An anti-fascism group will march in the Royal City at a rally this Sunday after racist, neo-Nazi flyers were spotted in the city last weekend.
The flyers were found at a bus stop in the 300 block of Sixth Street Saturday morning. They reportedly promoted fascism as the “key for a new Canada” and warned against an impending race war. It’s believed the posters were meant to be recruiting tools, similar to other posters found in cities like Abbotsford and Richmond in recent months, according to Imtiaz Popat, a member of Coalition Against Bigotry and one of the organizers of the upcoming rally.
Popat was surprised to hear neo-Nazi posters were found in New Westminster; it’s the first time such literature has been found north of the Fraser River. On Sunday, Popat joined with about 200 other people at a Sikh temple in Abbotsford to protest similar neo-Nazi literature that’s been distributed in the community recently.
“People think it’s a joke, it’s not,” he said when asked what could be done to stops these hate groups.
To his dismay, Popat said it took law enforcement in Abbotsford longer than desired to take the issue seriously. Popat hopes that won’t be the case moving forward. He’d like to see government use provincial anti-hate legislation against these groups.
“There’s a whole group of neo-Nazi fascist groups that have been organizing for a long time and the rise of Donald Trump has given them the green light to start doing this again,” he said.
As for the New Westminster rally on Sunday, Popat hopes it’ll put pressure on the authors of the hate-filled leaflets.
“This is our hood, and we need to say something,” he said. “It’s scary.”
Popat encourages everyone to come out and take a stand on Sunday. The rally begins at 1 p.m. at Eighth and Columbia streets at Hyack Square.
The New Westminster Police Department have confirmed they are investigating the appearance of the posters and are looking for surveillance footage from the area around the bus stop.
Investigators are also in contact with Coast Mountain Bus Company to see if any of its drivers saw anything suspicious, acting Sgt. Jeff Scott, spokesperson for the New Westminster Police Department, told the Record.
The B.C. Hate Crimes Team has also been in touch with investigators to determine if the posters found in New Westminster are connected to other posters that have popped up in other cities in the Lower Mainland recently, Scott said.
Vigil planned
Thursday, New Westminster MLA Judy Darcy and other community leaders are holding a vigil in front of city hall to show New Westminster is united against racism.
“I think it’s important as a community that we are public and visible in saying that we stand for equality and diversity and community and that everyone is welcome,” Darcy told the Record.
Darcy was also surprised to learn racist leaflets had been found in New West; it was like a “dagger to the heart,” she said.
The #NewWestUnited vigil starts at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26 at city hall.
