Racist, anti-immigration messages appear in Quebec towns following Muslim cemetery vote

Two separate incidents in Quebec of xenophobic symbols being posted in public places have caught the eye of local authorities.

In Saint-Honor, Que., a wooden sign bearing the words "Saguenay, White City," in French appeared overnight at the entrance to a cemetery that could offer burial grounds for the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region's Muslim community.

And in Sherbrooke, Que., anti-immigration stickers have appearedin the city's downtown area.

• Anti-immigration signs and stickers plastered around Saguenay

Saint-Honor Mayor Bruno Tremblay told CBC News the sign near the cemetery was "unacceptable."

He said he was having breakfast at a local diner when other patrons informed him about the sign because they were concerned.

"I found it very xenophobic," he said. "We're having it taken down later, I've sent one of our guys from public works," he said. "In 2017, we need to be more open-minded than that."

He ended up taking down the sign himself.

The Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Islamic Association had taken steps to have part of the cemetery designated according to Muslim burial traditions in 2015, but nothing came of it.

The association announced in February, following the attack on the Quebec mosque that left six members dead, that it was renewing its efforts to make a Muslim burial ground in Saguenay.

This week, the association's president, Mustapha Elayoubi, said he was disappointed that Saint-Apollinaire had voted against having a Muslim cemetery there. He spoke publicly about the association's plans to move ahead with its cemetery project.

Anti-immigration stickers in Sherbrooke

Meanwhile, in Sherbrooke, stickers were distributed by the Federation des Quebecois de Souchereading, "They will not silence us" and "Minorities on our land: Never!"

The federation was founded in 2007, in the middle of Quebec's reasonable accommodation crisis. Now the group opposes "mass immigration," according to Rmi Tremblay, the group's president.

• Inside Quebec's far right: Radical groups push extreme message

A student association responded to thestickers by distributing its own, denouncing racism and Islamophobia.

"Those stickers make them feel like they are not welcome, or make them feel fear," said Universit de Sherbrooke student Aude-Sophie Bombardier.

Sherbrooke police confirmthey are aware of the anti-immigrationstickers and will continue monitoring the situation.

While posting the stickers on public property is not permitted, the message itself isn't being considered hate speech.

"We studied the case and with the information we have, we cannot consider it from a criminal perspective," said Samuel Ducharme, spokesperson for the Sherbrooke police.

• 19 voters quash Muslim-run cemetery in Saint-Apollinaire, Que.
• Quebec City mayor worried about far-right group linked to cemetery referendum