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Canadian Civil Liberties Group Leader Calls for Citizens to Burn All Churches Down

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In a chilling tweet, the leader of the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) has called for more Christian churches to be torched in response to the discovery of unmarked graves on the sites of former boarding schools for Indigenous children, many of which were run by churches decades ago. 

The Western Standard reports Harsha Walia, the association's executive director, responded to news reports of two more Catholic churches being burned down. 

"Burn it all down," she tweeted.

Any attack on a religious building is classified as a hate crime in Canada, the Western Standard noted. 

Ironically, the BCCLA's website says, "We were established in 1962 by a group of academics and activists at the University of British Columbia in response to draconian police responses to religious minorities in the province."

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The backlash from social media users to Walia's proposal was almost immediate. 

One user tweeted, "This lady needs to be removed from BC Civil Liberties. She is an embarrassment to BC and she has no business been (sic) in that role. She is inciting violence and hate. It's our people that are going to pay the price for her hate speeches. Violence has no place in our society."

Another user pondered if the British Columbia Royal Canadian Mounted Police would pay her a visit, writing: "I wonder if the @BCRCMP might like a word with Miss Walia."

"Unbelievable. Can she be charged for inciting violence?" a user asked. 

Several media outlets have reported a number of churches across Canada have been burned or vandalized, some of them on indigenous land. 

Canada-based Rebel News reports even First Nation leaders and members have taken to pleading with people to stop attacking their churches. 

But others aren't quite as upset about the hate crimes against churches. Gerald Butts, the former Canadian principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, responded to a Twitter user's outrage by describing the attacks on churches as "understandable." 

Trudeau has denounced the burning and vandalism of Catholic churches. 

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About The Author

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News. Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country. In addition, he also worked as a producer-director in television production and on-air promotion. A Civil War historian, he authored the book The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory. It was the companion book to the television documentary titled Last Raid at Cabin Creek currently streaming on Amazon Prime. He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Communication from the University of