"White Nationalist" Travis Patron Trying To Book Room For Speech at University of Toronto

While ARC has been critical of the mainstream media in the past for not looking deeply enough at the ideology of the far right, it has been doing a better job of late. One journalist who I've found has been consistently good though is Stewart Bell who wrote the following concerning the reactionary Yellow Vest protesters and their calls to murder politicians, particularly Prime Minister Trudeau:

Facebook reviewing comments about killing Trudeau on Canadian ‘yellow vests’ page. https://t.co/43gBbUEqpf

— Stewart Bell (@StewGlobal) January 8, 2019

It is clear that there is a toxic hatred of the political left, immigrants, refugees, FNIM, Quebecois, Muslims, Jews, people of color, homosexuals, and other groups based on a mountain of evidence gathered here and by such groups as Yellow Vests Exposed. We've also witnessed how groups such as the Soldiers/Wolves of Odin, Northern Guard, Proud Boys, and other groups as well as individuals profiled on this blog -- John Marleau, Dara Graham, Thomas Trenerry, Paul Fromm, and Joey Deluca to name a few -- are attracted to this toxicity and in many cases are using the reactionary Yellow Vests protests to promote their own bigotry.

We can add another person to that list:

I've written about Travist Patron and his Canadian Nationalist Party in the past. Much like the Islamic Party of Ontario that the right-wing is currently in a panic about, the CNP is so fringe I'm not sure that they will manage to even get the necessary signatures to become a registered political party, though this isn't to say they don't have support on the far right:

Still, they are a rather pathetic bunch who have spent a great deal of time desperately trying to be relevant:

People who have actually looked at the platform, such that it is, of the CNP view it for the joke that it is:

When he has attempted to hold meetings, they have been failures. They have either been cancelled such as this planned Toronto event that never happened....

.... turned into a farce as occurred in Winnipeg....

..... or had very few people bother to show an interest:

But don't think continual failure and humiliation is going to thwart Travis Patron, would-be fuhrer leader of the Canadian Nationalist Party:

Like the Islamic Party of Ontario, there is absolutely no danger of the Canadian Nationalist Party achieving political power. Also like the Islamic Party of Ontario however, it is worth keeping an eye on Travis Patron's vanity project since the rhetoric coming from himself, his "party", and his supporters could pose a danger to individuals and vulnerable groups influenced by his extremism.

Is Travis Patron an extremist? Well, one has to ask one's self why a person who wishes to serve in government is so secretive about his "party's" real views and membership:

Yeah.... you sort of failed there Travis.

For example, Patron et al have some pretty regressive views of the LGBTQ community that he is considering enacting:

My Observations Concerning Saturday's Anti-UN Migrant Compact Protests

As I watched protests in a number of Canadian cities which were ostensibly about opposing the UN's non-binding agreement setting up guidelines for the orderly and safe movement of people as a violation of Canadian sovereignty but which were in fact anti-immigrant (read: non-white) and Islamophobic in nature, I couldn't help but make a few observations.

First, the choice to wear yellow vests to mimic the French protests (the vast majority of whom are not racist trash and who have endeavoured to remove that element from their midst) indicates a distinct lack of originality on the far-right in this country. I mean, are they not capable of any sort of creativity? They copy the name Pegida even though the acronym makes no sense in the Canadian context. They form groups such as the Soldiers of Odin which originated in Europe and the III%ers based on an American model which itself is mostly myth. It's all rather disappointing.

Second, despite some media coverage of the events, the numbers of those who participated in the events haven't really grown that much and still consist mainly of the same people I've seen year after year.

Take Ottawa for example.

This was supposed to be the marque event and was to have featured Maxime Bernier who ultimately no-showed. Some have suggested this was due to not wanting to associate with the extremists (some 14 or 15 groups in total) who organized the Ottawa event, however one speech suggests that he might be comfortable with these bigots after all:

Remember how Maxime Bernier bailed on that anti-UN rally hosted by 15 fringe extremist groups, including Storm Alliance & La Meute?

He didn’t distance himself from them. According to a speaker, Bernier “sent his regrets,” “He knows that he’s got a lot of fans here.” #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/RK071kpb7m

— Michael Bueckert (@mbueckert) December 10, 2018

He has certainly not been shy about appearing with individuals belonging to.... shall we say questionable groups such as the Proud Boys?

