Paul Fromm |
Last week in Calgary Paul Fromm and a group from the Aryan Guard protested in front of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s constituency office with signs ‘Stand Up, Send the Illegals Back’. This weekend, Paul Fromm organized a rally at Esquimalt to oppose the landing of the MV Sun Sea. In a press release, he made absurd and false allegations about the boat being found with drugs and explosives.
“Paul Fromm, now fronting as the leader of the Canada First Committee, is a known neo-Nazi leader and one of Canada’s most notorious white supremacists. Fromm has spoken at Heritage Front events, including a celebration of Hitler’s birthday. He cannot be given an uncritical platform to spew his hate,” says Maitland Cassia of Anti Racist Action- Vancouver.
Fromm received prominent media coverage all weekend including by the Toronto Star, Canadian Press, CTV, and CFAX 1070 with little mention of his notorious links. According to Shane Calder of the Victoria Anti Racist Network, “Government officials and media outlets should all be aware about his extremist white supremacist links, and should report on them. It should be absolutely unacceptable that well-known neo-Nazis and white supremacists are openly organizing rallies for the ship to be sent back.
We should all be organizing counter-rallies against in response to their hateful and oppressive views.”
“It is frightening when Vic Toews and Paul Fromm are parroting the same unsubstantiated lies about terrorists, criminals and illegals to justify public hysteria and a large security operation. Is this really the direction we want to be going in? Or do we want to stand on the side of refugee justice, compassion, and respect for life?” states Magin Payet Scudalleri, a member of No One Is Illegal-Vancouver.
“We should refrain from stereotyping these migrants and remember that they have survived a long and arduous journey in the hopes that the Canadian state will fully comply with its international refugee and human rights law obligations to the right to asylum” Scudalleri said.
The Link Paper