Far-right group shows flag at Saskatoon rally
`Activities of these groups in our city should be investigated,' mayor says
Alec Couros says he was concerned, but not surprised, to see video surface on social media of what appears to be a Canadian Nationalist Party flag being waved at a so-called “freedom rally” in downtown Saskatoon over the weekend.
Couros, an expert in digital citizenship and social media at the University of Regina, says white nationalist and “freedom rally” groups often overlap in the social media channels they use, whether it's Facebook forums or other websites. White supremacists and white nationalists have also been showing up at such protests in Canada and the United States.
“People could see (the flag), it was quite visible, it wasn't hidden from anyone else ... It was just at home, like anyone else's beliefs,” Couros said.
“You could argue that some people didn't know, but I would be really surprised that no one knew the symbolism.”
The Saskatoon Police Service said Monday it wasn't aware of any criminal complaints about the flag at the event, but would “investigate accordingly” if it was to receive one.
Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark said that while he knows not everyone at anti-restriction protests is part of far-right white supremacist groups, “I do believe that the activities of these groups in our city should be investigated and held accountable for any activities that spread hate or promote violence.”
`WELCOMED IN THE FRAY'
Peter Smith, a spokesman for the Canadian Anti-hate Network, said the flag that was waved at Sunday's rally, which features a red sun cross on a white-and-black background, appears to be the symbol of the Canadian Nationalist Party. The party's leader, Travis Patron, is facing several criminal charges, including wilful promotion of hatred in connection with an anti-semitic video and two counts of assault.
Smith said people affiliated with hate groups “flock to popular showings of discontent to hopefully find new followers.
“From my view, they have been welcomed in the fray,” Smith said in an email.
Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-hate Network, said online conspiracy theories about COVID -19 and protests against public health orders are helping spread dangerous ideas laden with racism and bigotry.
“We have two pandemics: We have the actual pandemic and then we have this pandemic of hate,” Balgord said.
“Things are kind of getting worse both online and offline ... with maybe one pandemic, we have kind of a solution for, but the hate thing, we don't have a vaccine for that.”
The far right has become adept at integrating populist grievances into its own narratives and exploiting them to enhance membership, said Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University, in a recent interview.
As a result, members of the far right have turned up at virtually all of the recent anti-lockdown gatherings, “trying to lend their support to that movement, and thereby garner support and sympathy, or solidarity, with their more extreme movement,” she said.
TICKETS ISSUED AFTER WEEKEND EVENT
As of Monday morning, Saskatoon police had issued 18 tickets to people who attended Sunday's anti-restriction rally.
It's the most tickets connected to a single event in the city to date.
Under Saskatchewan public health orders, no more than 10 people can gather at an outdoor event. More than 100 congregated in Saskatoon for the rally.
The people who received tickets in connection with Sunday's protest “were observed to have varying levels of involvement in the rally,” police said.
On top of the 18 tickets handed out at the rally, police also issued a ticket for a public health order violation from the weekend of April 24-25. That weekend, people gathered in Kiwanis Memorial Park for a “children's freedom rally.” With the new ticket, there have now been 12 tickets issued for public health violations in connection with that event. Saskatoon police expect to issue more tickets to those who have participated in anti-restriction events and encourage members of the public not to attend events where public health orders are being violated.
People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier spoke at the rally after making a stop in Regina the day before.
The Regina Police Service has so far issued 16 tickets in connection with Saturday's protest.