Fredericton’s mayor has issued a public apology for characterizing the protest convoy that hit Fredericton as peaceful after the commissioner for systemic racism pointed out some signs and acts of racism and anti-Semitism.
On Wednesday, Kate Rogers tweeted from her account, saying, “When I referred to the protest this past weekend as peaceful, I meant that it was contained and managed without use of force.”
“I understand that my characterization of the protest minimized the impact felt by members of our community and I am sorry,” the tweet went on to say.
Images of signs depicting the Star of David surfaced during the protests on Feb. 11 and 12.
“I am disgusted that anti-Semitic and white supremacist symbols were used,” Rogers wrote on social media. “As I have previously expressed, I agree that they are hateful and cause trauma. They have no place in our city or civil society.”
The apology came after Manju Varma issued a statement calling out the images.
“I can count racist symbolism and imagery directly tied to or explicitly referencing white ethnonationalism, white supremacy, antisemitism, anti-refugee hate, and far-right extremism,” she wrote in a statement.
“Let me be absolutely and unequivocally clear: these are acts of violence.”
She said, “continuing to pretend that this ‘rally’ is not a cover for a maturing anti-government, anti-pluralist, rightwing movement will not combat the rising hate in New Brunswick.”
Varma said it is wrong to call these events peaceful. She said in her statement that these images, no matter how many there were, cause needless trauma.
The protest began on Feb. 11 with more than 300 people in attendance. On Feb. 12, it grew to about 700 protesters and more than 300 vehicles, which circled the block around the New Brunswick’s legislature.
Dr. Gary Waite, a historian and professor emeritus from the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, said the use of these symbols is wrong and shouldn’t be tolerated, saying they represent oppression and persecution.
“It trivializes it, it trivializes what actually happened,” Waite said. “It trivializes the Holocaust, it trivializes that horrible, horrible time when millions of people suffered, when we sent our own soldiers to fight for freedom.”
Premier Blaine Higgs also denounced any acts of racism or antisemitism associated with the protests.
“I consistently used the word ‘unacceptable’ and that is how I still feel,” he said in a statement. “The actions of any protesters that were not peaceful, or that promote hate or violence, or target specific groups, is unacceptable and there is no place for it in our province.”
Police issued three emergency measures act tickets with appearances scheduled in April, as well as three arrests for criminal charges for breach of the peace, four motor vehicle tickets, two tickets for fireworks and three parking tickets.