Your Ward News is back, but community group still fighting to ban 'explosive hate rag' - Action News
Home WebMail Friday, November 22, 2024, 04:23 PM | Calgary | -10.8°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Toronto

Your Ward News is back, but community group still fighting to ban 'explosive hate rag'

A group called Standing Together Against Mailing Prejudice (STAMP) says it will do everything it can to stop the publishers of the controversial Your Ward News from delivering copies to peoples mailboxes.

Group vows to do everything to stop delivery to peoples mailboxes

Lisa Kinsella, managing partner of The Daisy Group and one of the founding members of Standing Together Against Mailing Prejudice. The group vows do everything it can to stop the publishers of Your Ward News from delivering copies to peoples mailboxes. (CBC)

A group called Standing Together Against Mailing Prejudice (STAMP)says it will do everything it can to stop the publishers of a controversial newspaper, after it began appearing again this month in east-end Toronto mailboxes.

Your Ward Newspublishes once a season andbills itself as the "world's largestanti-Marxistpublication." But it's been widely criticized as a purveyor of hate speech against women, as well as Jews, the LGBTcommunity and other minorities. Its editor and publisher both face charges of wilfully promoting hatred.

"[It's] this kind of explosive hate rag that's filled with anti-homophobic statements. It's anti-women, it's anti-Semitic," said LisaKinsella, managing partner of The Daisy Group and one of the founding members of STAMP.

"It's just this vile piece of hate that keeps showing up in our mailboxes every once in a while and we are going to do everything we can stop that from happening."

The newspaper is the brainchild of editor-in-chief James Sears,who haspresented himself in the past as pick-up artist Dmitri The Lover and had his licence to practise medicine revoked after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting patients.

In an email to CBCToronto Thursday, Sears seemed unperturbed by Kinsella'scampaign.

"We have received about half a dozen email and voicemail complaints from Marxist parasites, but most of the
feedback from the Fall 2018 Edition of Your Ward News has been quite positive," Sears wrote.

Prohibitory order

"I have been involved in this since probably around March of 2015 when I first received an issue when we moved into a new neighbourhood," Kinsella said of her group'seffortto get Canada Post to stop delivering Your Ward News.

James Sears, editor of Your Ward News, is accused of publishing hate propaganda. (Submitted)

In mid-2016, the then minister responsible for Canada Post, JudyFoote,issued what's knownasa prohibitory order against the future delivery of the paper.

But the publishers appealed the decision and an independent board was set up to review the matter.

The board wrapped up late this summer and Kinsella said they are now waiting to hear the decision from the current minister Carla Qualtrough.

Sears, and publisher Leroy St.Germaine, 76,were arrested and charged in November 2017 withthewilful promotion of hatred against women and Jews.

It was thefirst time in Ontario's historya charge waslaid alleging the wilful promotion of hatred against women, according to the Office of the Attorney General.

The matter will be heard in November.

'We are innocent until proven guilty'

Searsseems determined to fight the charges.

"We are innocent until proven guilty. We have committed no crime," his email to CBCToronto reads.

"Why should we bend over and submit to these trumped-up charges? Until a judge slams down his mallet and declares us to be breaking the law, we are going to ignore the Marxist legal machinations."

But Kinsellais undeterred.

"Sears, St. Germaine and Your Ward News can run, but they can't hide," Kinsella said.

"We will use every legal means at our disposal civil, criminal and administrative to shut them down, and get this disgusting hate out of our communities," she added.

We want to assure everyone who is getting this garbage dumped in their mailbox,we are not going to stop fighting, we are not going to give up. We will not rest until Your Ward News is no more."