Homophobic graffiti | “We are Fred” wave at Canada Post

A Canada Post letter carrier who was bullied because of his sexual orientation is receiving a huge outpouring of love in recent days, a sweet counterbalance to the hate he’s been dealing with for more than a year. “It’s a relief,” he says. “It took me a year to agree to talk about my story, and I was afraid I’d do it wrong.”

“We are Fred” posters, in reference to the fictitious first name used in a report by The Pressappeared in about twenty Canada Post offices in Quebec. On the union bulletin board at the Bridge post in Montreal, where he works, but also in the Anjou, Chabanel and Léo-Blanchette branches, as well as in Boucherville, Saint-Hubert, Terrebonne, Repentigny, Belœil and Chambly.

The Press revealed Fred’s suffering at the end of June. The employee of the state-owned company has been targeted by about twenty homophobic graffiti since April 2023, which has put him on sick leave due to psychological exhaustion. Messages like “Shut up, faggot” have appeared in the toilets, on his truck, on his work stool and even in a letter sent directly to his home.

Read the article “Canada Post letter carrier: targeted by homophobic graffiti for a year”

The harassment continued when he returned from leave last March, with at least two new hateful graffiti directed at him. To this day, the culprit(s) remain unknown despite numerous event notices, police complaints and grievances. The investigation is now in the hands of Employment and Social Development Canada.

While the postman says he did not feel supported by Canada Post management, he has received a completely different signal from many colleagues since the publication of the report. The Press recounting his ordeal. Some recognized the victim, others did not. “I even saw a ‘I am Fred’ in a rainbow in the window of a customer who did not know it was my story,” the postman marvels.

The postman also noticed that Facebook profile pictures of complete strangers had been adorned with the slogan borrowed from his fictitious name.

Homophobia on the rise

Within Canada Post, “incidents related to workplace violence and harassment” jumped by 60% from 2022 to 2023, going from 553 to 886, shows a sustainability report published by the Crown corporation on May 31.

From 2015 to 2021, the number of police-reported hate crimes motivated by hatred of sexual orientation increased by 150%, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police noted in a report released in early July.

Victims of these acts “are three times more likely than other victims of hate to experience serious violence,” the document notes.

The 491 hate crimes related to sexual orientation recorded in 2022 mark a jump of 12% compared to the previous peak in 2021 (438), notes Statistics Canada.

It is this dark portrait that Fred’s colleagues have made iridescent for a moment with the colors of the rainbow.