Tri-City Skins
Encyclopedia
Tri-City Skins was an Ontario
-based white power group active from 1997 to 2002 in the Kitchener
-Waterloo
and Cambridge
area. James Scott Richardson
was the group's most visible member, and in October 2001, police believed that Tri-City Skins had 25 members in southwestern Ontario. Some members of the Tri-City Skins were alleged to have engaged in a campaign of intimidation, assault, vandalism
and other property crimes. Some members have been arrested and charged with possession of illegal weapons and drug possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Tri-City Skins operated a website that led to a complaint about its promotion of racial hatred. The Tri-City Skins' website was hosted by Affordable-Space.com, which was the Internet service provider
of Alexan Kulbashian (a.k.a. Alex Krause), former webmaster
of the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team
. Lawyer Richard Warman
filed a federal human rights complaint against the website and other named respondents. On March 10, 2006, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
ruled that Richardson and Kulbashian were guilty of violating the Canadian Human Rights Act
, and ordered the pair to pay $8,000 in fines and compensation. Kulbashian's Internet service provider was fined an additional $3,000. This case marked the first time in Canadian history that an Internet service provider had been found guilty of hosting a website promoting hatred against visible minorities. A complaint against the Tri-City Skins organization was dismissed, since Warman failed to prove that the group existed outside of the website.
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
-based white power group active from 1997 to 2002 in the Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
-Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
and Cambridge
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...
area. James Scott Richardson
James Scott Richardson
James Scott Richardson, is a Canadian white supremacist and was a member of the Tri-City Skins, associate of Alex Kulbashian of Toronto, and leader of the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team...
was the group's most visible member, and in October 2001, police believed that Tri-City Skins had 25 members in southwestern Ontario. Some members of the Tri-City Skins were alleged to have engaged in a campaign of intimidation, assault, vandalism
Vandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
and other property crimes. Some members have been arrested and charged with possession of illegal weapons and drug possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Tri-City Skins operated a website that led to a complaint about its promotion of racial hatred. The Tri-City Skins' website was hosted by Affordable-Space.com, which was the Internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
of Alexan Kulbashian (a.k.a. Alex Krause), former webmaster
Webmaster
A webmaster , also called a web architect, web developer, site author, or website administrator is a person responsible for maintaining one or many websites...
of the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team
Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team
The Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team was an Ontario-based white power website that was operated by Alexan Kulbashian and James Scott Richardson...
. Lawyer Richard Warman
Richard Warman
Richard Warman is an Ottawa-based lawyer who is active in human rights law. Warman worked for the Canadian Human Rights Commission from July 2002 until March 2004...
filed a federal human rights complaint against the website and other named respondents. On March 10, 2006, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is an administrative tribunal established in 1977 by the Canadian Human Rights Act. It is directly funded by the Parliament of Canada and is independent of the Canadian Human Rights Commission which refers cases to it for adjudication under the Act.The Tribunal...
ruled that Richardson and Kulbashian were guilty of violating the Canadian Human Rights Act
Canadian Human Rights Act
The Canadian Human Rights Act is a statute originally passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1977 with the express goal of extending the law to ensure equal opportunity to individuals who may be victims of discriminatory practices based on a set prohibited grounds such as gender, disability, or...
, and ordered the pair to pay $8,000 in fines and compensation. Kulbashian's Internet service provider was fined an additional $3,000. This case marked the first time in Canadian history that an Internet service provider had been found guilty of hosting a website promoting hatred against visible minorities. A complaint against the Tri-City Skins organization was dismissed, since Warman failed to prove that the group existed outside of the website.