Alleged acts of racism highlight diversity divide in rural Ontario

As Canadians leave large cities for small towns during the COVID-19 pandemic, some racialized families are feeling vulnerable, saying they’ve been the target of racism in their new community. Tina Yazdani reports.

[aidannewton]

This happens in most small rural communities in Ontario, but then people will claim, we aren’t racist! Elora and Fergus, Ontario aren’t any better. Brought family and friends who are immigrants and we won’t go back.

[cidaliaborges]

This is wrong we can't let this stuff happen

[jpdelete]

As a born and raised Canadian person of colour who has lived and traveled all over Ontario, I can confirm racism is so blatantly obvious and well practiced in small white towns. No exposure to the real world outside their tiny community where all of them look the same. They truly believe anyone who doesn't look or act like them must be a fresh foreigner.

[WD]

This is shocking...I was born and raised here, where am I supposed to go? Imagine if we told every white Canadian to go back to England and France where they came from? I'm ashamed to the highest degree by the behaviours of those ignorant hate filled neighbours. I'm a person of colour and have been subjected to acts of racism since I was 6 years old. 30 years later, I still remember that incident as though it happened yesterday. The damage such acts cause to a child who has to grow up always looking over their shoulder, and to further solidify that fear, I've been hit by a truck crossing an intersection, I've had my property taken by police, I've been arrested when I called 911 for help against a violent act of racism committed against me, I've been shot at, stabbed, assaulted in public places, all on account of my race, religion, ethnic origin...racism is real, I can only imagine the horror stories which happened to my father who emigrated here in 1970

[HAPPYDASHII]

There is still a lot of work to do in Canada in regards to dealing with racism. As much as Canada touts itself for embracing multiculturism and diversity, just look into its history with the Indigenous and First Nations communities.

[AVEMONEYENT]

It's sad to say that This been going on for years in small Towns across Canada and its stll going on. SAD TO ALSO SAY THAT THIS DOEN"T SHOCK ME ONE BIT!

[nickclashvids]

I believe this. I live in white area and man o man is it different here then in scarborough.

[danielmills]

That's not right!!!! It doesn't surprise me though. Sad that this garbage is still happening in 2020...

[earth]

I migrated to Canada over a decade ago with a hope for better life as a skilled worker and obtained a professional license to practice in Ontario. I have many friends in Canada, and my clients appreciated my work. However, I found it very risky continuing to live in Ontario / Canada, and couldn’t continue doing any business where there is no fair legal protection and do not respect my basic human rights.

There are too many fraudulent organizations, individuals, legal professionals, and public servants with authority. People with fiduciary duty openly lie, abuse their authority, commonly downplay the significance of their criminal acts, and together try to maintain their status quo biases.

I have emigrated from Canada a year ago to protect my health and life, but am concerned about the safety of my good friends who still live in Ontario/Canada because of the corrupt legal system there.

—
Specific examples of what I have experienced:

[Employment/Criminal Case]
- Punished by the system for pointing out the risk of clients' data manipulation by the upper management of a company; legal proceedings were constantly interrupted by the Board; they have suppressed/buried the evidences that I have provided; they did not share all case files with me/the applicant but among all other parties until one minute before 5pm on the last day of the statute of limitation; the Vice Chair had interrupted the direct negotiation between the parties and closed the case by canceling the hearing; the Board’s lawyer told, 'sue the Ontario government if you have any issue';

[Civil Case]
- Ignored by the system when filed a complaint about the fraudulent practices (to LSO) and a fraudulent charge of over 10K without any itemized invoice (to the Superior Court of Justice) made by a contingency lawyer after failing to negotiate and abandoning the client(me); the lawyer is apparently a son of board members / public servants of the province and the country;

[Residential Tenancy/Public Health Case]
- Punished by the system for requesting the property owner to eradicate health hazards (toxic mold, pests, and dusts) from my living space in a residential rental property; LTB proceedings was biased and unfair, interrupted multiple times when I spoke and suppressed the use of my evidences in the hearing (e.g., a letter from a medical doctor, warning the danger of continued exposure to toxic mold), downplayed the risks of exposure to asbestos/lead and the obvious contraventions of the laws [OHSA, RTA, and municipal Property Standards by-laws] by the property owner; LTB suggested the [former] Tenant to pay for the order reviews only to decline those reviews; LTB's selective omissions of evidences that are inconvenient to the other party/ the property owner; my basic human rights were clearly violated -- no response from LTB, Tribunals Ontario, nor Human Rights Tribunals; the property owner, municipal Property Standards office, and LTB have colluded, needlessly delayed the proceedings, and closed the case after 2.5 years without issuing any order against the property owner’s contraventions of the laws, while I had continued to suffer from the prolonged exposures to health hazards (I have paid the rent in full for over a decade without any delay, even during the Covid lockdown, out of my retirement savings [I was not eligible for the government financial support during the lockdown -- no income]). At least two of sixteen units in the building had their balconies literally falling apart; cracks, wall debris, and friable materials are common in/on the building; my neighbors were afraid of falling through the cracks from the balconies of the upper floors — you'd never hear about these things in news because they are all colluded and do not issue any official orders.

[Healthcare Issue]
- I left Canada before Nov. 30, 2021, as I had serious reactions to the first Covid vaccine-shot (my immune system was compromised) but my physician had refused to diagnose them then — there was no proof of the reactions to the first shot; later the physician had made lies and terminated the doctor-patient relationship; I was required to take the second-shot, or else… I have disposed / gave away of my belongings within two weeks and left the country to protect my health and life -- fled from Canada.

Reported to CBC, but they do not reply.
Posted Gogle Reviews, but they deleted them.

[iainmair]

Disgraceful behaviour. This is 2021 not 1930.

[pauljones]

I thought Canada was friendly. I guess that is a stereotype.

[tribelessoutsider]

Things are just as bad today....3 yrs later

[dinablack]

In small towns people are more narrow-minded than in the city so I am not surprised.

[UR_FAV_zaynab]

Install a camera, capture their voice and report it to the news agency.

[zellywest]

To say the people in these small towns like Beaverton, Cannington and Sunderland are out of touch is an understatement. They're the type of people to protest against new highways or new homes being built near their towns. Most normal ones tend to leave while many stay because either it's cheap to live there and they like the commute or they don't ever want to leave. It's not a terrible way to live but what it does bring on with it is isolation from current society. The things they learn are from their parents and they get taught old morals. This just leads to racism.

It doesn't excuse what they did, but these type of things are just a sign of the progression of current societal morals spreading to the farther parts of Canada

[TheShpmusic]

This is not racism. This is Canada 😅😆🤣🤤

[mpzeng]

Typical Canadians. All that propaganda about being "welcoming", "nice" and all the rest of it, 100% bs!

[valeriofurelli]

Race or Creed it’s very saddened to hear this kind of things going on. Canada is our Country and we love it and all that comes with it.🇨🇦🙏💪

[bankai]

Back to Europe and back to Asia. Case closed.

[demi]

Hmm? Diversity was never about uniting people.