‘Unacceptable’: Swastikas graffitied on Châteauguay businesses, municipal buildings

Multiple buildings in Châteauguay, south of Montreal, have been graffitied with swastikas.

Wednesday morning, at least four storefronts at a strip mall on Kepler Street were targeted with both swastikas and racist graffiti. 

“Now we don’t feel like safe like this. So I don’t know what to think about. I don’t know if it like just happened and it goes or it’s going to continue like this,” said Iqbal Hussain, the owner of Lal Kella Tandoori.

Châteauguay police are investigating the incidents, which have been going on for the last two weeks.

Businesses, municipal buildings, municipal infrastructure, and buildings housing community groups have been targeted.

“We don’t think it’s aiming at a specific group so far. All the signs that were made in the city, they’re not aiming a specific group. So they’re investigating to find who’s doing that,” said Éric Allard, Mayor of Châteauguay.

“I don’t think it’s aiming at the Jewish community at all. It’s going in every direction. For example, next to the city hall, there’s a church and they had a sign that was a draw on the church as well. So it’s different businesses, it’s different city signs. There was a school.”

“It’s going in every direction. For example, next to the city hall, a sign was drawn on the church as well,” said Allard. “It’s different businesses, it’s different city signs. There was a school.”

“They have been cleaned up. And suddenly yesterday, something happened again on businesses mostly.”

The mayor says it’s an unacceptable situation.

“We strongly are against whatever is happening, it’s not something we should see anywhere in the country and certainly not in Châteauguay,” he said. “We don’t accept that kind of behaviour. We don’t accept that kind of signs that are a draw everywhere. It’s hate drawings.”

Wednesday morning after the graffiti was spotted, a business owner contacted an anti-hate organization to remove it — the graffiti has since been taken off with a pressure washer. 

Carlie Lambertson, a store manager of a pub at the strip mall that was targeted Wednesday morning said it’s shocking to see the symbols and hate speech graffitied everywhere and hopes the police will be more vigilant at night. 

“I was shocked to see the swastikas at all of the minority-owned and operated businesses in the strip mall where my husband and I have our smoothie bar. I could tell that it wasn’t just targeted towards myself as a Jew, but to all non-white-owned businesses. It was incredibly sad and made me feel uneasy and unwelcome for the first time in this town,” said Elyssa Gold-Cipriani.

At this time, police are not calling these hate crimes or investigating them as potential hate crimes. The mayor says it is an investigation into graffiti crimes.

It’s unclear if the swastikas are targeting a specific group of people, but the mayor says police do not seem to think it’s aimed at anyone specifically.

“They’re investigating to find who’s doing that,” Allard said. “It’s important if any citizens can see somebody doing that kind of act, please call the police and report it immediately.”

No arrests have been made so far.

Allard is also appealing to businesses and citizens to use their surveillance cameras to see if they notice anything out of the ordinary.

“Maybe that’s going to help the police and report that as quickly as possible because that kind of behaviour is unacceptable,” he said. “We are a multicultural community here in Châteauguay and we’re really proud of it. So we don’t accept that kind of situation.”

Allard says city workers are cleaning up the graffiti, as well as businesses themselves. He also says there’s an organization, Erase the Hate, helping out.

“We have to erase those signs, there’s no doubt in my mind.”