Or having supporters of white nationalists work in his new political party:

Btw, the @peoplespca official in the previous tweet (EDA interim president for Etobicoke Centre) was also a campaign worker for white nationalist and neo-Nazi sympathizer Faith Goldy h/t @AlliRothberg pic.twitter.com/U0KRvXCndO

— Michael Bueckert (@mbueckert) December 9, 2018

Had he shown up to the Ottawa event, he might have felt quite comfortable with organizers such as Le Meute and the Storm Alliance as well as participants including the Northern Guard, Soldiers of Odin, III% militia, Canadian Combat Coalition, Donald Trump supporters, Christian Heritage Party supporters, and QAnon conspiracy theorists among others:

Still, despite being the largest of the protests with more than a dozen groups participating in the organization of the event, they may have attracted a little over 200 people. The anti-fascists countered with roughly 100. The same could be said of most of the protests that occurred across the country and though they claim they will be holding more events including this Saturday, I'm not sure if they will improve on these already low numbers given the weather growing colder and the upcoming holidays.

More Members and Associates of Calgary University and College Conservative Clubs Linked to "Alt-Right" Racist Ideology

Almost the entirety of this article is the result of the hard work of a source who asked to remain anonymous. I would like to thank this individual their hard work over the past several months

Well, I've done an especially lousy job of taking a break.

More information emerges about the Nazi-meme-sharing Instagram account that UCP nomination candidate Phil Schuman was trying to set up with wealthy donors.

It was run by the communications VP for the University of Calgary Conservative club. #ableg https://t.co/hGhC6wVWBi

— Progress Alberta (@ProgressAlberta) September 21, 2018

Since September, I and others have become increasingly aware of a rot in some of the conservative student clubs in Calgary universities and colleges. The start of this revelation learning more about Jake Findell who (along with another individual) was caught in the act of flyering for ID Canada which was formerly known as Generation Identity Canada:

• Introducing the ID Canada Members Flyering At University of Calgary

He was also one of the participants in the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam rally on June 3, 2017:

• Events of June 3: Anti-Muslim Protests
• Public Urination and The Fallout From The Protests in Calgary and Ottawa

It soon turned out that he also connected to UofC campus conservative politics. Findell, along with Keean Bexte, supported the hate group FireForce Ventures which was presented as an online military surplus store specializing in items from the former state of Rhodesia but which seemed also to serve as a front for the dissemination of racist ideologies. The news site "Ricochet" initially broke the story focusing on active members of the military, however it also became apparent that one member also had links to the current leader of Alberta's Official Opposition:

• Adam Strashok: ID Canada, WCAI, and Conservative Politics in Alberta
• White supremacist disavowed by UCP and federal Tories joined Bernier's party
• University of Calgary Conservative Club Members Linked To FireForce Ventures

Adam Strashok (who also posted online as "Alexei Kuznetsov") ran Jason Kenney's call center during his campaign to become leader of the United Conservative Party. Strashok was also active in UofC campus conservative groups, including the Wild Rose and the Conservative Club. Strashok was also one of the founders of the University of Calgary Firearms Association along with Henry Lung (Lung was also a partner in FireForce Ventures):

Well it turns out that Findell, Bexte, and Strashok were not the only people associated with Calgary campus conservatives, past and current, who are involved in far-right politics:

The image above is of the WCAI anti-Muslim event from June 3, 2017. I published it in a few articles already (I'm assuming Findell might have been the one to conceal the face of the individual on the right). However I later learned the identities of the other three members whose faces can be seen:

Full disclosure. The bulk of the research for this article (and I mean 90% to 95%) was done by an individual who wishes to remain anonymous but to whom I and others owe a great deal of gratitude.

Word of warning. This is a very long post with a lot of screen shots to back up the statements made.

With that, let's take a closer look at these gentlemen, shall we?

Right Splits.... Again. This Time Over Radisson Arson

When I covered the Radisson arson incident I suspected that we would see other similar provocative actions by the likes of Massaad (who thinks he's edgy because he eats meat in front of vegans), Leigh Stuart, and Ronny Cameron. And right on cue....

The video is a trailer for what they purport to be another "shocking" exposé, though it looks primarily to be of an empty field containing generators and what might be the frames for emergency shelters.

