By Montreal Gazette |
The Montreal police department’s hate crimes unit has been assigned to investigate the posting of an anti-immigrant banner late Sunday outside the Olympic Stadium, which has been used to house the overflow of migrants who have been crossing into Canada from the United States.
By Montreal Gazette |
The Montreal police department’s hate crimes unit has been assigned to investigate the posting of an anti-immigrant banner late Sunday outside the Olympic Stadium, which has been used to house the overflow of migrants who have been crossing into Canada from the United States.
But a police spokesperson stressed on Tuesday that the unit’s immediate mandate would be to determine whether any crime had in fact been committed.
“They’ll be verifying things,” said Const. Manuel Couture, adding that the department would also be in contact later in the day with police in Quebec City.
The banner, which reads “Remigration,” an expression that calls for migrants to return to their own countries, was apparently posted at the stadium on Sunday night. Olympic Installations Board security noticed the sign and tore it down on Monday, and OIB officials notified Montreal police about the incident.
The right-wing group Atalante is claiming responsibility on its Facebook page for posting the sign and several others in Montreal and Quebec City.
While an increase of migrants crossing into Quebec from the United States has been noted for the past three months, the issue was brought into sharp focus on Aug. 2, when news broke that the number of migrants was so great the Olympic Stadium needed to be pressed into service as housing.