Copies of a book promoting white nationalist ideology have been placed in community-run library boxes in neighbourhoods in parts of Ottawa, prompting a police investigation.
Christine Young found several copies earlier this month when she decided to check out a few little free libraries near her home in Barrhaven.
Little free libraries are put at the curbside by homeowners and are an invitation for anyone to leave and take a book.
Young, a federal government consultant, never expected to repeatedly come across the same book — one that denounces immigration, multiculturalism, advocates for a white ethnostate in which racialized communities would be classified as second class citizens.
“I just thought, ‘This can’t be what I think it is. I must be in a bad headspace,'” Young said. “Then I found a second [little library] with the exact same book.”
The book is written by an American author known for publishing works promoting white nationalist ideology.
“I can’t believe we have white supremacists in the area. It’s disgusting,” Young said. “I got so mad, I tore up the book. I didn’t want it in my house.”
Police investigating
Young reported her findings to the Ottawa Police Service (OPS), which has since launched a hate crime investigation.
“So far, the areas affected that we are aware of are in the Barrhaven and River wards. The investigation is still in its early stages. At this point, we do not have further details on whether this issue is more widespread,” an OPS spokesperson said in an email to CBC News.
Young said she hopes police can identify whoever is responsible.
“We need to stand up against white supremacy,” she said. “We need to be loud. We can’t just sit back and watch this happen.”
CBC found that seven out of 10 little libraries in the Barrhaven and River wards contained the text.
Several of the homeowners who operate little libraries where copies of the book were found declined to speak on the record but said they had no idea the book was there.
Barrhaven West Coun. David Hill called the incident “disturbing.”
“The little libraries are a way to bring our community together, and hate certainly has no place in Barrhaven,” he said, encouraging library owners to regularly check their shelves.
“If they see garbage in there, they should throw it in the trash,” Hill said, adding that residents who come across similar material should report it to police.
Barbara Perry, director of Ontario Tech University’s Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism, said the book is an attempt to normalize white nationalist ideologies.
She said it captures “very similar themes” to manifestos often written by “mass shooters,” detailing the grievances and anxieties of the alt-right.
“It really is an exposition of the sense of white victimhood … a railing against multiculturalism, EDI initiatives, non-white immigration specifically, feminism and progressive policies,” Perry said, using an acronym for policies promoting equity, diversity and inclusion.
Physically distributing the book in public spaces, she said, was a strategic and “bold” choice intended to draw as much attention as possible.
“It’s an attempt to push back, in communities where they think there might be support for progressive policies,” Perry said.
‘It’s not just offensive, it’s dangerous’
While the book does not contain “a call for outright violence” or “a call for extermination of communities,” Perry said it aims to frame far-right talking points in a more persuasive way than some of the “shock troops” of the movement.
Hector Addison, the founder of the African Canadian Association of Ottawa, said he’s “deeply concerned” by the circulation of the book throughout the city.
“It’s not just offensive, it’s dangerous. It fuels racism and fear in our city, and we cannot stand by and allow hate to take root in our communities,” Addison said. “I’m appalled by such behaviour.”
Addison believes there should be consequences for whoever is responsible and said he was particularly disappointed the incident occurred during Black History Month.
“Despite the hate — whether it’s a hateful attack or speech or whatever — we are not afraid. We are stronger when we are together,” Addison said. “So we’ll continue to build Ottawa to be that multicultural city that everybody here can live in.”
