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(CNN) – Toronto police have arrested a local man in connection with multiple incidents of hate-motivated mischief that reportedly have cost taxpayers more than $140,000.
Police said Dennis Lee Eggers, 45, faces 36 charges including mischief causing more than $5,000 in damage and giving a false name to police.
Police say one of the incidents took place in November when someone allegedly broke a memorial in Toronto’s Greektown neighborhood to the person of the late Olympic sprinter sprinter Andre De Grasse.
Toronto Mayor John Tory said the city was “overwhelmed” by the additional financial impact to the city, adding that the figure puts Toronto among the “top five” cities most harmed by hate-motivated vandalism.
“Particularly disturbing to me is the report that the damage inflicted to the memorial dedicated to Andre De Grasse, and to others that have become symbols of our community, is without precedent. There simply is no excuse for vandalism against memorials and other buildings in Toronto,” Tory said.
Mayor Tory’s full statement:
“This is a truly disturbing report. Given that Toronto has many memorials dedicated to the life and legacy of our past, we are overwhelmed by the additional financial impact to our city due to these hate-motivated incidents. Particularly disturbing to me is the report that the damage inflicted to the memorial dedicated to Andre De Grasse, and to others that have become symbols of our community, is without precedent. There simply is no excuse for vandalism against memorials and other buildings in Toronto. I stand ready to cooperate fully with the investigators to ensure their work is seen to have a positive result. I understand these types of incidents will be a recurring problem in 2019, as our community continues to seek healing after the horrors we experienced last year. Toronto Police will do all they can to help our community as we seek to uncover those responsible and punish those responsible. Toronto will continue to be a great and safe city and I ask all Torontonians to join me in strengthening our resolve in this we shall not let hate in the city we call home.”
Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said in a statement Monday that the incidents have been taking place for far too long.
“This is unacceptable and won’t be tolerated in Canada,” she said. “As federal minister responsible for the office of equality, I have ordered every government agency and department to conduct thorough reviews of their hate crime policies to ensure that they are equipped to detect, prevent and respond to such incidents. Canada is a nation that is made up of immigrants and a growing number of communities have been the target of hate attacks over the past year.”
The man is scheduled to appear in court January 7, according to Canada’s CTV.