The Superior Court of Quebec has just ordered the removal of several swastikas prominently displayed on Route 235 in Saint-Barnabé-Sud, Montérégie. This is the latest chapter in a saga that has been dragging on for more than two years between an immigrant family and the municipality.
Two weeks ago, Saint-Barnabé-Sud went to the Superior Court to have the swastikas removed from the facade of a building and to have a website closed, both owned by the Meddah family.
Before Judge Daniel Urbas, Yahia Meddah agreed to remove the Nazi symbols, but he refused to stop the activities of his website. He replaced the swastikas with posters proclaiming “The most racist city in the world” in the hours following the judgment.
“What I did, I did to defend my family. What is happening in our country is catastrophic,” argued Mr Meddah, who called for a public inquiry to shed light on the “torture” his family is experiencing.
A conflict that has been dragging on for two years
This is not the first time the citizen and the municipality have had a run-in. The conflict between the municipality and the family has been going on for two years, according to Yahia Meddah, who has been living in Quebec for several years. “They want to break us up and make us leave,” said the man he met in the village two weeks ago.
“There is something every day, or almost every day,” adds one of Mr Meddah’s minor sons, who was present when we visited the family property.
INFOGRAPHIC THE PRESS
The Meddahs claim that the conflict with the municipality arose following the hiring of Linda Normandeau as general manager of Saint-Barnabé-Sud in 2021. She first prohibited Yahia Meddah’s sons from charging their electric vehicles at a public terminal, then she berated some of her children, says the patriarch.
He also alleges that the general management took advantage of the fact that the post office is located within the municipal office to open his mail and pretend to lose his municipal tax payment checks in order to catch him in default.
Reached by telephone, Linda Normandeau denies these allegations of racism and maintains that the small municipality of 1,000 inhabitants “is facing a family that refuses to comply with municipal regulations.”
Unfortunately, all citizens pay for it. The entire community is held hostage.
Linda Normandeau, general manager of Saint-Barnabé-Sud
Mme Normandeau mentions that the interventions with the Meddahs stem from complaints filed by citizens. In the case of the charging station, the only one in the municipality, it was allegedly used up to 14 hours a day by the Meddahs, depriving other people of benefiting from it.
According to Yahia Meddah, the conflict escalated in October 2022 during an inspection by the municipality’s prevention officers, following a complaint to the municipality about a generator located inside the Meddah property. In a video published by the family on its website, to denounce the “vandalism” of its property, firefighters and police officers are seen breaking down the door to enter, then noting several “anomalies” in the residence.
A judgment rendered on June 7 by the Superior Court of Quebec ruled in favor of the municipality, which wanted to conduct a follow-up inspection to ensure that the requested corrections had been made. The decision by Judge J. Sébastien Vaillancourt notes several refusals by the Meddah family to allow access to their property. In an interview, Yahia Meddah swears that he has always been open to having his property inspected.
Formal notice
The family’s many grievances were detailed on a website, blocked following a formal notice sent by Saint-Barnabé-Sud. As soon as it was blocked, Mr. Meddah opened another website. Then another. And another.
“These baseless and discriminatory attacks against the City also have repercussions on all of its citizens. You mention in particular that “the City seems to be marked by racism” and that the residents of Saint-Barnabé-Sud demonstrate intimidation, racism and discrimination, without these gratuitous attacks being founded,” we read in the formal notice, which we were able to consult.
It should be noted that in his decision, Judge J. Sébastien Vaillancourt stressed that “the allegations [des Meddah] that they are victims of harassment and discrimination are not supported by the evidence at all.”
Community stir
Mme Normandeau deplores that this file has taken on “gigantic proportions” which monopolize all the time and resources of the small municipality.
She reports “several” legal cases with Yahia Meddah’s family, who have taken a personal dislike to her, according to her. The citizen is also prohibited from communicating with the general director other than by email under a court order.
“Currently, there is a lot of talk about intimidation of elected officials and municipal officials,” says Mr.me Normandeau, specifying that he has the full support of the municipal council. “This is a very good example of that.”
The presence of the Nazi symbol shocked the community, says Mme Normandeau. “A lot of citizens expressed their concern when they saw the posters,” she notes. “I think it’s terrible to use such a symbol.”
Many were shocked to be compared to Nazis, while others, some of whom are said to be of Jewish origin, were outraged to see a swastika near their homes.
Saint-Hyacinthe provincial MNA Chantal Soucy denounced the display of the swastika. “This symbol has no place in our community,” she said in an interview.
For his part, the federal MP for Saint-Hyacinthe–Bagot went to deliver a letter in person to Yahia Meddah to express his dismay and open the door to discussion. “Since I was elected MP in 2019, I have rarely seen such disrespectful remarks towards the riding and the citizens I represent,” wrote Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay in the letter. A telephone conversation has since taken place between the two men.
The mayor of Saint-Barnabé-Sud, Alain Jobin, declined to comment on the matter.