Thunder Bay Police investigate racist Facebook pages

Thunder Bay Police expect more information to be available Monday in the investigation into racist Facebook pages.

In a media release Friday, police said they were in the preliminary stages of an investigation into racially charged comments posted on two pages.

• Thunder Bay ranks second for reported hate crimes
• Racist remarks on social media 'disheartening'

Police said remarks made on the pages are extremely offensive and include posts of pictures of people who appear to be Aboriginal.

The pages appear to originate in Thunder Bay.

Police said it was too early to determine if there is a criminal aspect to the pages, but said it's necessary to condemn this kind of activity and a collective stand must be taken.

After being contacted by police about the pages, acting mayor Paul Pugh was quoted in the police media release saying, "Targeting a person or group's identity is unacceptable in our city and does not reflect the values or views of most people in Thunder Bay." 

Police said hate-motivated crimes will be investigated, including web based forms of communication.