Racist Episodes Rampant In Quebec -- Groups Blame Light Sentences Handed Out In Hate-Literature Case

MONTREAL - An outbreak of racist incidents in Quebec this past weekend is a direct result of the lenient sentences last week to three men who smuggled Ku Klux Klan material into Canada, anti-racist groups say.

KKK hate literature was distributed in Sherbrooke and the Montreal suburb of Verdun over the Easter weekend, and a confrontation between a large group of neo-Nazi skinheads and a group of Latin Americans in Montreal was narrowly averted when police stepped in.

"The KKK and their followers are snubbing their nose at the justice system," Alain Dufour, president of the World Anti-Fascist League, said yesterday. "The ridiculous sentence last week is what inspired this and, unless we act, the violence will escalate."

Last week, Eric Vachon, the self-described leader of the Quebec KKK, Jean-Pierre Bergeron and Stephane Pigeon were fined more than $400 each for smuggling 1,250 copies of the Klansman into Canada last November.

They faced charges of violating customs regulations because Quebec refused to press criminal charges pertaining to distribution of hate literature.

KLANSMAN GIVEN OUT

This weekend, the Klansman, which is banned in Canada, was once again distributed door to door in two communities, and community leaders warned that it could provoke a dangerous increase in violence.

"The situation is very volatile in Montreal right now," said Leith Hamilton, president of the Black Community Council of Quebec.

"You just have to look at the dramatic increase in racially motivated crimes against blacks for proof. Do we have to protect ourselves, or are the authorities going to take their responsibilities?"

In January, police arrested a group of neo-Nazi skinheads minutes before they were going to firebomb an apartment where a black family lived in Montreal. And there have been a number of fights between gangs of blacks, and white neo-Nazis in past months, the most recent on Friday.

Jack Jedwab, director of community relations at the Canadian Jewish Congress, said politicians and other government officials have to speak out now because the number of incidents is bound to grow dramatically if they are not loudly condemned and severely punished. "We have to redouble our guard and ensure vigilance or it's going to be a long, hot summer," he said.

Dufour said racist incidents always increase in the spring and summer, when groups of youths tend to congregate outdoors. He warned that the massive outdoor celebrations planned this summer for Montreal's 350th anniversary could be a powder keg.

Police and the justice system have to start dealing with the racial element of these crimes or they will be faced with many more racially motivated crimes, he said.

Meanwhile, a group of parents from Little Burgundy, a downtown neighborhood with a high percentage of black residents, complained that police are part of the problem.

"We should have our rights respected and our lives protected no matter the color of our skins," said Mona Jackson, who said her son Trevor, 14, was arrested, handcuffed and roughed up by police on Good Friday before being released without being charged. The teen had attended an Expos baseball game with fellow army cadets, but because he was black and out at night, police assumed he had committed a crime, Mona Jackson charged.

MOVING TARGETS

Hamilton said this sort of complaint is, unfortunately, an everyday occurrence.

"Because of tensions between police and our community, everyone in Little Burgundy is a moving target."

Lt. Jacques Lyon said police received only one complaint about the racist literature. He said police have done everything in their power and the material will be turned over to the Quebec Justice Department.

No police official was available yesterday for comment at the station that is responsible for patrolling Little Burgundy. One officer, who requested anonymity, said there would be no comment because the alleged incident involved young people who, under the provisions of the Young Offenders Act, cannot be identified.