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ѻýOld white peopleѻý reference in B.C. South Asian newspaper article sparks complaint

Group to file complaint with National NewsMedia Council about ѻýderogatoryѻý opinion piece
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Indo-Canadian VOICE office in Surrey. (Google maps screen shot)

A B.C. group called Keep the RCMP in Surrey says it is filing a formal complaint with the National NewsMedia Council against the Surrey-based Indo-Canadian VOICE newspaper for an opinion piece it published June 14, 2022 referring to a ѻýdisgraceful rowdy demonstrationѻý by ѻýa group of old white people.ѻý

ѻýAbsolutely weѻýre going to make a formal complaint,ѻý said Paul Daynes, a spokesman for KTRIS. ѻýWhat it does is it refers in a derogatory way to an identifiable group within our community which we think is totally inappropriate and wrong and if it was applied to any other community group they would have equal grounds for feeling equally outraged.ѻý

The article appeared under the headline, ѻýME THINKS! CBC report on McCallumѻýs feet not being visible on video footage is very interesting.ѻý

The NNC is a media watchdog based in Toronto, comprised of 15 directors and was established in 2015 to ѻýpromote ethical practices within the news media industry.ѻý It is an amalgamation of former press councils in B.C., Atlantic Canada, Manitoba, and Ontario.

The sentence in the հ䷡ѻýs piece the campaign is particularly concerned about reads: ѻýThe disgraceful rowdy demonstration in Surrey City Council recently by a group of old white people supporting the RCMP vividly shows how low this group can stoop and just how desperate they are.ѻý

Rattan Mall, editor of the VOICE, said he wrote the opinion piece.

ѻýIѻým just mentioning facts, thatѻýs what the video showed. If they were brown people I would have written brown people. I donѻýt hesitate to write whatever it is. I mean when South Asians commit crimes Iѻým the first one to put up, ѻýSouth Asian caught,ѻýѻý Mall said.

ѻýI have no qualms about identifying them as South Asian or Vietnamese or white or whatever,ѻý he added. ѻýIf itѻýs brown people I would have written that. I donѻýt hesitate to lash out at South Asians when they kind of misbehave or act like stupid guys.ѻý

ѻýI mean, if theyѻýre white, theyѻýre white, if theyѻýre brown theyѻýre brown.ѻý



tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com

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About the Author: Tom Zytaruk

I write unvarnished opinion columns and unbiased news reports for the Surrey Now-Leader.
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