Racist graffiti found near public park in Mississauga

Hateful graffiti was found near a public park in Mississauga.

The graffiti, which said “Indian Rats”, was on an electrical box at 550 Webb Dr., near John Cleary Park, according to a post on Reddit.

“As an immigrant of Indian descent who routinely strolls past this walkway with my family, I feel hurt by racism like this,” the person said in the post on Friday. “The Canada I chose to immigrate to had a reputation of being a country of the nicest people on God’s green earth. But in my 3 years of being here, I have had so many incidents of racism that I have lost count.”

The person documents several incidents of racism experienced in Canadian shops and restaurants, including being mistaken for an Uber Eats driver or having a “random” check in a store.

“At first I ignored all these incidents as innocent mistakes, or justified it to myself as profiling since so many brown folks work these jobs, but over time I’m starting to realize that it’s racism,” the person wrote. “It was subtle, but now this? This is right next to a children’s park. What did I even do to not deserve a respectful life here?”

An electrical box was vandalized on Webb Drive in Mississauga. Photo courtesy of Reddit user learnunlearnstuff

Coun. Dipika Damerla took action on the graffiti on the weekend.

“Disappointing that this is happening in Mississauga,” Damerla said. “I will ask City staff to look into this and get the hateful graffiti removed. I condemn this in no uncertain terms.”

The electrical box was later covered.

“Zero tolerance for hate,” Damerla said in a second post on Sunday. “Thank you to @citymississauga staff for working quickly to cover it up.”

The Coalition of Hindus of North America Canada, a grassroots-level advocacy organization, also commented on the graffiti.

“This is not an isolated incident; it is part of a growing pattern of racism, intimidation, and Hinduphobia faced by Indo Canadians and Hindus across the country,” the Coalition said on X. “The hate is growing more visible but the actions from law enforcement and lawmakers have not kept pace.”

Peel Regional Police said the Hate Crime Unit is investigating the vandalism.

“Peel Regional Police does not tolerate racially motivated crimes,” police said in an email to INsauga.com. “We are committed to conducting a comprehensive investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding this incident.”