Infighting Amongst Canadian Islamophobes: Part 4

The previous post entitled, "Infighting Amongst Canadian Islamophobes: Part 3" was going to be the last in the series for a while as there were other articles I've been working on, but then I was given a gift by a reader that sort of screamed for a fourth entry.

In a few cities today, at least Toronto and Calgary, there were anti-Muslim rallies. The event in Calgary had only between 10 and 15 individuals show up. In Toronto, though the organizers had hoped for at least 200 and one of them (Ronny Cameron) suggested 100 had shown up, Arthur Smitherman contradicted this number:

Today the anti-Muslim protesters seemed to be outnumbered by a significant margin by anti-fascists, were kept bottled up in one area, and were unable to move.... so it was labeled a total triumph by the anti-Muslim side.

Well, there was certainly a punch. Keep reading. ;)

Infighting Amongst Canadian Islamophobes: Part 1

This past Saturday ARC reported that the Canadian chapter of the Soldiers of Odin had broken away from the Finnish parent organization because after basically two years of being presented with evidence that the founder of the Finnish chapter was a neo-Nazi and that much of the membership were neo-Nazis, the new Canadian leadership who had previously denied this reality had come to realize that the Finnish founder of the Soldiers of Odin was, indeed, a neo-Nazi.

Also, a lot of Canadian members didn't want to pay membership dues to Finland, so money was an issue.... probably the real issue.

As Stewart Bell observed in Monday's edition of the National Post however, this break has resulted in a schism within the Canadian movement:

TORONTO — The far-right group Soldiers of Odin has splintered in Canada after the two main factions turned against each other in a dispute over whether to remain aligned with their racist namesake in northern Europe.....The Finnish leaders of the anti-immigrant group responded by expelling Daniels and banning him from using the name Soldiers of Odin. The Quebec branch then said it was also splitting away from the Daniels wing. 

“There is indeed a disconnect between SOO Quebec and SOO Canada,” said the Quebec chapter president, Katy Latulippe. “As the provincial president, and with a unanimous vote, we decided that Quebec would dissociate Canada.” 

The Daniels faction “will no longer be allowed to wear the colors of the Soldiers of Odin,” she said. “It is important to know that more than 50% of the divisions in Canada do not agree with Bill Daniels and also wishes to continue their activities under the banner of the SOO.”

One wonders what the Canadian Finnish loyalists would do should they come across anyone associated with Daniels' SoO wearing the colours of the SoO in defiance of the Finnish order?

That this is all happening isn't all that much of a surprise. ARC has witnessed the rise and fall of numerous hate groups which have broken apart due to personality conflicts within the group itself. And the SoO isn't the only anti-Muslim hate group to find itself in this position in Canada either.

For example, Stewart Bell has also observed that Ron Banerjee's vanity project Rise Canada has broken with Sandra Soloman who has become the most visible personality in the Canadian Islamophobic movement:

In another development, Sandra Solomon is no longer spokesperson for the anti-Muslim group Rise Canada, which removed the link below. pic.twitter.com/7XwIfDNbj6

— Stewart Bell (@StewartBellNP) May 1, 2017

Banerjee alluded to the breaking off of ties with Soloman, though he didn't refer to her by name:

Fallout from the Kellie Leitch Presentation in Brampton

First, before I continue to far, I will be writing about the events that took place in Toronto, Brampton, and Calgary on April first, though in the meantime we direct our readers to the CBC which covered the event in Toronto.

So, it's been a rather eventful week in Canadian politics.

• Video shows Kellie Leitch at meeting with controversial critics of Islam
• Kellie Leitch didn't know anti-Islamic group was part of Brampton event, campaign manager says
• Kellie Leitch Campaign Says It Rejects Anti-Muslim Group Now Promoting Her

ARC broke the story that Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate was courting a group in Brampton that included Ron Banerjee and Rise Canada. I'll talk more about Banerjee and Rise Canada in a moment, though I would be remiss if I didn't note that Ron must be feeling at least some heat in that he deleted both the video from YouTube and the article promoting Leitch on the Rise Canada website:

Good thing I saved a copy I guess.

But the reality is that there were other items in the video that I should also have focused on:

Ron Banerjee and Rise Canada Hate Group Meets With Kellie Leitch

I'm just going to cut to the chase here and show the video. Leitch appears at the 6:43 mark:



UPDATE: Also noticed that the man who tore apart the quran at the Peel School Board meeting was also present.

