The viral video of an unidentified man saying racist comments at a liquor store in Edmonton has been earning the ire of many Canadians.
The recorded incident, which took place inside Olympia Liquor on 137 Avenue last Sunday, showed the man, who was not wearing a face mask, shouting and pointing at the other two men at the aisle of the liquor shop.
The man confronted another man who was wearing a face mask and turban, and has a long beard, saying that the latter “f*cking disrespected” Canada.
“I never knew how good this country was ’til you people moved here,” the man said.
“Canadians are the nicest f*cking people in the world, and your belief system is not better than our f*cking lives,” he added, as he walked toward the store’s exit.
One of the men being yelled at is the store supervisor, Navdeep Singh. In a report by Global News, Singh said the man has probably seen the sign posted outside the store requiring customers to wear face masks. But before he could even tell him about the store policy, Singh said the man was already yelling.
“He looks very like, you know, aggressive then I thought he might calm down so I just go closer to the guy so he does not cause any harm to the person,” Singh recalled.
The store supervisor added that the man also made comments about his appearance. Singh asked him to stop, but the man kept going on.
The incident is already being investigated by the Edmonton police, according to the report.
Edmonton city council last month passed a bylaw which mandates Edmontonians to wear face masks in all public indoor places and public vehicles starting from August 1 until the end of the year.
Public indoor places include retail stores, entertainment venues, recreation centers, restaurants, and transit stations, while public vehicles refer to buses, LRT, taxis, and other vehicles for hire. Violators will have to pay a $100 fine.
In a news release on Tuesday, City of Edmonton said enforcement officers who patrolled 160 areas over the weekend have seen more than 80 percent of Edmontonians following the new policy.
“We’re extremely pleased with how Edmontonians have embraced the new bylaw and are committed to helping keep their fellow citizens safe,” Edmonton’s COVID-19 Task Force Chair David Aitken said.