Racist comments ruin family’s Trent Hills visit
Ottawa man accosted while shopping at World’s Finest Chocolate store
Supinderjit Singh and his family live in Ottawa, but they have camped all over Eastern Ontario and from Prince Edward Island to Jasper in the West.
On the Labour Day Weekend they decided to try Ferris Provincial Park for the first time and after a couple of days at the campsite came into Campbellford to check out the World’s Finest Chocolate store.
Singh, who as a Sikh wears a turban, said they arrived about 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 1 and as soon as they walked into the store they were accosted by another customer.
“I hadn’t even looked at the whole store and this guy came back from the back and said, ‘Oh look the Taliban is here, the Taliban is here. You should go back where you came from.’
“I said: ‘Do I look like Taliban to you?’
“He responded, ‘Oh, you speak English.’
“I said: ‘We’re Sikh. I have been living in Canada for 26 years’.”
Singh, who works for the City of Ottawa , knows the history of Sikhs in Canada and gave the man a quick lesson.
He informed him that Sikhs have been in Canada for more than 125 years and several, including two from Smiths Falls, served as Canadian soldiers in the First World War.
This stopped the man in his tracks.
“Then, he got quiet, and he just bought his chocolate and disappeared,” Singh said in an interview.
Singh said he’d seen ATVs outside the store and believes the man may have been travelling with some friends.
“This occurred in front of my children, wife, and mother-in-law,” Singh said. “It was heartbreaking and deeply embarrassing for my family and me.
“To make matters worse, despite a number of people present, including the store cashier, no one stepped in to say anything.”
Singh had pulled out his phone and taken pictures and a video of the incident, which lasted three or four minutes, but doesn’t want to make them public because he’s not out to shame the man.
A couple of days after getting back home, Singh and his family, which includes two sons who were born and raised in Ottawa, talked about the troubling incident, and he decided to email the mayor to outline his experience.
Singh said he has visited hockey arenas all around Eastern Ontario over the past 15 years with his sons and never experienced such an attack and his sons have not been bothered on the ice.
Mayor Bob Crate says he was shocked when he received the email.
“It was completely out of the blue. I've never had anybody complain about racism like this.”
Crate quickly responded with an emailed apology. Seeing that Singh was from Ottawa, he offered to meet with him the following week while he was in the city for a conference.
“I was very disheartened to read your message and I’m very sorry you and your family had this experience in our community,” his email said. “I am aware that racism and acts of hate are on the rise in larger centres, and unfortunately, our community is not immune to these issues. While I don’t want to lessen the seriousness of what you experienced, I want you to know that this is the first time I’ve received an email like this.
“Over the past two years, we have supported the Trent Hills Chamber of Commerce to offer Community Ambassador training, which includes diversity & inclusion awareness to tourism stakeholders/providers to ensure that all visitors feel welcome.”
Crate said in an interview that he and Singh met for coffee in the hotel where the conference was being held and talked for about 45 minutes.
He said he hopes Singh and his family will come back for another visit so the bad experience can be forgotten. “It's terrible to have a black mark out there because people are usually so welcoming and helpful.”
“My only hope is that the other guy just was just passing through,” Crate said. “Cause, I'd hate to think he lives here.”
Crate noted that the municipality and the Trent Hills Chamber of Commerce worked together on the diversity and inclusion program and he hopes the Chamber will highlight this incident so it can be an educational experience for the community.
Nancy Allanson, CEO of the Chamber, said has never heard of an incident like Rattan experienced in September. She has never had complaints of racist comments in any businesses. She said the program that the Chamber and town held was funded by grants during COVID.
Singh said he told Crate that “instead of penalizing the individual, why don't we educate the community, make this from a negative incident into a positive.”
“My intention is not to shame anyone but to promote education within the community to prevent future incidents like this,” he said. “We do not want a community where hatred exists; instead, we should strive to turn negativity into positivity. I believe that fighting back is not the solution—what we need is to change the opinions of those who harbour such views.”
He wishes he had a chance to talk to the individual and buy him a coffee or lunch, to talk about the role of Sikhs in Canada and their many charitable and community efforts.
“When I step outside, I don’t see colour, race, or nationality. I see humanity, and I firmly believe in the oneness of all people. Sikhs strive to bring unity and inclusiveness wherever they go.”
Singh has received a provincial award in recognition of his volunteer efforts, received a 15-year-award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation and was recognized by the Canadian Blood Services.
In Ottawa he has established Langar for Hunger, a charity that provides food to Ottawa shelters.
However, while the incident is rare, it is not totally isolated. It has echoes of a racist incident in Campbellford more than a decade ago that resulted in unfavourable media attention across the country.
That incident occurred at the Royal Canadian Legion’s Halloween party in 2010. First prize for most original costume was won by two men – one dressed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan holding a noose around the neck of another man who was in black face.
At the time, then Mayor Hector Macmillan and others said the event did not reflect life in Campbellford.
Racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism and any form of hatred is NOT acceptable here or anywhere. Thanks for writing about this unacceptable event in our community to remind all of us that each of us is responsible for making Campbellford a welcoming place for everyone.
I think that this incident reflects more life in Campbellford than we’d like to admit. I became friends with the Indian family that ran the Ultramar gas station on Front Street, and they told me that numerous locals called them Pakies, and were hateful to their son. They left town. This town is chock block full of racism. We had a black couple that were guests in our Airbnb, and booked a 2 week stay. They left after 4 days because they said that they felt uncomfortable walking around town and eating at restaurants here. They wouldn’t be specific with us about what exactly happened, but something obviously did.