Racism denounced in Niagara
Hate is not going to spread in Niagara.
That was one of the messages more than a hundred people delivered as they gathered across the street from the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls on Saturday.
The Niagara AntiRacism Coalition organized a rally across from the entrance to the international border crossing after learning that Storm Alliance, a group that identifies as “ultranationalist,” had organized a demonstration at the site, as well as at several other locations across Canada.
A poster on a Storm Alliance support group’s Facebook page promoting the Niagara event called for a “stop to illegal immigration.”
But prior to the event, Storm Alliance told Postmedia that while the group was officially endorsing rallies in other areas of the country, it was no longer endorsing or promoting the event in Niagara because it could not “guarantee the conduct of the participants/organizers.”
While the Niagara AntiRacism Coalition organized the counterprotest, people from several other groups and organizations joined them to promote inclusion and diversity.
Sid Lacombe of Toronto said he attended the rally to “stop the bigots who were proposing a rally here at the Rainbow Bridge.”
Lacombe, who helped to hold a Large Welcome Refugees! sign, said they only had to deal with a “few” opponents.
“They had leaflets. We chanted at them and they left. There’s three or four of them, and more than 100 of us, and that’s the way we want it. That’s what the proportion is in Canadian society. There’s a very small percentage of the population who are bigots, and we outnumber them everywhere they are.”
Sandra Frayne of Pelham said she attended because she felt it was important for people to see that “ordinary people believe that Canada needs to be an open, free and accepting place, and that there’s no room for hate or racism in Canada.”
Karrie Porter, founder of the Niagara AntiRacism Coalition, said she believes about seven “white supremacists” made up the opposition.
“I think that the political situation over the last couple of years has emboldened white supremacists,” she said. “We’ve had white supremacists in Niagara before, in the ’90s, and it took all kinds of organizing to stop their spread of it. This is why we’re here, we’re stopping the spread of it.”
Porter said the other side has a “very difficult” time organizing because “they have very bad ideas.”
“Our side has won today. We have better ideas, we have more support. We have Presbyterians here, Mennonites, Unitarians. We have Quakers, we have Jewish people, we have Muslim people, we have the Indigenous community here. We also have a strong presence from the labour movement. If they try to organize again, we’re going to have more people here. This is just the beginning. Hate is not going to spread in Niagara.”
Porter said “there’s no such thing as illegal immigration,” and that Canada Border Services Agency has officers who are trained to interview people and keep the international border safe.
While the rally across from the Rainbow Bridge was free from any serious confrontations, there was a clash between two sides at another area in Niagara Falls.
When some people at the bridge rally heard there were some with the opposing view gathering elsewhere, they decided they wanted to find them and counter their views with their opinions.
As a group of people were walking along Victoria Avenue, near Falls Avenue, they came across a man on a motorcycle with a confederate flag patch on the back of his jacket and helmet.
After some verbal exchanges from both sides, the man drove his motorcycle off the road, and on the sidewalk where the group of people were standing. The group of people moved out of the way and some began hitting the man with their signs as he drove on the sidewalk, and the man got off his motorcycle to confront the group.
After the confrontation, the man drove off, and the group of people continued to walk along Victoria Avenue, when they came across three men standing outside of a business near Jepson Street. The men had several leaflets, including one that read in all capital letters: “What part of illegal don’t you understand enforce our laws protect Canada.”
Both sides began having a civil conversation.
None of the three men wanted to provide their names when a reporter approached them for comment.
“I’d rather not give you my name because people like this will use my name to find my address and vandalize my home, as has been done to other patriots,” said the one man.
“Four of us came walking down here handing out fliers today. I have had bottles of water and hot chocolate dumped on me. My hands are sticky. Notice all the hot chocolate all over the fliers? See my stains?”
The man said they want to “bring to light and keep people informed about the illegal immigration that is flooding our country.”
“We have no issues with proper, legal immigration to Canada. The problem is a mass influx of illegal immigrants crossing our borders — it’s got to stop.”
A woman who overheard the man’s comment yelled out “We accept refugees,” before a man said Canada is bound by the Geneva Refugee Convention.
A short time later, the man on the motorcycle who had the prior confrontation with the group drove into the parking lot of the business near Jepson Street. Again both sides had a verbal exchange.
Three Niagara Regional Police cruisers were parked in the lot, and an officer asked people gathered to move closer to the sidewalk, and away from the doors of the business.
When the motorcyclist was approached for comment, he identified himself as Randy Sanderson. Asked why he drove his motorcycle up on the sidewalk where the group was standing, he said it was because he felt physically threatened.
“You want to throw the finger at me, call me … names, I ain’t gonna stand for nothing,” he said. “You want to throw something at me, then guess what, I fight back.”
He said he doesn’t like communism or illegal immigration. The man said he doesn’t welcome refugees, unless they’re properly vetted.
Then come in, assimilate to our community. That’s absolutely not happening.”
He also said if the group “actually learned anything about history they would know that the confederate flag means nothing about racism.”
A woman who overheard the man’s comment yelled out: “The confederate flag is a racist f-----symbol.”
“Read a history book,” responded Sanderson before the woman said he was “upholding racism.”