The leader of a fringe federal party was captured on video yesterday (September 1) shouting racist comments and questions at Gurratan Singh, the Ontario New Democratic Party MPP for Brampton East.

“What about sharia? Political Islam? You’re hiding, buddy. I’ll debate you anytime,” Stephen Garvey, leader of the National Citizens Alliance (NCA), said in a video taken at MuslimFest, a multi-day event in Mississauga.

“You’re full of political correctness,” Garvey continued. “I despise people like you.”

Singh, the brother of federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, responded calmly while Garvey shouted over security guards who led him to the venue’s exit.

“We don’t need that kind of racism in Canada,” Singh said.

While Singh refrained from pointing it out, he is not a Muslim. The Singhs are Sikh. (Not that it matters.)

During the exchange, Garvey repeatedly added, “I’m not racist.”

The video was captured by Mohammed Hashim, who describes himself on social media as an organizer with the Toronto and York Region Labour Council.

The NCA subsequently posted the video on its Facebook page.

“At the MuslimFest in Mississauga, NCA Leader Stephen Garvey calls out Jagmeet Singh's brother for political correctness and pandering to ethnic minorities,” the group’s description of the video reads. “It should be noted that there were other career politicians from the mainstream parties involved in the same pandering that day.”

https://twitter.com/mohashim/status/1168319828823871489

Jagmeet Singh took to social media to praise how his brother handled the situation.

“I'm proud of you brother. When hate is allowed to grow, it spreads & consumes everyone. That's why we must always call it out,” he wrote on Twitter. “And at the heart of hate is fear - and only love can conquer fear. That's why it’s so important that we take better care of each other.”