By Harinder Mahil

Mounties in Chilliwack have arrested one person over “discriminatory and harmful language” posted on social media.

Chilliwack RCMP said in a news release Saturday, August 17, that they were notified on July 17 about an X user who had been posting “racially offensive” content on the platform. The detachment said it worked with the BC Hate Crimes Unit and members of the public to identify the suspected user of the account, and made an arrest on Aug. 7.

Police did not name the suspect, who has been released from custody. 

Chilliwack RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Carmen Kiener told The Canadian Press the arrested person is a woman who was allegedly targeting members of the South Asian community.

“This is a sensitive matter that has impacted many members of our community, which is evident in the amount of information that continues to be reported to the Chilliwack RCMP,” said Kiener, in the news release.

According to sources familiar with the case, the suspect is a 52-year-old woman who has ben spreading hate against immigrants, particularly South Asians for some time.

This is how one person responded to a story on a Chilliwack based website: “I saw someone post about this in the Chilliwack subreddit. She was posting a lot of crazy racist …., but this woman took it one step further, filming herself driving around swearing at random south Asian people minding their own business, verbally abusing them with every nasty racist word you can think of. .. So, to the people on here saying omg you tweet something and they’ll arrest you, no she was doing vile s… to people in person, that’s what gets you arrested.”

According to the Fraser Valley Today, the suspect has also reportedly set up an online fundraiser, similar to GoFundMe, seeking donations from people to defend herself.

Although I applaud the RCMP for the arrest, it is just a tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds of others who are spreading hate against persons of colour especially South Asians in various cities across Canada. 

Anti-hate experts and researches say Canada’s far-right is shifting its focus to spreading conspiracy theories and sowing hate towards South Asian and Sikh communities in Canada. 

There are numerous cases where racists have photographed or made videos of South Asians without their consent and encouraging others to do the same while spreading misinformation and harmful narratives about them.

The Global Project Against Hate and Racism, an organization tracking transnational hate and far-right extremism,reported a large increase in hate and slurs directed toward South Asians globally since January 2023.

Today’s growing far right poses a serious challenge to a more just and fair world. They are a root cause for why we cannot move forward on so many global challenges from racial and social justice to critical issues such as the climate crisis. This rise of white supremacy and far-right extremism is perhaps the greatest threat to inclusive societies and democracies worldwide. We must not allow it to grow unchecked.

Public education of the dangers of far-right extremism is crucial to effecting change, reducing bigotry, and creating culture shifts toward a more inclusive society.

Together we can combat the spread of global hate and extremism.

Harinder Mahil is a human rights activist and is president of the West Coast Coalition Against Racism (WCCAR).