Racism: Hateful mail distributed in Langley
Flyers filled with anti-immigrant messages have been found in Langley and throughout the Fraser Valley.
by Erin McKay
Racist hand-outs have ended up in Langley mailboxes, and while their message is offensive, the RCMP's Hate Crimes Unit is not too worried about them.
"We'd love to know who is doing it," said Sgt. Mark Graf, "but we are not spending a great amount of time or effort on them. There are other things that are higher priorities."
Over the past week or two, Langley RCMP received a handful of complaints from residents who found the flyers in with their mail.
The hand-outs did not get delivered with local newspapers.
Cpl. Diane Blain, spokesperson for the Langley RCMP, said such issues are not handled at a detachment level, but instead the information is collected and forwarded to E Division's Hate Crimes Unit.
The flyers have turned up in other communities, including Surrey and Mission, and while Blain said such racist attacks are "really unusual" in Langley, Graf noted that similar hand-outs circulate two or three times a year in the Lower Mainland.
"Nobody wants them in their mailbox," Graf said, but added that the two-man Hate Crimes Unit is responsible for all of the province, and puts a higher priority on dealing with more personal offences.
He added that it is not known who is responsible for distributing the flyers locally, and advised those who find a flyer to contact their local police detachment.
The Canadian Jewish Congress has condemned the flyers, which target immigrants and appear to originate from a Virginia-based white supremacist group.
"All non-Aboriginal Canadians are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, which makes this extreme anti-immigration material seem quite absurd," said Mark Weintraub, Chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region.
"The danger lies in the fact that this type of clearly mean-spirited attack exploits ignorance and pre-existing prejudice," he added.
"I am proud that here in Canada we have established a culture of respect for diversity," Weintraub said. "We cannot permit those with ignorant minds and hard hearts to harm our fellow Canadians."
published on 11/11/2005
http://www.langleyadvance.com/issues05/112205/news/112205nn6.html
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