Community groups call for criminal investigation of hate propaganda

Four community groups and a human rights lawyer today called for a criminal investigation into the ongoing spread of hate propaganda by London, Ontario resident Tomasz Winnicki. The groups include: the African Canadian Legal Clinic, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies, the London Association for the Elimination of Hate, the Guelph Multicultural Centre and Ottawa human rights lawyer Richard Warman. Tomasz Winnicki gained notoriety last August because of material on his personal Bell Sympatico website. Shortly thereafter, a federal human rights complaint was launched against both Winnicki and Bell Canada by Richard Warman after Bell failed to take timely action to remove the material despite repeated warnings. A formal complaint against Winnicki under the 'willful promotion of hate' provisions of s. 319 of the Criminal Code was also submitted to the London Police Service. Winnicki began appearing at demonstrations supporting imprisoned Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel, and at protests against the London gay and lesbian pride parade. He resumed posting hate material on the Internet targeting the African Canadian and Jewish communities.