The real estate industry is speaking out against a vile and racist letter that was recently delivered to a realtor in Metro Vancouver.
The letter was sent anonymously to an employee of Sutton Group West Coast Realty in Coquitlam, and uses a number of racial slurs as it angrily pins the blame for the region's housing problems on Asian buyers.
"The citizens who belong here, who were here long before you people pushed your way in, have no use for you," it reads. "There is hatred beneath the surface. Believe it."
It also ends with what appears to be a thinly veiled threat of property crime: "You should tell your client that letting a house sit vacant leaves it open to vandalism."
The recipient of the letter said she was too rattled to be interviewed on Monday, but others in the industry told CTV News it's just the latest example of troubling incidents targeting realtors.
"We've seen incidents where bus benches have been targeted, where ‘For Sale’ signs have been damaged," said Phil Moore, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
"It's disturbing. Realtors are high-profile, they do work alone a lot and they're easy targets."
Other echoed those concerns Tuesday, including Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart.
"I disagree vehemently with the writer of that and I think our community does," he told CTV News. "It disgusts me to think someone in our community feels that way."
Realtor Tina Mak said in her 26 years of working in the industry, she's never experienced racism, but knows others have.
"My gut reaction is very disappointed in human race," she said. "This is not what Canada and majority of the citizens stand for."
Coquitlam Mounties confirmed they are investigating the letter, and that charges are possible depending on what they learn. Moore, who is a former police officer, urged anyone who witnesses similar diatribes or threats to contact law enforcement.
"Any member of the public that comes across this sort of hatred … where someone takes the time to type up a letter and mail it, it should be reported to local police," he said.
Anti-racism activists said this kind of scapegoating of immigrants can flare up when people feel desperate and abandoned by the government – as some do in Metro Vancouver’s increasingly unaffordable real estate market.
“People look for someone to blame,” said Lisa Descary of Stand Up to Racism. “They blame immigrants, they blame people they think they don’t have a lot in common with.”
While it can be tempting to dismiss such incidents as the work of “one crazy person,” Descary argued it’s important to take them seriously.
"These kind of things embolden others – embolden others to act and not just speak," she said.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Penny Daflos, Ben Miljure and Michele Brunoro
