Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a knee during an anti-racism demonstration on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, EDNews.net reports citing HuffPost.
Trudeau, wearing a face mask, joined other protesters kneeling for the symbolic period of 8 minutes and 46 seconds ― the amount of time a white police officer pressed his knee into the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis last week. Floyd’s death in police custody has inspired protests worldwide.
Trudeau clapped as speakers demanded officials tackle systemic racism.
Some protesters urged Trudeau to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump’s violent rhetoric about demonstrators, reported the Canadian Press.