Canwest News Service
Mon Feb 22 2010
Byline: Ken Meaney
Source: Canwest News Service

The RCMP may consider hate-crime charges after a two-metre high wooden cross was burned and racial slurs hurled Sunday outside the home of an interracial couple in rural Hants County, N.S.

RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Brigdit Leger said Monday the home is occupied by a black man and a white woman.

The homeowner called police shortly before 1 a.m. to report the cross burning, which Leger said is completely out of character for the area, and comes as the province marks African Heritage Month.

“It’s a strong community, a peaceful community. It’s the first time we’ve had this kind of incident here.”

While police have no suspects, the size of the wooden cross makes it likely more than one person was involved.

“We are continuing to explore every avenue, including motivation,” she said. “One of the motivations may be that it is a hate crime.”

Leger said there were no injuries and no property damage.

Police aren’t saying in which Hants County community the cross was burned. But Warden Richard Dauphinee of the community of West Hants confirmed it occurred in his town.

He called the perpetrators “sick individuals” and reached out to the couple.

“The people have to be traumatized to have this happen to them,” he said. “I hope they know the community is behind them. . . . I’m sure the neighbours are over helping them out. That’s just the way we work.”

A cross-burning is shocking at any time, he said, but to have it happen during African Heritage Month makes it all the worse.

Percy Parris, who holds several cabinet portfolios including minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs, grew up black in Hants County and can recall a casually racist attitude.

“I was always aware of who I was and the issues that affected African-Nova Scotians of the day – some of the subtleness, the little pats on the head, somebody throwing me a quarter and asking me to dance on the sidewalk in Windsor.”

There was also crushing unemployment and a sub-par education system for blacks, he said.

And while the situation is much-improved today, “obviously there are still some issues.”

He said it’s unfortunate the incident occurred during celebrations of African heritage, but added he’d like to see it cause people to think about racial attitudes in the province.

“If we don’t talk about these things, things will never get better. . . . we got to put it out there and we got to be willing to talk about it.”

That said, Parris said he doesn’t know the family but if they have children he hopes the community and the school system gets behind them. “I’d like to see that jurisdiction rally behind this family,” he said, calling the cross- burning a “cowardly act.”

Hants County is about 60 kilometres northwest of Halifax.

Also appeared in Windsor Star, Ottawa Citizen, Saskatoon Star Phoenix, Edmonton Journal, Hamilton Spectator, Vancouver Province, Nanaimo Daily News