5,000 signatures reached
To: Directors and Advisors of the Munk Debates and the Aurea Foundation
No Hate in Toronto: Cancel Steve Bannon at Munk Debate
Cancel the Munk Debate featuring Stephen Bannon and David Frum. Do not give Bannon - a racist peddler of hate a platform to publicize and advocate his xenophobic ideals.
Why is this important?
Stephen Bannon is scheduled to speak in Toronto on November 2nd. He's the former Special Advisor to US President Donald J. Trump who is responsible for some of the worst of recent American domestic policies, including the Islamophobic and racist Muslim Ban.
Allowing his participation in the Munk Debates at one Canada’s most prestigious venues (Roy Thomson Hall), with ticket prices up to $200, normalizes his hateful, xenophobic opinions and activities, and incites his violent followers.
We must outright reject Stephen Bannon’s ideas and the notion that he occupies an acceptable pole on a debate spectrum.
Stephen Bannon was CEO and Chairman of Breitbart News which he solidified into the online destination of white supremacists, anti-semites, and misogynists, spreading lies and conspiracy theories to further the alt-right agenda. Inviting people who bolster white supremacists is in direct opposition to the necessary work Canada must do to be accountable to people of colour and Indigenous communities.
Since being ejected from the White House and Breitbart, Bannon has adopted a global campaign to build up ultra-racist, nationalist, austerity-driven, anti-immigrant candidates and parties across Europe and Latin America. He is advising the likes of Viktor Orban, President of Hungary, who has adopted authoritarian rule over the courts, media, and immigration among other sectors and military dictatorship apologist and misogynist Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. Bannon’s activities are directly linked to the murderous policies promoted by these political parties.
In addition, Mr Bannon was charged for domestic assault, battery and dissuading a witness for attacking his then-wife, Mary Piccard. Charges were stayed after Piccard failed to appear in court after being threatened by Mr Bannon’s lawyer.
Mr Bannon’s debating partner is David Frum, the George W. Bush-era speechwriter who coined the term, “Axis of Evil”. This is in itself is sufficient indictment against the debate—that the debater representing the “liberal” position is a man responsible for shilling for the Iraq War, which resulted in the deaths of over a million people.
We urge Munk Debate advisors, the board of Aurea Foundation, and all individuals and organizations connected with the Munk Charitable Foundation, to oppose this event in the strongest terms, and cancel the event immediately. People in Toronto are urged to join us at Roy Thomson Hall at 5 pm on November 2nd, 2018 whether the event is cancelled or not. Click here for updates: https://www.facebook.com/events/1401207076681549/
**Munk Debate Advisors/Aurea Foundation Directors**
Financiers: Kenneth Whyte, Colin Chapin, Anthony Munk
Lawyers: J. Robert Pritchard, David A. Steele
Intellectuals: Devon Cross, Margaret MacMillan, Janice Stein
Journalists: Andrew Coyne
Other high-profile individuals: Melanie Munk, Nigel Wright