Toronto police investigating controversial Your Ward News publication
Canada Post won't deliver free handout that critics call anti-Semitic, demeaning to women
Toronto police are investigating the controversial, low-budget Your Ward News publication after at least one new community complaint.
Const. Craig Brister said a complaint came in on Sunday afternoon from the Mt. Pleasant Road and St. Clair Avenue area, where at least one resident received the handout. Police also tweeted about the investigation.
HATE CRIME: <br>Ward 15 (Eglinton-Lawrence)<br>-Reports that this publication contains 'Hate Speach'<br>-We are investigating<br>^dh
—@TPSOperations"I'm not going to say it's hate speech, but we are investigating it at this point," Brister said.
It's not the first time the free publication has come under fire.
The publication contains Nazi imagery and has previously been accused of publishing stories that demean women and insult the LGBT community.
Last year, the federal government ordered Canada Post to stop delivering Your Ward News, which has also been labelled anti-Semitic.
A self-described "anti-Marxist publication," the handout is produced by publisher James Sears.
Sears has unsuccessfully run for Toronto city council, at times uses the pick-up artist identity "Dimitri The Lover," and had his medical licence revoked after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting patients
Sears previously called Your Ward News "just a satirical, offensive newspaper."
While the federal order prevents Canada Post deliveries, "that doesn't stop people from going and delivering it themselves," Brister noted.