One of the strongest — and now silenced — voices in the run-up to Britain’s Brexit referendum is being remembered on what would have been her 42nd birthday.
Labour MP Jo Cox, a vocal proponent of Britain remaining in the European Union, was shot and killed last Thursday on a street in her district in northern England.
Cox’s husband and two young children will gather today with her friends in London’s Trafalgar Square for a vigil. Memorials will also be held in Brussels and Ottawa.
Cox was “impressive, smart, committed,” said Lina Holguin of Oxfam Quebec in a statement. Holguin and Cox worked together at the humanitarian group years ago.
“Jo truly believed that it was possible to make the world a much fairer, peaceful and just place.”
Cox’s killing appears to have been politically motivated. The suspect, 52-year-old Thomas Mair, gave his name as “Death to traitors, freedom for Britain” in court.
The statement from Oxfam includes an open letter, signed by more than 1,500 parliamentarians from around the world, including Canada, calling for tolerance and diversity.
“We must as societies stand together to stem the poisonous rising tide of fear and hate that breeds division and extremism,” the letter says.
The Canadian signatories include NDP MP Nathan Cullen, who lauded Cox’s work and life in a tearful address to Parliament last week.