Falun Gong practitioner Gerry Smith was told by the CEO of the Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival to remove his shirt bearing the name of his spiritual practice on June 22, 2019, at the festival. (The Epoch Times)
By Andrew Chen
The Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival (ODBF) has apologized after its CEO in 2019 asked a Falun Dafa adherent to remove a shirt he was wearing with words related to his Falun Dafa belief, saying the Chinese Embassy is a sponsor of the festival. The City of Ottawa has also released a statement saying organizers issued a permit to hold events on city property can’t engage in discrimination.
Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a spiritual practice currently being persecuted in China, with adherents being held in captivity, tortured, and in many cases killed by the Chinese regime.
Gerry Smith, a Falun Dafa adherent, was part of a group of about eight adherents doing the practice’s meditative exercises and distributing flyers to interested passersby outside festival grounds at city-owned Mooney’s Bay Park on June 22, 2019. At approximately 3 p.m. he entered the festival grounds to buy lunch for his friend’s 9-year-old son whom he was looking after.
While seated at one of the picnic tables on festival grounds, John Brooman, the CEO of the festival who was also sitting at the table, asked Mr. Smith to remove his shirt bearing the words “Falun Dafa is Good” and the Falun Dafa principles of “Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance.”
As reported previously by The Epoch Times, Mr. Brooman reportedly said that the Chinese Embassy is a sponsor of the festival and that he didn’t want to see the shirts anywhere in the park. He added that he wanted Mr. Smith to ask the practitioners exercising outside the festival area to leave, and that he can make a call to have them removed.
Following this incident, after Mr. Smith attempted several times to secure an apology from Mr. Brooman to no success, he submitted a complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
As a result of the tribunal process, the ODBF this month committed to issuing a public apology.
“The Festival apologizes to Mr. Smith for asking him to remove his Falun Dafa shirt,” the ODBF wrote in a statement posted on its website on Nov. 13. “The Festival has a policy of equity, inclusion and diversity and welcomes all attendees from every race, religion, ethnicity and creed. All people, including Falun Gong practitioners, are welcome to the Festival.”
The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated annually around May or June in accordance with the Chinese calendar. The Chinese Embassy in Canada has issued press releases highlighting its support for the festival held in Ottawa.
Francis Houleo, the boy whom Mr. Smith was looking after, said in an eyewitness statement submitted to the Ontario tribunal that he felt Mr. Brooman’s attitude “was not OK” when he spoke with Mr. Smith.
“I remember that I didn’t like the conversation. I wouldn’t want someone to talk to me like that. The best I can say about John’s [Brooman’s] attitude is that it was not OK,” he said, adding that he later asked Mr. Smith whether the festival CEO was “one of those people who are deceived by the Chinese government.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the OBDF and Mr. Brooman for comment but didn’t hear back.
The City of Ottawa also issued a statement on Nov. 8 in which it acknowledged Falun Dafa as a “creed” and said that event organizers can’t engage in discrimination.
“The City of Ottawa issues permits to hold special events, however, no permit holder or person employed by a permit holder, or agent of a permit holder, shall discriminate against any member of the public on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed (which includes Falun Gong practitioners), sex, sexual orientation, age, martial status, family status or disability, as stated in section 17 (2) of By-Law No. 2013-232,” the city’s statement said.
Extension of Persecution
The Falun Dafa Association of Canada (FDAC) says the incident is a reflection of the Chinese communist regime’s ongoing persecution of Falun Dafa and its extension into Canada.
Falun Dafa is a spiritual meditation practice based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1999. The regime sees the spiritual beliefs of the practice contrary to its own communist ideology, especially since it has a large following. Chinese government figures in the late 1990s showed that between 70 million to 100 million people were following the practice across the country.
FDAC spokesperson Grace Wollensak expressed appreciation for the festival’s apology and the City of Ottawa’s statement recognizing Falun Dafa as a protected creed.
“The apology serves as a remedy to correct the wrongs and an acknowledgment that following the CCP’s attempts to discriminate against Falun Gong in Canada is unacceptable,” Ms. Wollensak told The Epoch Times.
Ms. Wollensak also condemned the CCP’s “malign tactics to influence all different sectors of society” in a news release. She said that the incident is not isolated but rather part of the CCP’s ongoing interference on Canadian soil.
The FDAC recently published a report documenting dozens of cases in Canada in which Falun Dafa adherents were attacked verbally or physically or otherwise harassed due to Beijing’s interference.
“It’s alarming that the Chinese Embassy is extending its persecution of Falun Gong to this community event, and it is extremely concerning that it has manipulated some people’s perception to accept the CCP’s narrative on the Falun Gong issue in Canada,” the FDAC says.
“We urge Canadians to be vigilant and alert to CCP’s manipulation and resist the influence of a totalitarian regime attempting to undermine our free society in Canada.”