A Zoom meeting held by a Canadian city to address its climate adaptation plan was hijacked by demonstrators spewing racial slurs and drawing swastikas.
The incident happened on February 11 in a virtual open house hosted by the city of Pickering in southern Ontario.
It’s unclear how many demonstrators took part in the disruption, but a city spokesperson said “one or more unknown external” participants introduced inappropriate and offensive graphics and audio.
The meeting was prematurely shut down and city officials are conducting an internal investigation.
The Independent has emailed a city spokesperson for comment and Durham Regional Police, which is conducting a separate investigation.
City Councillor Lisa Robinson, who represents Ward 1, was in the Zoom meeting when the attack occurred.
“What was supposed to be a public forum quickly turned into an explicit, racist and pornographic nightmare that I cannot unsee,” Robinson said in a YouTube video.
“A participant repeatedly shouted a vile racial slur. This was then followed by someone drawing a swastika on the presentation screen, an unmistakable symbol of hate. And just when I thought it couldn't get worse, graphic pornographic content was displayed for all participants to see, featuring explicit and grotesque imagery.”
Robinson said city staff initially did nothing to address the issue.
“They failed to immediately shut down the meeting, remove the offenders, or take swift action to protect participants,” Robinson said, adding the content remained on screen for an unacceptable amount of time.
Due to the city’s alleged lack of swift action, Robinson claimed officials could be seen as willingly facilitating in the distribution of the materials, in addition to the willful promotion of hatred.
“Their reckless disregard for the safety of others shows criminal negligence and possibly child endangerment if minors were in the meeting,” the councillor continued, noting she is demanding answers from city officials.
A formal report into the incident has been filed with Durham Regional Police and Zoom’s trust and safety team are fully co-operating, according to DurhamRegion.com. The meeting was only accessible to people logged into their Zoom accounts.
A city spokesperson said Pickering “maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward unlawful, hateful, or inappropriate conduct and is committed to fostering a respectful, harassment-free environment.”
