A high-profile trans activist and former provincial NDP candidate claims that someone distributed racist pamphlets in an East Vancouver neighbourhood last weekend.

Morgane Oger reposted a tweet on Twitter today (January 27) from the Morgane Oger Foundation that said a private citizen had sent her information about the "despicable" pamphlets. A photo of the material was included.

"Then I reached out to the person who sent it and spoke to her," Oger told the Straight by phone. "She reported seeing the flier around her neighbourhood. She said it scared her. She's a member of one of the groups that was targeted by the flier."

https://twitter.com/MorganeOgerBC/status/1221873085424402432

Oger, who identifies as a trans woman, said her informant, who wished to remain anonymous, contacted police regarding the incident in the Kensington neighbourhood. "I encourage people to do that. It is an act of hatred.

"And I reported it to the police as well. I haven't heard back yet."

Oger said it wasn't clear whether the alleged distribution area was the Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighbourhood or the Kensington-Vancouver provincial electoral district. (Both are in the same general area.)

On its website, the Morgane Oger Foundation describes its mission as: "To increase equality and justice for all Canadians by working to diminish the gap between the federal and provincial law of Canada and its application through education, advocacy, and participation in legal interventions."

The foundation says that hate-motivated crime has increased every year in Canada and B.C. since 2013. "The Morgane Oger Foundation is needed to help push back against this rising tide of hate. We will organize campaigns to educate and advocate against erasure and bias in an effort to help Canadians see that inclusion and love are the antidote to hatred and bigotry."

In March 2019, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ordered a Saskatchewan-based Christian activist, William Whatcott, to pay Oger $55,000 in compensation after he distributed pamphlets designed to derail Oger's election campaign in the 2017 provincial election.

Oger, who lost the election by only about 400 votes, was the NDP candidate for Vancouver-False Creek.