Alta. town in spotlight over rally

INNISFAIL, Alta. — Bigoted online vitriol almost derailed a Black Lives Matter event planned in a central Alberta town, but the mayor of Innisfail said he has not heard from residents experiencing racism there.

Organizer Brittany Bovey initially postponed the rally planned for Saturday in Innisfail following an onslaught of Facebook comments mocking the Black Lives Matter movement and denying racism is a problem.

The gathering is back on thanks to a wave of support, although it is now to be a “community conversation” rather than a march or protest.

A Black man in Minneapolis died last month after a police officer pressed his knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes. Anger over George Floyd’s death has spurred large protests around the world calling for an end to systemic racism and police brutality.

Innisfail Mayor Jim Romane said he’s been watching news coverage of massive marches around the world, but never would have figured his town of 8,000 south of Red Deer would be swept up in the issue.

“You think it’s something out in the other part of the world somewhere and it doesn’t affect little old Innisfail,” he said Tuesday.

Romane said the town stands against racism and that nonwhite residents have never raised it as an issue with him.

“I’ve yet to hear of problems,” he said.

“This young lady seems to think it is an issue and wants to get Innisfail on the map and declare ourselves against racism. I don’t have any problem with that at all.”

Romane added that he didn’t mean to downplay anti-Black racism when he said in an interview with the Calgary Herald on Monday that “all lives matter.”

“I meant to say that everybody’s equal, so why all of a sudden do Black lives seem to be predominant over anybody else? I just put everybody on the same level playing field.”