.

A convoy of truckers and other vaccine opponents is on its way to Ottawa for a rally against vaccine mandates, which Hillier says he intends to attend.

Last month, Mendicino called on Twitter to act on a tweet from another vaccination opponent that the minister said was aimed at intimidating and threatening Canadian Medical Association president Katharine Smart for championing inoculations.

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