Waterloo police, hate crimes unit probe racist letters

Flyers about eugenics delivered to mailboxes

WATERLOO REGION— Waterloo Regional Police are investigating reports of racist letters warning against interracial marriages being delivered to people’s mailboxes in Kitchener-Waterloo.

The racist flyers sparked outrage among community leaders, both Black and white.

“I cannot believe it’s 2020 and that’s what people are waking up to in their mailboxes,” said Kitchener Centre MPP Laura Mae Lindo.

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic condemned the flyers, calling them “absolutely disgusting and repulsive.”

“We have an obligation to respond especially as people of white privilege who don’t live anti-Black racism on a daily basis,” he said.

Police said they received complaints from the community about the flyers, which show a stock photo of a Black man and a white woman and racist comments about interracial couples and their children.

Some of the flyers were delivered to buildings owned by Wilfrid Laurier University.

“We are unaware of who is responsible for delivering this reprehensible material. Our Special Constable Services have been advised and will be providing extra patrols,” said Laurier in a statement Wednesday.

Police spokesperson Cherri Greeno said detectives, as well as officers in the hate crime unit, are looking into the hate literature.

“This is a high priority for us and we are looking to identify those disseminating the flyers,” Greeno said Wednesday.

In a statement, Canada Post said it had no idea about the contents of the envelopes it delivered.

The offensive flyers were inside a stamped opaque envelope and placed in a street letter box.

Kitchener community advocate Donalee McIntyre said the text in the flyer is about eugenics, the study in which one group is genetically superior to all others.

“Eugenics is fake and it is race science,” she said. “Race is not real, but racism is real.”

McIntyre said racism is a daily experience for Black, Indigenous and people of colour. She said those who don’t experience discrimination need to speak up.

“We need people who are not affected by this, white people, people who claim solidarity to address views like this,” said McIntyre.