Community members, politicians react to racist graffiti sprayed on Ayr town sign

Politicians and community members are reacting to racist graffiti that recently turned the Ayr town sign into a "despicable act of vandalism."

The town sign has a blue background and white lettering with the name "Ayr" in the middle. Added to the end of the town name was white paint with two capital letters "AB."

"This despicable act of vandalism is a clear attempt to spread hate and division in our community," said Rob Deutschmann, a former regional councillor and current Liberal candidate in Cambridge in the Ontario election.

The graffiti had been on the sign for at least three weeks, but a spokesperson for the Region of Waterloo confirmed to CBC News that it had been cleaned off entirely on Monday.

"We must send a clear message that hate has no place in Ayr or anywhere in our region," Deutschmann said in a release sent out Monday. "I call on our community leaders to act swiftly and decisively to address this incident and reaffirm our commitment to inclusivity."

In his release, Deutschmann described an "influx of new residents from diverse cultural backgrounds."

For her part, North Dumfries Mayor Sue Foxton said she reached out to the Region of Waterloo over three weeks ago to request the sign be fixed. Foxton said she also reported the graffiti to the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS).

"This is not who we are," Foxton said in an emailed response to CBC News.

"We have always been a diverse community that has come together and stood side by side, our lives intertwine and connect. We are community. We are Canadian and in that statement it stands for diversity of many coming together to create a greater nation."

WRPS spokesperson Brad Hickey told CBC News he has no documentation for a report about the vandalism. 

Tensions exist among residents, community member says

Qavi Aziz is the chair of the Ayr Islamic Centre and has been living in Ayr for about three years. 

Aziz said he hasn't seen the vandalism for himself, but he intends to talk to the township to get it removed.

"If that sign is there, that means people — some people, not all, some people — are thinking that is not a welcoming sign for us to be here," he told CBC News. 

Aziz is involved with an organization that has recently organized a Friday prayer group at the Ayr Curling Club, a development Deutschmann referenced in his release on Monday.

Aziz said there are about 25 to 30 people who go every week and they hope to have their own space one day, but working with the Ayr Curling Club has been "amazing."

"They are helping us, everybody there — not a single fellow that I've seen has had any objections," he told CBC News.

Aziz said it's a change from other responses he got before landing at the curling club.

"Any other places we tried to go, they said, 'No, sorry, we don't have the space.'"

He said he's experienced other tensions after moving to Ayr, including posting an invitation to an event run by the Ayr Islamic Centre on a city-run Facebook site, under which there were several negative comments.

"There were a few people who objected to it [saying], ''Why are you putting this invitation here, this is not the place to put the invitation here,'" Aziz remembered.

But a community of newcomers is growing in the region, and Aziz sees potential for a welcoming and warm place for them. He is trying to get a cricket pitch built in the town in order to participate with other clubs around the region. 

"I'm trying my level best ... most people are giving me encouragement. They are trying to help us."