Toronto: Canadian law enforcement has arrested a 29-year-old woman in connection with hate-related graffiti targeting Indians that was spraypainted at a prominent location in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) last month.
Peel Regional Police (PRP) announced the arrest of Freda Looker-Rilloraza in that connection. In a statement, PRP said that following a thorough investigation, officers from its Hate Crime Unit had arrested and charged her “in connection with an incident involving hate-related graffiti in Mississauga”.
The graffiti found next to a children’s park in the GTA town included one reading ‘Indian Rats’.
The release said that on the morning on September 22, police received a report of the incident. “The spray-painted hate graffiti contained derogatory remarks toward the Muslim and Indian community,” the statement said.
Looker-Rilloraza, resident of Mississauga, has been charged with Mischief Over $5,000. She was released on conditions, pending her appearance date in the Ontario Court of Justice.
Reacting to the arrest, Dipika Damerla member of the Mississauga city council, said, “I am pleased that charges are being laid in connection with the anti-Indian graffiti that was spraypainted in Mississauga. It sends a clear message that hate will not be tolerated.”
Hate targeting Indians has burgeoned in Canada in recent months, along with anti-immigrant sentiment, verging on xenophobia. It escalated amid the impact of the surge in immigration under then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Among the most immigrant-friendly Western nations prior to that, opinion about newcomers has changed in Canada as economic pain increases coupled with the influence of US President Donald Trump’s policies.
The United States of America is spearheading a campaign against both legal and illegal immigration, which has repercussions in Canada. In essence, blaming foreigners for stealing Canadian jobs and immigrants for driving up housing and rental expenses is much simpler than dealing with complex economic issues,” Shinder Purewal, Professor of Political Science at Kwantlen Polytechnic College in British Columbia, recently explained to the Hindustan Times.
He said that during “economic downturns”, the “underemployed and jobless find right-wing racial views more appealing”.
A recent survey conducted by the polling firm Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies found that 60% of respondents felt the country did not need new immigrants.