Our readers are already well familiar with Canadian Hindu Advocacy, Rise Canada, and Ron Banerjee who founded and leads both hate groups, but we understand that those coming to this blog for the first time likely have no idea who Banerjee or these groups are. For those people, here are a few relevant links:

• Ron Banerjee, Andr矇 Drouin, and Rise Canada
• Rise Canada and Other Islamophobes Celebrate Their Islamophobia At Toronto Mosque
• Ford Fest Fallout: Ron Banerjee Alleged to Have Assaulted LGBT Rights Protester
• More Ford Fest Fallout: Ron Banerjee Focus Of Criminal Complaint
• PEGIDA Canada Rally Meets With Opposition: Banerjee Demands Opposition Be Shot
• Immediate Aftermath of PEGIDA Canada Rally
• Strange Bedfellows: Canadian Hindu Advocacy's Relationship with Social Conservative Christians, the JDL and the EDL
• April 2016: Bits and Bites

Banerjee also operates Twitter accounts for both Canadian Hindu Advocacy and Rise Canada in which he celebrates the deaths of Muslims and Sikhs, post misogynistic diatribes against women, and attacks the LBTGQ community. While it looks like Banerjee was not the organizer of the event, he was certainly a prominent figure who was speaking at the podium when Ms. Leitch arrived.

Kellie Leitch has become infamous during her campaign for the Conservative Party leadership for advocating immigrants be tested to determine if they conform to acceptable, "Canadian values." Below are some of the twitter posts from Banerjee on both the Canadian Hindu Advocacy and Rise Canada Twitter accounts that provide some insight into the, "Canadian values" of these two groups and Banerjee himself:

And more....

Rise Canada and Other Islamophobes Celebrate Their Islamophobia At Toronto Mosque

On February 17, Ron Banerjee, Eric Brazau, Sandra Solomon, and other Islamophobes protested in front of a mosque in Toronto. As of Saturday the Toronto Police Service claimed to be investigating the protest as a possible hate crime.

And since Banerjee was kind enough to provide video of the event, this writer decided to provide our readers with the pertinent excerpts interspersed with Banerjee's tweets and screen shots from the Facebook profiles of some to the other participants.

Yep, this writer made a video:

Yeah, it isn't great; poor production value, editing, and all that (including a rather unfortunate lapse in memory regarding the year that we are currently residing, as the first text page has the date that the rally took place as 2016 rather than 2017 UPDATE: fixed). It's my first time so cut me a little slack. But we think it provides our readers with the general tone of the protest as well as the bigotry of at least some of those involved in the protest:

Meir Weinstein and Ezra Levant, unsurprisingly, thought the protest was supper kool:

Though they wouldn't have needed the excuse be hateful towards Muslims, Banerjee and co. were reacting to M-103, a private members motion condemning Islamophobia.

Actually, lets, post the full text of the motion:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear; (b) condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination and take note of House of Commons’ petition e-411 and the issues raised by it; and (c) request that the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage undertake a study on how the government could (i) develop a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia, in Canada, while ensuring a community-centered focus with a holistic response through evidence-based policy-making, (ii) collect data to contextualize hate crime reports and to conduct needs assessments for impacted communities, and that the Committee should present its findings and recommendations to the House no later than 240 calendar days from the adoption of this motion, provided that in its report, the Committee should make recommendations that the government may use to better reflect the enshrined rights and freedoms in the Constitution Acts, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

That's it. And it is similar to the wording of another Liberal motion condemning the rise in antisemitism around the world:

a) there has been, in the words of the Joint Statement issued following the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on January 22, 2015, “an alarming increase in Antisemitism worldwide,” including the firebombing of synagogues and community centres, the vandalizing of Jewish memorials and cemeteries, incendiary calls for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people, and anti-Jewish terror; 

b) this global anti-Semitism constitutes not only a threat to Jews but an assault on our shared democratic values and our common humanity; 

Therefore the House: 

a) declares its categorical condemnation of anti-Semitism; 

b) reaffirms the importance of the Ottawa Protocol on Combating anti-Semitism as a model for domestic and international implementation; 

c) reaffirms, in the words of the Ottawa Protocol, that, “Criticism of Israel is not antisemitic, and saying so is wrong. But singling Israel out for selective condemnation and opprobrium – let alone denying its right to exist or seeking its destruction – is discriminatory and hateful, and not saying so is dishonest;” 

And the House further calls upon the government to: 

a) continue advancing the combating of anti-Semitism as a domestic and international priority; 

b) expand engagement with civil society, community groups, educators, and other levels of government to combat anti-Semitism and to promote respect, tolerance, and mutual understanding.

