Convicted or not, Canadian neo-Nazi Zeiger’s ideas will not pass | Canada News Media
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Convicted or not, Canadian neo-Nazi Zeiger’s ideas will not pass

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Montreal, July 11, 2022 – As the trial of one of Canada’s most notorious neo-Nazis, Gabriel Sohier-Chaput, wraps up in Montreal today, Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV) stands with anti-fascist activists and all people who have been targetted by his hateful ideas and actions. Sohier-Chaput, also known as “Zeiger”, was a leading editor and administrator for the neo-Nazi blog “The Daily Stormer” before being exposed by anti-fascist activists in a series of explosive articles that caught the country’s attention in 2018. The Montreal-resident cowardly fled the city after having his identity exposed, and in 2020 was charged with one count of wilful promotion of hate propaganda. He pleaded not guilty. The trial began with three days of arguments in February, but did not reach a conclusion at that time. The Crown will give its final arguments on the fourth and final day of the trial today.

 

“Regardless of the outcome of this trial, we need to send a clear message that Sohier-Chaput’s fascist ideology has no place in our society,” says Aaron Lakoff, IJV’s Communications and Media Lead.

 

Even though Sohier-Chaput wrote between 800 and 1000 articles during his time as editor of the Daily Stormer, he is only being charged for a single article, which targets Jews.

 

“Antisemitism is a reprehensible, deadly force, and it is far from the only form of hatred that Sohier -Chaput has espoused,” continued Lakoff. “It is mind-boggling that Sohier-Chaput is only being charged for one article, while his writing has applauded violence against people of colour, Muslims, queer folks and women for years.”

 

Recent mass shootings in the USA such as the ones in Buffalo or Pittsburgh have shown us that antisemitism,white supremacy and Islamophobia often combine as a deadly cocktail. And the toxic ideas that Sohier-Chaput espoused have led to too much bloodshed.

 

“While antisemitic and white supremacist violence has broken the hearts and bodies of so many communities, we must come together to stop future attacks,” says Lakoff. “Jews, Muslims, Palestinians, Arabs, Black folks, queer and trans folks have been the targets of neo-Nazis like Zeiger, but we can also be powerful allies in stopping fascism once and for all”.

Prior instances of the charge of promoting hatred under the Criminal Code have shown it to be difficult legally. And ignoring all of the other toxic activity of this man may make it more so.

“If the court decides Zeiger is not guilty, that is far from a vindication,” says Lakoff. “IJV will continue to support anti-fascist organizing against antisemitism and racism”.

 

To recall, Sohier-Chaput participated in the infamous Charlottesville alt-right riots in 2018, which saw hundreds of fascists chanting racist and antisemitic slurs, and led to the death of anti-fascist activist Heather Heyer. Anti-fascist activists will be demonstrating outside the Palais de Justice today during the trial, beginning at 11am. A member of IJV-Montreal will be giving a speech at the rally.

 

Media contact: Aaron Lakoff, IJV Communications and Media Lead, 514-317-6288, aaron@ijvcanada.org

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.

The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.

The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.

The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.

The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.

MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.

In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.

“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.

“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”

In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.

“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.

The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.

“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”

The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.

The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.

A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.

Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.

Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.

Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.

“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.

“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”

Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.

“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.

Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.

“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”

But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.

Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.

“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.

Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.

The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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