Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned a deadly attack in the French city of Nice as a ‘heinous’ act of terrorism, but added that free speech was ‘not without limits’. Trudeau distanced himself from the position of French President Emmanuel Macron who blamed Islam for radicalisation.
“In a pluralist, diverse and respectful society like ours, we owe it to ourselves to be aware of the impact of our words, of our actions on others, particularly these communities and populations who still experience a great deal of discrimination,” he said.
Canada’s parliament observed a moment of silence on Thursday for the three people stabbed to death earlier in a church in Nice, in southern France.
His comments to have limits have sparked new split in debate internationally. Though Muslims welcomed his position, a large group is disappointed for not backing Macron.
“We will always defend freedom of expression,” Trudeau said in response to a question about the right to show a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed. “But freedom of expression is not without limits,” he added.
“We owe it to ourselves to act with respect for others and to seek not to arbitrarily or unnecessarily injure those with whom we are sharing a society and a planet.”
Muslims was instantly angered by the response from Macron defending the right to publish the cartoons in France.
