Police have launched an investigation after racist ‘whites-only’ poster were found in a city near Vancouver, Canada.
On September 25, CBC News located “Whites-only Moms and Tots” signs, which had been partially removed, at the Coquitlam Centre, a shopping mall in the Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam, B.C.
Coquitlam is one of the most multiracial cities in Greater Vancouver and is home to a large Korean community.
The posts also appeared on social media, including Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). “Are you looking for somewhere your children can play with others that look like them?” the flyer asks, advertising a “Whites-only Moms and Tots” group. The signs advertise a play group for mothers and children to “join other proud parents of European children as we create an atmosphere in which our kids feel like they belong.”
The posters were plastered all over the street, including around a large storefront in the center of town, but some were torn down. The city’s authorities immediately scrambled to remove them after receiving a report over the weekend.
City officials in Metro Vancouver have described signs advertising a “whites-only” social group for mothers and children as “vile garbage.” “We received a report and searched the area, including all bus stops,” the three cities said in a joint statement, emphasizing that “This vile garbage isn’t welcome in our community, or anywhere else.”
In its statement, Port Coquitlam condemned the signs and the group they advertise “in the strongest terms,” adding that the city “promotes an environment without hate.”
The City of Coquitlam said in a release that the notices are racist because they “explicitly exclude” certain groups based on their race, and they have no place in the city. “Coquitlam encourages initiatives that promote unity, understanding and appreciation of the differences that make our community inclusive,” it said, adding that any posters in the city would be removed.
BY SOUNGBIN IM [im.soungbin@joongang.co.kr]
