'The time for talk is over': community groups back motion for more concrete action to fight anti-Asian racism
A coalition of community groups is backing a motion from several city councillors to go beyond denouncing anti-Asian racism in Montreal.
They say the time for talk is over, and the city needs to do more as Montreal police data shows anti-Asian hate crimes rose since the start of the pandemic.
"Covid has brought out the haters. It's challenged every fundamental assumption we have about Canadian values," said Montreal city councillor Marvin Rotrand.
A motion from Rotrand supported by dozens of community groups and several other councillors will be debated by council next week. It calls for the commissioner to meet with community groups without delay, for Montreal and the STM to release tangible measures to address hate crimes, and to officially recognize May as Asian Heritage Month.
The motion focuses solely on anti-Asian racism, but is endorsed by Jewish, Muslim and Black community groups, in a year where all have reported a rise in hate incidents.
It comes one year after another motion was adopted unanimously to denounce anti-Asian racism, after several incidents were reported on public transit and in the streets, including one Korean man being stabbed in NDG last year.
"We have been involved actively in getting the motion through city council to call on the City of Montreal to act and act firmly," said Fo Niemi, executive director for the Montreal-based Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations.
Since then, council has voted to beef up Montreal police’s hate crime unit, and appointed the city's first-ever Commissioner for the Fight Against Racism, but getting a meeting with her appears to be a challenge.
"Commissioner Bochra Manai has been in office for six months. We have not heard from her and we are not aware of any major Asian group that has," said Minda Massone of the Federation of Filipino Canadian Association of Quebec.
Bryant Chang, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Montreal, said he’s heard a lot of talk about taking action, but said he has yet to see any action.
"As of today, we have not seen anything concrete to deal with hate crimes," he said. "We hear a lot of speeches, we hear a lot of Facebook posts, but not much else. The time for talk is over."
A spokesperson for Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said in a statement the city is “more than ever committed to fighting racism and discrimination against Montrealers of Asian origin.”
"We are already well into action to combat this problem on several fronts," the statement read.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.