By Harinder Mahil

England is going through the worst disorder it has seen in more than a decade, after outbreaks of far-right, anti-immigrant violence swept the country. The fatal stabbing of three young girls at a dance class in the town of Southport, has been followed by the worst unrest the UK has seen for a long time. 

The violence, in towns and cities across England and in Northern Ireland, was fuelled by misinformation online, the far-right and anti-immigration sentiment.

The far-right racists set fire to hotels housing asylum seekers in two cities, leaving those inside trapped and terrified, while gangs of rioters in other cities damaged public buildings and clashed with police, throwing objects at officers and smashing their vehicles. More than 700 hundred individuals have been arrested and some 6,000 specialist officers have been mobilized to deal with the situation.

Why did this happen? There is no doubt that a good part of the blame goes to social media companies. Almost immediately after the attack, social media posts falsely stated that the attacker was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK in 2023. There were also unfounded rumours that he was Muslim.

However, many of the analysts failed to acknowledge that the riots did not happen in a vacuum. Politicians and some sections of the media have laid a powerful foundation for this for the last many years.

The recent general election saw Reform UK, a populist right-wing group running on a confrontational anti-migration platform, pick up the third-most votes of any party, after a campaign in which the topic of immigration featured heavily.

An anti-migrant rhetoric has become increasingly widespread in Britain in recent years and this trend has emboldened far-right sympathizers and contributed to the riots.

Much of it goes back to Brexit. The far right has been emboldened across England by Brexit and is now not in doubt. Brexit was not about democracy; it was about identity. It was about who is really British and who is not. It was about who really belongs in England and who does not. 

The question for us is: can something like this happen in Canada. The short answer is: yes, this can happen in Canada. We have right wing individuals here who spread misinformation on social media. They blame immigrants for all the problems facing Canada whether it is shortage of housing, unemployment, inflation or state of healthcare.

We have political leaders and media personalities who speak and write about who is Canadian and who is not. They often talk or write about what it really means to be a Canadian.

We have individuals on social media in Canada who celebrated English fascists burning down two police stations.We have individuals in Canada who admire Trump and everything he stands for. We have a political party in Canada that openly campaigned on anti-immigrant policies in the last election.

What can we do to make sure what happened in England does not happen in Canada? 

First and foremost, we need to hold politicians and media to account for what they say or propagate. We need to respond to their inflammatory statements and not allow them to blame immigrants for all of the problems of the country. We need to recognize that an attack on one immigrant is an attack on all immigrants, that an attack on one person of colour is an attack on all people of colour.

Secondly, we need to hold social media and messaging services like X, WhatsApp and Telegram to account. If their platform is used to spread misinformation, they need to be held responsible for the damage caused as a result. However, we need wait until serious damage is caused. We need to take steps now and not wait until it is too late as is the case in England.

We need to express our solidarity with the victims of racist and fascist attacks. If we speak out for others who become victims, others will speak out for us when we are under attack.

We have to urge our political leaders to start telling the truth about immigration and asylum seekers. Disseminate factually accurate information with confidence through schools, community and faith groups. What are the benefits of immigration and why do asylum seekers come to Canada?

We need to organize and support anti-racism organizations.

Harinder Mahil is a human rights activist and is president of the West Coast Coalition Against Racism (WCCAR).