OTTAWA, Ontario — VIA Rail Canada says it will work with the National Council of Canadian Muslims to improve its diversity training following an incident in which a Muslim man was told by a security guard not to pray at VIA’s Ottawa station.
In a press release, the passenger operator said it had met with the council and “engaged in a constructive dialogue following the regrettable and saddening incident” on Monday [see “VIA Rail Canada apologizes …,” Trains News Wire, March 21, 2023].
VIA said it had committed to sharing its diversity and inclusion policies and training program with the council and to working with the organization on improvements “to help prevent these incidents in the future.” The company reiterated its apologies to the entire Muslim community and “reaffirmed that VIA Rail strongly condemns Islamophobia as well as any form of discriminatory behavior.”
The Ottawa Citizen reports that National Council of Canadian Muslims spokeswoman Fatema Abdalla said the organization did not feel VIA’s initial apology went far enough, but viewed Thursday’s talks positively.
“I wouldn’t say we’re satisfied entirely, but we have had productive conversations,” she said. “We’re going to keep an eye out on how this proceeds next to see the diversity material that VIA has committed to passing over to us.”
VIA said in its statement that it was grateful to be able to count on the guidance and support of the National Council of Canadian Muslims to improve its passenger and employee experience and is looking forward to cultivating a fruitful collaboration with them.”