That motion condemning antisemitism was, rightfully, adopted unanimously.

So it would make sense that M-103 would be similarly accepted. I mean, given that this motion will be voted on in the aftermath of what appears to be a likely Islamophobic mass shooting resulting in the death of six men as well as numerous assaults on Muslims and vandalism of their places of worship, who could possibly have a problem this this non-binding motion?

Right?

Nope. People are losing their shit. Or to be more specific, demagogues such as Kelly Leitch and some other Conservative Party leadership candidates as well as Ezra Levant and his merry band at "The Rebel" are ginning up fear that this, I once again stress, non-binding motion will take away people's free speech, become an anti-blasphemy law, and impose sharia on Canadians:

Except this happened in 2015.

And despite the efforts of reasonable Conservative such as Michael Chong and rather valiant efforts by some media outlets such as the CBC, "Globe and Mail," "The National Post," and Global to inform the Canadian public as to what M-103 is and what it is not, the folks who are inclined to believe Muslims are hiding under their beds and in their closets ready to jump out one day to dress their women up in niqabs and force feed them kabobs are having none of this rational discussion and have fully embraced the crazy:

In the meantime, Liberal MP Iqra Khalid who tabled the motion spoke about the death threats she has received ("The Star" also covers these threats and sexually demeaning insults) as a result of her motion as a reason why she would not remove the word "Islamophobia" from the motion as requested by the Conservative Party. She has since been offered police protection.

You know, threats (as well as other lovely comments) like these posted yesterday:

Trump Train Derailed: Canadian Supporters Respond

You would have to be living under a rock to not be aware of what has become known as the "Trump Tape" in which Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks about sexually assaulting women on a hot mic:

In part as a result of the tape and, perhaps, his crude dismissal of it as mere "locker room" banter, Trump has seen his support collapse. Though things could change between now and November 8, it seems very unlikely that he will be the next president, despite what his supporters believe.

In Canada, Trump is generally reviled by most Canadians despite their political leanings. But that doesn't mean that he is without support in Canada, albeit from a relative fringe component of the population. Many of those Canadian fringe Trump supporters, both individuals and groups, are well known to our readers.

We're sure that our readers will not be in the least surprised that Ron Banerjee loves him his Trump.

This may be in part owing to Trump's statements regarding Muslims and Muslim-Americans, though if it is possible Banerjee is even more extreme in his views:

Banerjee often combines his hatred of Muslims with his violent misogyny: 

It then should not surprise our readers that not only does Ron Banerjee continue to support Trump, but has threatened women with retribution should Trump lose the election as a result of their vote:

April 2016: Bits and Bites

Not long ago we reported that Richard Warman had taken an interest in James Sears and "Your Ward News," noting that when Mr. Warman takes an interest in a hate group and its members, said hate groups members usually come to regret Mr. Warman's interest in them.

We would additionally note that Warren Kinsella and a number of other heavy hitters are supporting the endeavor:

For immediate release                                                      April 22, 2016 

ANTI-RACIST COALITION APPLAUDS HUMAN RIGHTS COMPLAINT

TORONTO – Don’t help spread hate.

That’s the message to Canada Post and the Government of Canada: stop helping to distribute a racist, homophobic, misogynistic, Islamaphobic and anti-Semitic tabloid to the homes of thousands of Toronto residents.

The broad coalition of citizens and anti-racism activists – which doesn’t have a name yet – welcomed the action of Ottawa human rights lawyer Richard Warman, who today formally filed a complaint that Canada Post and the federal government have violated multiple sections of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Warman’s complaint can be viewed here. 

“Richard Warman is one of the most successful human rights litigants in Canadian history,” said Bernie Farber, Executive Director of the Mosaic Institute. “He has won a dozen human rights cases he brought against various neo-Nazis, white supremacists and hate groups. We are very confident that Richard will be successful when this complaint is heard.”

For months, the coalition of citizens and activists have been trying to lobby Canada Post and Judy Foote, the minister responsible, to stop distributing a tabloid called Your Ward News. Reportedly distributed to nearly 80,000 homes in Toronto, Your Ward News regularly promotes Holocaust denial, anti-gay and anti-women hate, and flagrant racism. Canada Post has refused to act, however, and the Crown corporation has continued to take undisclosed sums to distribute the hateful rag to people who don’t want it.