But all is not happy in the world of the Islamophobes as Ronny Cameron felt the need to deny his, as well as that of Massaad and Stuart, involvement in the crime that occurred at the Radisson housing refugee claimants:

I'm not sure if anyone I know has said that the three of these jackasses are directly responsible for the attempted arson (and attempted murder). What I and others have suggested is that Cameron, Massaad, and Stuart, as well as people like Sue-Ann Levy, Faith Goldy, and the anti-refugee echo chamber posting mostly false and inflammatory claims that dehumanize refugees, Muslim-Canadians, have contributed to a toxic climate in which someone might be motivated to act out violently. It is lovely for Cameron to disavow acts of violence, but I'm afraid it rings all a bit hallow when one finds comments such as these posted under the very video and reference to the video he's speaking of above:

These are Ronny's fans and he has contributed to the toxic atmosphere that may have resulted in the arson attempt (I emphasis "may" because I don't yet know the motivation of the person who carried out the crime). It also doesn't help that Cameron continues to sensationalize the conditions of the hotel by suggesting that it is (1) "shocking" in any way and (2) the result of refugees because of some cultural deficiency. I begin with his graffiti claim that I find somewhat dubious:

Also, apparently garbage smells:

I watched the full video and there wasn't anything out of the ordinary in that hotel. Yep, it is a little more run down. Yep, having 500+ guests will likely result in some wear and tear if there's no downtime to make repairs. By comparison I used to work in the oil field putting myself through university in the late 80s and early 90s. I worked in rig crews that operated out of motels in south-western Manitoba and south-eastern Saskatchewan. You want to see what kind of things happen to motels when a rig crew is living there long term? And as for the noise they claimed, I've stayed in hotels and motels that wont allow peewee hockey teams because of the noise they make and have experienced such noise myself. By comparison, the hallways in this hotel were pretty quiet.

Still, we have to consider the "real" victims here.... Massaad and Stuart who Cameron unironically suggests risked their personal safety by entering the hotel:

He later goes on to reference a clip from the video published by CTV.

But all this is sort of grist for the mill. What I am interested in what how he called out Kevin "the Poodle" Johnston for having the temerity to question him!

And he goes on....

Point A to Point B: Did A Series of Anti-Refugee Posts on Social Media From Far-Right Figures Result in Attempted Murder?

Back on September 28, Ronny Cameron, Georges Massaad, and Leigh Stuart posted a video of themselves in the Radisson Toronto East Hotel which has been temporarily housing refugee claimants. The trio purported to be there film an exposé of the conditions of the hotel, claiming that the building was being destroyed by ungrateful migrants. I watched the video at the time and despite their histrionics throughout, what they "exposed" was a generally run-down hotel in need of a face lift with a few smudges on the wall and garbage bins with, and this will come as a huge shock I'm sure, GARBAGE in them!!!!

I won't post the full video, but there are two clips which to me suggest that the trip might not have been entirely honest:

Those who can't see the offending phrase, Ms. Stuart kindly posted the following photo:

I would add that Cameron was alone when he "found" this on the wall and called the other two over to shoot the video.

Suffice it to say I'm somewhat skeptical, though it does tick off one of the paranoid beliefs of the anti-refugee crowd so they'll accept the claim without reservation:

I wasn't going to even discuss the video since I didn't want to give them any sort of oxygen, but subsequent events have made me rethink that decision.

Among the other social media slurs against this particular Radisson Hotel and the refugee claimants within was a concerted effort to post negative reviews. It is a phenomenon we've seen elsewhere as the far-right has tried to hurt businesses who are acting in ways that they oppose. Most of the fake reviews were incredibly transparent:

One however was so patently ridiculous that it is hard to believe anyone would take it seriously. A fake reviewer purporting to be from Virginia claimed that residents were slaughtering goats in the public bathrooms.

This all might have ended here, but then racist mayoral candidate Faith Goldy and Sue-Ann Levy of the "Toronto Sun" entered the picture, the former "liking" Stuart's Twitter post and the latter being included in the Twitter thread to make her aware of the content:

Being picked up by two bigoted Islamophobes, the results can't be regarded as surprising. Goldy chimed in repeating the lie about the goat slaughter, followed by a protest outside the Radisson Toronto East Hotel:

Sue-Ann Levy wrote an article for the "Toronto Sun" and published the erroneous claim:

Well, Levy might not have made it up, but it was made up and she doesn't seem to care that it was.

Other far-right "media" outlets picked up on the story and uncritically published stories confirming the worst prejudiced of their readers:

Ultimately, it appears that it was the Levy article that resulted in the goat slaughter lie going viral: