Jim Storrie, left, and Trevor Zimmerman display signs they used to protest right-wing extremists who had set up outside the Mustard Seed Church in Edmonton under the guise of offering food to the homeless in the area.
Jim Storrie, left, and Trevor Zimmerman display signs they used to protest right-wing extremists who had set up outside the Mustard Seed Church in Edmonton under the guise of offering food to the homeless in the area.
EDMONTON—McCauley residents made it clear their neighbourhood is no place for hate during a protest of a food drive organized by right-wing extremists on Monday.
“McCauley is a diverse, welcoming neighbourhood. Immigrants are welcome here. Muslims are welcome here. Nazis are not welcome here,” said Jim Storrie, a McCauley resident who helped organize the protest.
Word spread online that members of the Soldiers of Odin, Onward Christian Soldiers and the Northern Guard were going to be serving food and water to those in need outside of the Mustard Seed Church on Monday afternoon — inviting all “like-minded patriotic groups” to join.
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The Christian street ministry, located near 96 St. and 106a Ave., offers support to the city’s homeless and impoverished.
Despite protestations from the groups about their intentions, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network considers both the Soldiers of Odin and the Northern Guard to be far-right extremist groups.
“They are explicitly an anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim vigilante group. They are known for violence and intimidation,” Storrie said.
He cited an incident in Vancouver where members of the Soldiers of Odin were arrested for breaching the peace at an International Day Against Racism rally in March. The men were later released without charge.
After learning of the groups’ intentions, Storrie said he went door to door encouraging neighbours to stand up against their presence in McCauley.
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After those neighbours invited others, Storrie said the Soldiers of Odin, Onward Christian Soldiers and the Northern Guard were greeted by about 40 protesters when they arrived.
Storrie said there was about a half-hour of verbal confrontations but no violence between the two sides. He estimated there were about a dozen Soldiers of Odin and a handful of others standing in solidarity with them.
After the right-wing groups moved a few blocks away, the protesters followed, Storrie said, and after another half-hour of facing off in a nearby parking lot, the members packed up and left.
“They say that they are coming out here to protect the community and you should not believe them when they say that. We are the community,” he said.
“We came out here to make it very clear we don’t want them here. They are not helping anyone. They are causing problems, they are scaring people. We want them to stay away from our neighbourhood.”
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Storrie said he doesn’t believe the members were genuinely interested in helping the poor but were trying to use the neighbourhood to gain attention.
He noted the extremist groups were handing out granola bars and water bottles just a few blocks away from the Edmonton and District Labour Council’s annual Labour Day barbecue in Giovanni Caboto Park, which offers a free meal to anyone who attends.
“We’re not going to ignore what this group is just because they show up with a box of granola bars and some bottles of water. We know who they are, we know what they stand for,” Storrie said. “McCauley is not a prop they can use to legitimize their organization.”
For those who want to help people in need in McCauley, Storrie said, their donations and volunteer hours would be better spent at an existing charity.
“You don’t need to put on a leather jacket and join a neo-Nazi militia to serve the poor,” he said.
Claire Theobald Claire Theobald is a former staff reporter for Star Edmonton.
