Toronto (February 17, 2021) - Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is pleased to learn that Canadian Nationalist Party leader Travis Patron has been arrested and charged with wilful promotion of hate in connection to an antisemitic video he created and circulated widely on social media.

In the video, which first appeared online in 2019 and was titled "Beware the Parasitic Tribe," Patron claimed that Jewish people "infiltrate the media, they hijack the central bank, and they infect the body politic like a parasite," and "what we need to do...is remove these people, once and for all, from our country."

Last year, FSWC filed a criminal hate speech complaint with the RCMP and raised concerns with the attorney general in Saskatchewan in response to a flyer posted on the Canadian Nationalist Party social media pages that quoted the video as well as called Jews "a tribe of parasites" and "liars and deceivers." The video, which was first reported to the RCMP by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network in June 2019, also resurfaced on the social media pages.

FSWC called on social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, to remove his hateful content. A number of other ally organizations have also been engaged in this case.

"Canadians are one step closer to seeing justice being served. This is especially important to the Jewish community, which has year after year remained the most victimized group when it comes to hate crimes and the target of a growing number of hate groups in Canada and around the world," said Michael Levitt, FSWC President and CEO. "It is unacceptable for any individual, let alone the leader of a so-called political party, to promote such hatred against a minority group and call for their removal from a country."

"FSWC commends the RCMP and the Attorney General of Saskatchewan for recognizing the severity and ugliness of Patron's words and for laying charges against him for inciting hatred against the Jewish community," said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, FSWC's Director of Policy. "The arrest of Patron sends a strong message that antisemitism and hate speech will not be tolerated in our country."