Disagreements regarding COVID-19 checkpoints between the town of Oka and Kanesatake, Legault blames media for poll results, Racism towards Montrealers of Asian descent now being documented

Hadassah Alencar

________________________________________________________________

Disagreements between the town of Oka and Kanesatake over COVID-19 checkpoints

Mohawk territory of Kanesatake (gah-nuh-suh-dog-eh) and the neighbouring town of Oka are clashing over COVID-19 road checkpoints.

APTN news reported these roadblocks are enforced by the Kanesatake community in an effort to protect the territory from the spread of the virus. But the Mayor of Oka Pascal Quevillon wants these roadblocks taken down, to accept visitors and help the community's tourism economy. 

So far, the Kanesatake community has had no cases of the coronavirus. Kanesatake Grand Chief Serge Simon said they have turned away thousands of vehicles trying to visit the community.

Visitors which are also stopped from entering the town of Oka. The mayor of Oka Pascal Quevillon has sent a cease-and-desist letter and has threatened legal action to take down the road blocks and give control of the traffic to the provincial police. 

Legault blames media for poll results

Legault blames the English media for new poll results that show English speakers in Montreal are more worried about COVID-19 than French speakers.

Not only do English Montrealers feel more afraid that they'll be infected with the virus, but also polled as less comfortable with the Legault government scheduled reopening.

At a press conference on Wednesday Legault targeted The Montreal Gazette and healthcare reporter and Concordia journalism teacher Aaron Derfel for this result.

Derfel responded to the criticism Wednesday night on twitter, saying the premier's statement was regrettable, and that the poll result, “isn’t a language issue.”

Racism towards Montrealers of Asian descent now being documented

The Montreal Gazette reported that two Montrealers are gathering testimonies of abusive or racist incidents from people of Asain descent in the city.

The pair has documented stories from two dozen people from across the province from as early as January.

The pandemic has increased instances of hatred against those of Asian descent. Many who came forward said it was the first time they’ve ever experienced hatred in Quebec.