2024-07-13 04:00:00
A Canada Post mail carrier who has been bullied for his sexual orientation has received an incredible wave of love in recent days, a gentle counterbalance to the hate he has endured for more than a year. “It’s a relief,” he said. It took a year before I agreed to talk about my story, and I was afraid of doing things wrong. »
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“We are Fred” posters, referring to the first pseudonym used in a news report The Press, can be seen in about twenty Canada Post offices in Quebec. On the bulletin board of the union at the station of the Bridge in Montreal, where it works, but also in the branches of Anjou, Chabanel and Léo-Blanchette, as well as Boucherville, Saint-Hubert, Terrebonne, Repentigny, Beloeil or Chambly again.
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A message of support at the Canada Post branch in Chambly
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A message of support at the Canada Post branch in Boucherville
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A message of support at the Canada Post branch in Léo-Blanchette
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A message of support at the Canada Post branch in Terrebonne
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A message of support in the Canada Post branch in Chabanel
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A message of support at the Canada Post branch in Repentigny
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A message of support at the Canada Post branch in Beloeil
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The Press He revealed Fred’s suffering at the end of June. Around twenty homophobic graffiti have been directed at the employee of the state body since April 2023, which put him on sick leave due to psychological exhaustion. Messages like “Ta yeule PD” appeared in turn in the toilets, on his truck, on his work stool and even in a letter sent directly to his home.
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One of the many graffiti targeting Fred
Read the article “Canada Post letter carrier: targeted for year by homophobic graffiti”
The harassment continued when he returned from holiday last March, with at least two hateful graffiti directed at him. To date, the victim(s) remain unknown despite numerous exit notices, police complaints and complaints. The investigation is now in the hands of Employment and Social Development Canada.
I feel like we are finally taking the situation seriously.
Fred
If the postman says he did not feel supported by Canada Post management, he has received a completely different signal from many colleagues since the report was published. The Press recounting their plight. Some recognized the victim, others did not. “I even saw “I’m Fred” in a rainbow in a customer’s window who didn’t know it was my story,” said the postman.
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Fred received a supportive message regarding his delivery route.
The postman also noticed that Facebook profile photos of complete strangers were emblazoned with the slogan borrowed from his pseudonym.
Homophobia on the rise
Within Canada Post, “incidents related to violence and harassment in the workplace” jumped 60% from 2022 to 2023, going from 553 to 886, shows a report on sustainable development published by the Crown company on May 31.
From 2015 to 2021, the number of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation reported by the police increased by 150%, highlighted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in a report published at the beginning of July.
Victims of these acts are “three times more likely than other victims of hate to be victims of serious violence,” the document noted.
The 491 sexual orientation-related hate crimes recorded in 2022 represent a 12% jump compared to the previous peak in 2021 (438), according to Statistics Canada.
It is this dark portrait that makes Fred’s colleagues move the color of the rainbow for an instant.
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72% Proportion of members of the LGBTQ+ community experiencing harassment or violence at work
Source: Canadian Labor Conference Report published in April 2023
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