St. Boniface councillor speaks out over xenophobic image on truck

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This article was published 15/01/2017 (3519 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A sign on pickup truck telling those who can’t read English to “get out of the country” and saying those who can speak English “should thank a soldier” has raised the hackles of St. Boniface city councillor Matt Allard, who shared a photo of it on his Facebook page timeline.

“We see this type of (divisive) politics south of border and I don’t want that to come here,” Allard said Sunday. “I am going to do anything I can to nip those things in the bud.”

A concerned constituent saw the truck driving around Canada’s largest french-speaking community outside of Quebec, took a photo and sent it as a private message to Allard on Facebook. The bilingual city councillor, who is the military and veterans affairs representative for the city, couldn’t just let it go.

“To misappropriate the military in that way, it’s a slap in the face” of those who serve and why they serve, Allard said. “They’re representative of the Canadian population…I’ve never encountered anything like what was written on that truck” in his contact with Canadian Forces members, he said. “People are very respectful and friendly and from diverse backgrounds.”

It’s not the first time the good name of Canada’s military has been misappropriated by hate groups. Just before Remembrance Day, the Department of Nation Defence told administrators of a Facebook page called Ban Islam in Canada to take down its profile picture — soldiers in uniform holding the Canadian flag in front of the Kandahar airport.

“This type of message goes against our values and everything our great institution stands for,” Daniel Le Bouthillier, the head of media relations with Canada’s Department of National Defence, said on Nov. 10. “The Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces do not, in any way, shape or form, condone hate speech or acts of intolerance such as depicted on this site.” He said the DND contacted Facebook administrators to request this image be removed and they’d be sharing the information “with the appropriate authorities for consideration.” On Sunday, more than two months later, it’s still there.

In Winnipeg, Allard said he’ll call out acts of intolerance whenever he sees them.

“I used to have this policy of not engaging” — to not do anything that provides a platform for someone to share their bad behaviour and ideas. But social media gives everyone a megaphone and a stage to say anything, and that needs to be checked, Allard said. “If I see something I don’t agree with, I’m getting into the habit of challenging it. If i don’t say anything and nobody says anything, does it become OK to say anything?” If he had a chance to talk to the truck’s owner, he’d try to have a discussion to find out what motivated them.

“Often times, people will hide behind a computer or hide behind a truck and there’s no way to have a conversation,” he said.”If there’s an opportunity to have that conversation, I will have it,” he said. He’s not sure if the truck’s sign could be considered hate speech but it’s the kind of speech that needs to be countered, he said.

“If you’re going to use your right to free speech then expect those around you to use their right to free speech to tell you you’re wrong.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca