Soldiers of Odin growing concern in Metro Vancouver
Posted February 19, 2017 7:06 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The shock and horror from the tragic slaughter inside a Quebec City mosque have quieted down over the last couple of weeks, but the concern about extremists remains very real.
Organizations of right-wing groups like the Soldiers of Odin seem to be growing across the country, including right here in Metro Vancouver.
The Soldiers of Odin started two years ago in Finland during the refugee crisis that was happening in Europe.
Factions of the group have since popped up quickly across Canada including here in BC. Rachel Browne — a reporter for VICE — says people should be concerned.
“It boils down to a lot of fear around other races, people of colour, that sort of thing. Sort of a race war between white people and others in Canada, so I think Canadians need to be concerned.”
They claim to be community watch programs, that protect women and Canadian values but their message also seems to have thinly veiled racial and xenophobic undertones, which Browne believes makes the context relevant based on what we saw not only with the tragic attack on a Quebec City mosque just a few weeks ago but beyond.
“Not only in Quebec but also across Canada in terms of the rise in prominence of these sorts of anti-immigrant, anti-refugee so-called ‘Canadian values’ sentiment.”
Browne adds that there have been sightings of members here in Metro Vancouver, with marches through the Downtown Eastside.