The postal corporation has threatened to discipline or dismiss Canada Post workers who object to delivering the extremist tabloid. CUPW earlier this month filed a Regular Grievance with their employer over being forced to deliver “an anti-worker, anti-people, racist, sexist and homophobic publication.”

Your Ward News is edited by James Sears, who has in the past pleaded guilty to sexual assault, and lost his licence to practice medicine for sexually assaulting patients. Sears is an unabashed Hitler enthusiast, and has called the gas chambers at Auschwitz a “lie.” Other contributors to Your Ward News include Gary Schipper, a former leader of the neo-Nazi Heritage Front, who served time in jail for refusing to take down the Front’s telephone hate messages.

“It is outrageous that Canada Post and those responsible in government have turned a blind eye to the hatred that is found on every page of Your Ward News,” said Warren Kinsella, a lawyer and resident of the Beach who wrote the book Web of Hate. “We have tried repeatedly to get them to act, but they have refused. We are hopeful that Richard’s formal human rights complaint will help change that.”

The coalition is made up of a diverse group:

• Walied Soliman, a lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright 

• Jaime Watt, chairman of Navigator Ltd. and a leader in the Toronto LGBT community 

• Lisa Kinsella, Executive Vice President of the Daisy Group 

• Bernie Farber, Executive Director of the Mosaic Institute and former CEO of Canadian Jewish Congress 

• Derek Richmond, Third Vice President, CUPW Scarborough Local 

• Barbara Joy, public and government relations consultant and East Toronto resident 

• John Wright, pollster and public affairs executive 

• Ian Davey, former Chief of Staff to the Federal Leader of the Opposition 

• Jill Fairbrother, principal of Fairbrother and Partners Inc. 

• Kelly Fairchild, a feminist and East Toronto resident who has organized a petition against the hate rag 

• Judy Csillag, Canadian Race Relations Foundation 

For further information, contact: 

Lisa Kinsella 

lisa@daisygroup.ca 

(416) 642-3100 

So far the story has been picked up by a number of msn publications:

• Lawyer urges Canada Post to halt distribution of extremist newsletter
• Complaint filed against Canada Post for east Toronto tabloid delivery
• Why an Ottawa Lawyer Filed a Human Rights Complaint About an East Toronto Tabloid
• Human rights complaint filed against controversial newspaper
• Human rights complaint filed against Canada Post and federal government over ‘offensive’ newspaper

Still, Sears does have his supporters. Of course, his supporters are a repulsive as he is but.... actually, I'm not sure quite where I was going with that train of thought. In any case, here's Paulie:

Also owner of "Your Ward News" LeRoy St. Germaine has been making overtures to other hate groups

Oh, we are going to have SO much fun with our next article on the Soldiers of Odin. 

Speaking of hateful people, Ron Banerjee.

Really, we almost don't have to write any more. But we will.

That Banerjee hates Sikhs as much as he does Muslims isn't new to our readers. What is new is that he is now sending out press releases justifying physical attacks against Sikhs in Canada.

Banerjee is suggesting the attack on a Sikh man in Quebec was a direct result of Sikh terrorism (though his first point equating requests for reasonable accommodation with terrorism might be a bit of a stretch) and that the men who engaged in the attack should be praised:

Yep, there's video.

Note how brave these men really are:

Yep, drunkenly berating someone with racial taunting, then ganging up three on one to assault him, sure struck a blow against terrorism.

But then this isn't the only problematic video for Banerjee.

A little over a month ago, Banerjee decided that he was going to engage in a little bit of street preaching:

This video was taken by a person who posted it on reddit. Evidently one woman, not appreciating being told to cover up and dress modestly by a bunch of misogynistic assholes. took matters into the own hands and flashed them. The first street preacher was apparently so upset by being subjected to secondary sexual characteristics that he left the scene.

Banerjee? Well, we're sure he was torn. On the one hand he hates women. On the other, he's a sexually repressed pervert.

So what's a sexually repressed, misogynistic, pervert to do in this situation?

Creepy perv for the win apparently:

Oh yeah. We probably have mentioned it already, but Banerjee also loves him some Trump.

Finally, in news that will surprise no one, we've learned why Hitler-loving Buddhist and Fromm supporter ($$$) has been quite for a while. [NOTE: Thanks for catching the spelling error]

He was committed:

 

Sigh....

Look, we genuinely feel badly for anyone suffering from bipolar disorder. But we would hope that Mr. Ruhe would perhaps take some time to consider that believing Hitler as a spiritual guru might lead a few to reasonably consider that you've taken leave of your senses.