A local white nationalist group used the Fort Langley National Historic Site as a gathering place and photo backdrop last year, according to a recent news story.
The photo allegedly shows members of a group called the Northern Order. A group of 11 people stand in front of the Big House inside the fort, holding up a Hudsonsa国际传媒檚 Bay Company flag. The fort historic site was a Hudsonsa国际传媒檚 Bay Company trading post and the first permanent European settlement in the Fraser Valley.
The faces of people in the photo had been blacked out.
The Globe and Mail that the photo was part of a trove of images and chat logs the paper received from anti-fascist activists in Montreal. The article details the discussions and plans, posted on a Discord chat server, of a variety of members of the so-called alt right, a loosely organized group of racists, white supremacists, and modern neo-nazis.
The Northern Ordersa国际传媒檚 Facebook page identifies it as sa国际传媒淎 group dedicated to preserving and advancing British Columbiasa国际传媒檚 founding European and Anglo stock.sa国际传媒�
A post on the page encourages people to sa国际传媒淒efend Canada! Organize with us in bc [sic]!sa国际传媒� Here we see what Canada was before and after sa国际传媒榗ultural enrichmentsa国际传媒� by the Marxist elites.sa国际传媒�
As of Monday, the page had 131 likes and had not posted much in the past two years.
sa国际传媒淚 really donsa国际传媒檛 understand why they would choose the Hudsonsa国际传媒檚 Bay Company as a symbol,sa国际传媒� said Cloverdale-Langley City MP John Aldag.
As for concern over using the fort as a gathering place, Aldag said itsa国际传媒檚 a concern that white supremacist groups are meeting anywhere in the community.
For eight years before he ran as a Liberal candidate, Aldag was the manager of the Fort Langley National Historic Site.
He noted that the fort was never a monolithic white British-descended community.
The story of the early traders includes M茅tis, Hawaiian, and French employees and traders, Aldag said. They also tried to maintain good relations with the local indigenous communities for the purpose of trade, he noted.
Parks Canada issued a statement Monday, saying the photo was not sanctioned.
sa国际传媒淒iscrimination has no place at Parks Canada places and it is unacceptable that this extremist group posed for a photo at Fort Langley National Historic Site,sa国际传媒� the statement said. sa国际传媒淐anadasa国际传媒檚 national parks and historic sites belong to all Canadians and tell stories of who we are, including the history, cultures, and contributions of peoples from all backgrounds.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淭he sitesa国际传媒檚 multicultural history is recognized, celebrated, and explored through special events, interpretive programming, and exhibits, and reflected in all aspects of its management,sa国际传媒� said a Parks Canada spokesperson.
The best-known historical event at Fort Langley was the declaration of British Columbiasa国际传媒檚 status as a colony of Great Britain in 1858. The first governor of the colony was Sir James Douglas, an HBC trader born in Guyana whose father was Scottish, and whose mother was of mixed African and European descent. The Guyanese-Canadian community has taken part in celebrations at the fort in recent years in honour of this connection.
Douglassa国际传媒檚 wife Amelia was of Scottish and Cree descent.
While the Fort Langley photo does not appear on the Northern Order Facebook page, two similar photos were posted there. Both feature small groups holding the Canadian Red Ensign, which was Canadasa国际传媒檚 national flag until it was replaced by the Maple Leaf flag in 1965.
In both photos, the faces of all the individuals in the pictures were blacked out before they were posted to the Northern Order page.
The Facebook page was originally created in September 2017 under the name sa国际传媒淲est Coast Alt Rightsa国际传媒� and was renamed sa国际传媒淣orthern Ordersa国际传媒� four days later.
The Advance Times is attempting to contact the administrator of the Northern Order Facebook page for comment.
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