Hamilton rallies ‘against racism and bigotry,' as Dominion Society says its conference is going ahead

More than 100 people gathered outside of Hamilton city hall around midday Saturday to denounce the fact that a self-proclaimed nationalist group that wants to deport millions of people from Canada planned to host a day-long conference in the city the same day.

The Hope Not Hate rally said it was a gathering to “stand up against racism and bigotry,” in light of the Dominion Society’s organizing.

“It’s very important to us to make sure that we stand up, that we speak out, that we contact politicians, and we don’t just sit in discomfort when we hear about a rise in white supremacy,” said Karen Goodfellow, who came to Hamilton from Toronto to show support.

"As working class people we decided we needed to get together in this city and say we’re all in this together," Hamilton labour organizer Ritch Whyman told CBC Hamilton.

Hamilton is a "welcoming" place, added Vivyan Salih, who works at the Immigrants Working Centre.

The gathering came as the city tensely awaited word if the Dominion Society of Canada did indeed host its conference as it announced.

The group said it was hosting the conference on Saturday with Canadian and International speakers, but the venue was never revealed. Then came word from Hamilton police that two different venues pulled the plug on hosting the conference, one just days before.

Dominion Society told CBC News Saturday that "DomCon" was "going off without a hitch," but did not confirm a location.

Local groups, mayor and police asked venues to be on lookout

Police joined the call for venues to “consider the impact” of hosting the event in the days leading up to it.

"The messaging associated with DomCon is divisive and exclusionary and can negatively impact the sense of safety and belonging within our community," police said in a news release Thursday.

Dominion Society in turn accused the police of an “abuse of power.”

What is Dominion Society of Canada and why are people of different political backgrounds worried?

The police statement came after groups like the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre (HARRC), followed by Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwarth and this week some Niagara municipalities, also said venues should be aware of what they are booking before doing so.

Dominion Society said it was planning to have Canadian and international speakers at DomCon, such as far-right Austrian extremist Martin Sellner. But Sellner, who is permanently banned in the UK, posted on social media that the Canadian government blocked him from travelling here.

Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s director of research and advocacy, commended the blocking of Sellner.

“Extremists such as Sellner have no business coming to Canada to attack our multicultural society and incite hate and intolerance,” he said.

Evan Balgord, who directs the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, previously said Dominion Society likely has thousands of members — mostly young white men and boys.

On its website, Dominion Society describes itself as "promoting Canadian nationalism and immigration reform."

However, "when they're talking just to their supporters, they're talking about how they need to deport people from Canada who are not the right kind of white and European," Balgord told CBC Hamilton.

Dominion Society's website outlines a plan for "remigration," or the mass deportation of five to nine million people, including temporary foreign workers, permanent residents and people born in Canada to non-Canadian citizens.

It also promotes the great replacement conspiracy theory, which suggests white people are being replaced by racialized people.

'We are equally free to condemn them'

On Aug. 4, several Hamilton groups, including HARRC and Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, signed an open letter urging businesses and institutions not to rent space to Dominion Society.

They called on elected officials to denounce the group, and asked leaders to commit that their policies and statements "will not contribute to the scapegoating of immigrants and racialized communities that is on the rise in Hamilton."

Horwath wrote letters to local businesses, asking them to be wary of an anti-immigration group advertising a conference.

"While people are free to express their views, our community must also be clear about the values we stand for and are proud of: inclusion, respect and ensuring that everyone feels they belong in Hamilton," she said.

Hamilton police join call for venues to 'consider the impact' of hosting anti-immigration group Saturday

Hamilton Centre MP Aslam Rana issued a statement on Aug. 18 condemning the planned conference, saying it and Dominion Society "represent a racist and extremist ideology masquerading as a nationalist movement."

He said Hamilton has already seen a significant increase in hate crimes. "Organizations and events like these only work to divide Canadians and seek to pit neighbour against neighbour," he said.

Fear that DomCon could be move neighbouring Niagara Region also spilled over into that region this week.

Saleh Waziruddin, with the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association, wrote to municipal chief administrative officers across Niagara warning that Dominion Society could be planning to move its "hate" conference there.

The Township of West Lincoln, nestled against the border with Hamilton, made it clear it wasn't interested in having DomCon in the township and urged private facilities to not allow "hate-based" events.

"We are working hard to unite our community and build a strong sense of safety, civic pride and belonging," the township statement said on Thursday. "We strongly condemn hate-motivated groups who would dismantle our efforts, spread hatred or breed division within our community."

St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe told CBC News he hoped no facility in his city would "lower itself" to rent to Dominion or other groups like it.

"They are free to express their views, and we are equally free to condemn them and make clear that those views are not welcome here," he said. "That, too, is freedom of speech.”

With files from Justin Chandler, Saira Peesker