Anti-hate experts are urging policy makers to take action against what they describe as growing right-wing extremism in Canada.
One of these experts says research suggests that millions of Canadians have been drawn into the far right over the course of the pandemic, some of whom have been indoctrinated by misinformation and lies that were then amplified by the Freedom Convoy.
Evan Balgord, the executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, says the convoy’s organizers were able to successfully use the month-long February protest to recruit vaccine-hesitant people into their movement.
“They were now rubbing shoulders with, you know, racists and bigots and people who would like to use violence to overthrow the government. A portion of those people are getting further radicalized.”
GIVING COVER TO EXTREMISTS
Balgord was one of more than a dozen experts who spoke at “Hate Among Us,” an international conference held in Ottawa Tuesday that discussed solutions to growing extremism.
Although some of the Convoy’s leadership is now facing criminal charges, Balgord says the movement’s ideas are entrenched in the mainstream.
Balgord, whose organization tracked right-wing groups and monitored their activities and influence, claims that six years ago there were around 20,000 white supremacists in Canada. That’s not the case anymore, Balgord says.
Balgord estimates that there are now 10 to 15 per cent of Canadians who hold far right views, which encompass a wide range of extremist opinions including anti-government and anti-science perspectives along with racist and homophobic beliefs. Some of them may not consider themselves racist, but they are giving cover to extremists, he says.
A recent Abacus Data survey indicated that 44 per cent of the Canadian population, or 13 million Canadian adults, believe in at least one conspiracy theory. These theories include racist beliefs that political elites are trying to replace native-born Canadians with immigrants who support them, or that the World Economic Forum has a secret strategy to impose its economic plans across the globe.
GAINING POLITICAL POWER
Meanwhile polling data released earlier this month by EKOS Research showed that 25 per cent of Canadians support the anti-vaccine mandate views espoused by Convoy organizers.
In addition to this, Frank Graves, president of EKOS Research, says at least 10 per cent, or more than three million Canadians, view the current government as illegitimate. The supporters are predominately male and under 50 years old, with a high school education. Graves says this group has become a political force in Canada and gravitates toward parties on the right of the spectrum.
Conservative Party leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre marches with Canadian veteran James Topp as the Canada Marches “March to Freedom” arrives in Ottawa. (Jeremie Charron/CTV News Ottawa)
The Conservative Party of Canada’s new leader, Pierre Poilievre, has embraced convoy supporters and marched with a Canadian soldier who refused to be vaccinated.
Graves says committed convoy supporters could be a new source of finding success politically.
“But what you need then is to find simply another 10 per cent of voters who are sick to death of the current government…And I think that would provide a successful path to power. I’m not saying it’s a sure thing, but it’s certainly not implausible.”
The far right elements in that 10 per cent of voters who view the government as illegitimate can, in extreme cases, be dangerous or delusional, anti-hate experts say.
That was evident in Coutts, Alta., where RCMP arrested seized weapons and tactical gear from a group that took part in the border blockade. Some members may have had ties to the neo-fascist group Diagolon.
Court documents showed RCMP feared the extremists would shoot to kill officers.
A truck convoy of anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators continue to block the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alta., Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
In August, followers of Q-Anon Queen Romana Didulo, who don’t recognize the rule of law, attempted to place police officers in Peterborough, Ont. under citizen’s arrests.
Stephanie Carvin, a former national security analyst for the Canadian government, says before the pandemic, police were concerned about terrorist attacks from foreign players such as Al Qaida. But as the U.S. learned on Jan. 6 last year during the attack on the Capitol, the risk picture has changed – the dominant threats here are homegrown.
Stephanie Carvin, from Carleton University, says national security risks in Canada have shifted from large scale threats to buildings to targeted personal attacks on politicians.
“Jan. 6 changed things in Canada. We’re now not so much worried about bombs. We’re worried about a mob armed with hockey sticks and fire extinguishers charging at the historical parliament buildings,” Carvin said.
In June, the parliamentary protective service issued panic buttons to MPs, some of whom received death threats. Since the pandemic, the threats have become more pervasive, personal and tougher to guard against, says Carvin, who now teaches at Carleton University in Ottawa.
“It’s a much more dangerous situation when people see politicians as legitimate targets for violence.”
POLITICAL AND PUBLIC SOLUTIONS
To counter this growing threat to democracy, Heidi Beirich of U.S.-based Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, says the extremists are exploring real grievances like job losses and rising costs of living that policy makers need to address. She says Canada should pass a digital accountability law that forces social media companies to clamp down on disinformation shared on their platforms.
Bierich says community groups can organize to fight back against the hateful movement. An example is Ottawa’s “Battle of Billings Bridge” in February this year, where concerned residents blocked a roadway for hours, preventing a convoy of vehicles from joining the trucker protest that occupied Parliament Hill.
Heidi Beirich works with the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. She researches White Supremacist terrorism.
“This is a situation where we have a growing far right movement that’s a threat to a lot of things: climate change, racial injustice and sound immigration policies. The list could go on,” Bierich said.
Beirich added that it’s important for media to continue reporting on the far right and its views.
“It’s not a question of giving them oxygen. They’ve got the oxygen. The question now is are they being appropriately examined and interrogated by the press about their beliefs and ideas so other people can be inoculated from their views.”
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 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.
