Ford government, Liberals still sniping over motion to condemn Islamophobia

The Ford government and the opposition Liberals continuedto snipe at each otherFriday over an on-again, off-again motion to condemn Islamophobiain the wake of theattack in London that killedfour members of a Muslim family.

Liberal MPP MitzieHunter first put forward the motion, which callsonthe Ontario legislature to unanimously condemn Islamophobia, on Thursday. The Progressive Conservatives blocked it, saying the Liberals tried to take them by surprise and that the government does not agree to motions it hasn't seen beforehand.

Then, the Liberals said all parties agreed the motion would be put forward againFriday and passed. But at some point in the early hours of Friday, that agreement felloff the table.

In a morning newsrelease, Liberal Leader StevenDel Duca said:"It was appalling that Doug Ford's Conservatives blocked a simple but meaningful motion to condemn Islamophobia, which shouldn't be up for debate in Ontario."

Paul Calandra, the government house leader, then demandedDel Duca apologize for"lying to the people of Ontario and attempting to politicize Islamophobia to give his party a boost in the polls."

"The Liberals know that they failed to provide any notice to the government of this motion. Had the government known what Ms. Hunter was bringing forward we would have certainly supported it," Calandra said.

In a statement to CBC News, Calandra's office said the Liberals had agreed they would "clarify that they had not given us any notice of this motion and we would be working together to get a motion passed. As you can see instead this morning Mr. Del Duca chose to press forward with his dishonest claims. The Liberals need to put the partisan politics aside."

The motion was blocked again Friday. Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter will again seek unanimous support for the motionSaturday.

The recriminationscomejust days after four members of a family were killed and one was injured in London, Ont. on Sunday, June 6. Police say they were run down by the driver of a pickup truck in a deliberate attack inspired by the victims' Muslim faith. The tragedy has triggered an outpouring of grief and anger across Canada.

Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, their daughter Yumna Afzaal, 15, and Salman's mother, Talat Afzaal, 74, were killed. The youngest member of the family, nine-year-old Fayez, survived and remains in hospital. A funeral has been planned for Saturday afternoon.

Meantime, dozens participated in a "Walk Against Hate" in Torontoto showsupport for the family.

"Although we were not in London when that heinous crime happened, we all feel the pain and the anger, the anxiety and the fear," Irshad Osman from the Danforth Islamic Centre said at the walk on Friday

"I would like to see the Canadian government recognize this as a publicissue ... not making this as political rhetoric."