March 24, 2025
SAINT-HYACINTHE, Que. – In a triumph of Canadian values, the Superior Court of Quebec has ruled in favour of a municipality fighting to enforce an order for a resident to remove Nazi symbols from his property.
According to the 29-page judgement, the defendant, Yahyia Meddah, is in contempt of court for failing to heed a previous order that he comply with the town of Saint-Bernabe-Sud’s demand that he remove signs on his home that contain the Nazi Hakenkreuz.
“We applaud Saint-Bernabe-Sud for standing up for what is right,” said Henry Topas, B’nai Brith Canada’s Regional Director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada. “This decision underscores the need for legislation to combat the use of Nazi symbols, such as the Hakenkreuz, which are increasingly being used to harass people and spread hate.”
After the Saint-Bernabe Sud initiated legal proceedings against Meddah earlier this year, B’nai Brith Canada launched a petition for the Government of Canada to ban the public display of Nazi iconography.
“Banning the perverse, public display of Nazi symbols like the Hakenkreuz is an important step to protect Jewish Canadians and uphold Canadian values,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy. “Our concerns are shared by many in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain communities, who recently joined our call for the Federal Government to take action to curtail the use of the Hakenkreuz, which is an insult to their sacred Swastika, a symbol of peace.”
