by PATRICK LEJTENYI

Under the radar blip of almost everyone in the Montreal area, several white power bands played a show last Saturday at the Mad Max bar in Laval. Titled Hatefest, with headlining act the Blue Eyed Devils from New Jersey and the Kremators, also from the States, the show was not publicized anywhere the average concert-goer would look. Yet it still managed a good draw: reports by anti-racist activists estimate that a couple hundred genre fans turned up to enjoy songs by the band responsible for ditties like "Nigger Nigger," "Vandalize and Victimize" and "Hate Filled Mind."

While Anti-Racist Action-Montreal (ARA), the local affiliate of an international network of anti-white-power activists that closely monitors the comings and goings of racist groups, knew the show would be taking place, they only got final confirmation of the concert's go-ahead and location the day before. A group of 45 activists, mostly ARA members and traditional, non-racist skinheads, quickly mobilized at Parc Ahuntsic near Henri-Bourrassa metro Saturday afternoon to try to get the show cancelled, as they had successfully done in the past on several occasions. By mid-afternoon, however, reports were coming in to them that there were already several dozen white supremacists at the venue. They decided instead to stay at the metro and confront known white power sympathizers as they got on the bus to go to the concert ("We're gonna talk to them," one female ARA member said). But after a couple of hours, and no sign of les whites, as francophone anti-racists call their Aryan-wannabe counterparts, they left.

Unlawful assembly

"I wanted the show to be cancelled. I just didn't want 200 or 300 Nazis congregating in Laval," says Luc, an ARA member who spoke on condition that his real name not be published, due to possible retribution by white supremacists. "Mostly, I wanted to stop them from recruiting young people. You know, maybe some kid who kind of has an idea about what these people are about, then he goes to this show and becomes a hardcore racist."

Luc also contacted the Canadian Jewish Congress about the concert. The CJC's communications director, Eta Yudin, says she's "happy to be contacted and happy to know about it. These people need to be watched, and they were." She expressed full confidence in the police's ability to monitor the racists' actions.

Luc was also concerned about race-motivated attacks on minorities after the show, which ARA has documented in the past. He noted, with relief, that there were none.

But just because the racists were peaceful doesn't mean that no laws were being broken Saturday evening. Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code states that, "Every one who, by communicating statements in any public place, incites hatred against any identifiable group" is committing a crime that can be punishable by up to two years in prison. Canada Customs and Revenue also prohibits any kind of good ("books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, drawings, paintings, prints, photographs, film, videocassettes, recordings and computer software in any format and representations of any kind") that promotes hatred against an identifiable group. It's not know whether the bands brought CDs, posters or T-shirts over the border to sell at the show.

"If they were inciting hatred," says spokesman Sgt. André St-Jacques, "that's illegal. It's against the Criminal Code. If we knew, we would have had a big deployment." He says the police knew about the show, but too late to do anything about it. He does report, however, that there were no reports of race-based physical violence.

This does little to ease Luc's concerns about official apathy in the face of blatant racism. "They never apply those laws, even when they should," he says. He notes that ARA never, asa matter of principle, speak to police anyway.